Residents and leaders have been discussing the idea of a bridge to the Toronto Islands for years, but with the city's ferry service seeming more packed and problematic than ever this summer, there is now a renewed push to finally bring the concept to fruition.

Following proposed designs and promises from political candidates in past years, local councillor Jon Burnside has just put forth a motion asking the city to seriously consider a viaduct as a new option to get to the popular attraction.

Build a bridge. Every real city has one.

— MBO (@otymartin) July 5, 2023

Kicking off the push was the fact that the City actually advised residents to "choose another day to visit" the neighbourhood on a beautiful, sunny weekend earlier this month because of how packed staff expected the ferries to be — largely because, they failed to explicitly mention, two of the five boats were out of service.

"Torontonians value their parks and greenspace but were recently told not to visit the islands due to excessive demands on the ferries," Burnside, who represents Ward 16 Don Valley East, writes in his motion.

"This motion seeks to have City staff look at additional options, including a fixed link, to replace the City's current four ferries. The city is in the process of replacing those ferries, but the costs have skyrocketed."

Of course, some might be quick to point out that T.O. already does have a fixed link across the water — the private pedestrian tunnel running under the Western Channel, linking the harbourfront to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

we seriously need to just get that east channel bridge built already, this has been nonsense for well over a decade

— Happi (@happiHD) May 30, 2024

Even in the best of times, overcrowded chaos at the city's ferry terminal, in lineups for those waiting to return to the mainland, and on the boats themselves are pretty par the course for Toronto Islands trekkers, especially on weekends with nice weather (so, all summer long).

Residents have been asking for a better solution than packed ferries and water taxis, which have also seen their fair share of hours-long waits — a demand Burnside is now formally echoing.

Council will look over his request at a meeting this Thursday.