Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR

[daptive]

Time for someone to dig up the old old old concept renders of the underground platforms at Union. I’d try to do it myself, but UT’s search and image browsing is abysmal.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Time for someone to dig up the old old old concept renders of the underground platforms at Union. I’d try to do it myself, but UT’s search and image browsing is abysmal.

Union Station & Rail Corridor Capacity

At the recent Metrolinx Board meeting, staff presented an overview of planning now underway for the future of Union Station. One background report addressed the future levels of GO, VIA and other …

stevemunro.ca

AoD

 

[ComptoirGeneral]

Union Station & Rail Corridor Capacity

At the recent Metrolinx Board meeting, staff presented an overview of planning now underway for the future of Union Station. One background report addressed the future levels of GO, VIA and other …

stevemunro.ca

AoD

"Combined with a $1.3-billion price estimate, this option faces severe, (dare I say) uphill battles for acceptance."

So only ~$2B to dig a new platform underneath Union? Honestly not bad if we're already spending 40x that on the whole project

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

"Combined with a $1.3-billion price estimate, this option faces severe, (dare I say) uphill battles for acceptance."

So only ~$2B to dig a new platform underneath Union? Honestly not bad if we're already spending 40x that on the whole project

The problem isn't this notion of digging underneath Union - the problem is how to do it in a way that would interface properly with the rest of the station and not preclude future (re)developments. We need some big picture/vision of the entire corridor and then stick to it instead of engaging in one-offs (which got us into the pickle that we are in right now)

See, if we had made up our minds that we need to plan for HSR, and that we will put the concourse underground we could have integrated the construction with the USEP works (to say nothing for the even earlier overall redevelopment project). We didn't.

AoD

 

[WB62]

Time for someone to dig up the old old old concept renders of the underground platforms at Union. I’d try to do it myself, but UT’s search and image browsing is abysmal.

 

[rdaner]

While you're at it can we get the renders of the arena above Union floated before Scotiabank was built?

 

[WB62]

Oh god that idea, thank goodness this didn’t happen:

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Oh god that idea, thank goodness this didn’t happen:

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That was a bullet dodged - our version of Madison Square Gardens.

AoD

 

[ComptoirGeneral]

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Beautiful, amazing, unique -- need this so badly.

 

[ComptoirGeneral]

Oh god that idea, thank goodness this didn’t happen:

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This might be one of the worst things I've ever seen. This is almost worse than if Union had been demolished.

 

[StreetcarRider]

It's likely impossible but wouldn't a second storey over the current train-shed be nice? One level for GO and one for everything else (VIA, Amtrak, UP, Northlander, ALTO, etc.). Shorter walking transfers. Easier electrification. A nicer overall roof. Maybe bigger platforms. The possibility of more station facilities like border pre-clearance. No tunnelling or flooding. Etc.

Source: https://www.tri-rail.com/pages/view/downtown-miami-link

 

[WB62]

Way too many bridges, the CIBC Square Park, and half of 141 Bay Street are in the way.

 

[Northern Light]

It's likely impossible but wouldn't a second storey over the current train-shed be nice? One level for GO and one for everything else (VIA, Amtrak, UP, Northlander, ALTO, etc.). Shorter walking transfers. Easier electrification. A nicer overall roof. Maybe bigger platforms. The possibility of more station facilities like border pre-clearance. No tunnelling or flooding. Etc.

Definitely not feasible. Forget the complexities of integrating this into a single train shed, consider that trains to reach that new second-storey shed (with real ceiling heights, the track would be at least equivalent 3 storeys over the existing track level......such that there would have to be a very long ramp starting very far out. as noted, there's built infra in the way on the east side, but even on the west side..........)

At 2% grade, the climb would need to start at least 400m west of the shed (assuming an 8M above current track level height for the new rail).

That looks like this:

There's some stuff in the way!

Also, I'm being terribly simplistic, because the existing platforms run to the west of the shed, and you need somewhere to plunk the structural supports for your ramped track which removes existing rails and at the station, end up in the middle of platforms.

So, non-starter.

 

[nightstreak]

Cabs are the worst. This is why Uber exists.

Cabs are the worst. But Uber is getting there. The Uber experience has devolved because cabbies realized they couldn't beat them so they joined 'em. On their phones the whole time, chatting with who knows who, aggressive driving to the point of road rage, less than clean vehicles. Those were once the hallmark of the taxis and you just took it because there were no alternatives. Seeing this increasingly in Ubers.

I'm looking forward to full self driving Waymo's in Toronto. Let me get in a car in peace and come out in one piece. I would love nothing more than for Front Street in front of Union to be restricted to transport pods that you get into and they'll take you to where you need to go. Stop giving taxis preferential treatment in city bylaws and it's a matter of time before taxis go extinct.