Published in the Barrie Advance
16 September 2010
I disagree with the naming of the new GO station as the Barrie Waterfront GO station. As cities grow, parts of our heritage naturally tend to disappear, sometimes needlessly. Allandale was not simply a street corner, but an important railway hub north of Toronto. Naming the station the Allandale GO station would serve to honour and acknowledge Allandale’s importance in both local railway history and the growth of Barrie itself. This would go a long way to honouring the importance and work of the Grand Trunk Railway, builder of the current 1905 era station, and its predecessor, the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Union Railroad.
