Bloor Station - New Crowd Control Measures

[Urban Shocker]

A classic case of cure rather than prevention - the result of a station design process that didn't anticipate how large numbers of people would circulate.

 

[nfitz]

Indeed. The irony is that at Sheppard they have done the opposite with the 3rd platform already in place on the Sheppard line, and 2 more platforms protected on the Yonge line, but no sign that they'll need it this century.

And we are at the crossroads again ... with the new Eglinton line under design, surely at least one more platform at the existing Eglinton station is necessary.

 

[Voltz]

A classic case of cure rather than prevention - the result of a station design process that didn't anticipate how large numbers of people would circulate.

And yet people complain about overbuilt stations.

 

[Jonny5]

Spadina is the worst for this. Even worse than Bloor. No one will ever move past the first door on the Eastbound platform.

 

[Urban Shocker]

The designer of the Bloor Viaduct anticipated the possibility that a subway line crossing the Don Valley might one day be accommodated within the structure; the designers of the new Pearson Terminal 1 anticipated that space for future expansion would be needed; the designer of the ROM Crystal anticipated that the Museum will rearrange their exhibits one day and didn't produce restrictive, custom-designed galleries ... etc.

 

[Chuck]

And yet people complain about overbuilt stations.

Overbuilt means adding or providing space where it serves no function. This is not an issue of lack of space, but is instead symptomatic of a subway system too small for the city is serves. When poor station layout is added to the mix, the result is what you see each morning at Bloor-Yonge.

 

[EFSF Jaburo]

2. Sheppard-Yonge Station (Sheppard subway) - encourage passengers to move away from the stairs from the YUS platform, to the west end of the platform and board the last two cars of eastbound trains, which are usually less crowded than the first two.

if you use the sheppard subway on a regular basis, you'll notice that the crowd is actually dispersed very well since the rest of the stations have exits away from the centre.

And its a terminal station, dwell time is more than 1 minute anyways so there is no point

 

[wyliepoon]

^ I do use Sheppard regularly, which is why I have made the observation. The front of the eastbound train is always standing room only during rush hour while most seats in the last cars are unoccupied.

While the need to shuffle passengers on that platform is not as urgent as on the Bloor platform, it's certainly convenient to let passengers know that there's more room at the rear of the train.

 

[M II A II R II K]

What would a Bloor/Yonge refitted station consist of anyway, a 3rd track and extra platform perhaps...

 

[Asterix]

How would a third track help with the crowds?

More 'open pits of death' for them to fall into (thereby reducing their numbers). Kind of a culling of the species thing. Unless they were to implement 'barrier walls' with 'enhanced passenger flow'.

We'll just ignore the minor detail of how one would physically build that third track in that specific location (some cost estimates putting it at close to half that for the DRL to Danforth).

 

[whatever]

There's a story running now that the crowd control measures have been successful (they can run three additional trains per hour through the station), and now they're making the barriers permanent

http://www.680news.com/news/headlines/more.jsp?content=20091207_065025_3164

Hopefully this entails a nicer looking barrier.

 

[bleeepbluuup]

The barriers are permanent now.

 

[andomano]

^^From the article in the Star: "Similar techniques are used around the world to move people through trains more efficiently"

After quickly Googling this to see other systems methods, I can't find anything. Does anybody know of any other system that uses a crowd control method similar to what the TTC has been using? I would like to find an example that doesn't use Barbie Dolls and GI Joes, or the temporary-dollarstore-like method the TTC has been using (i.e. permanent infrastructure).

 

[SP!RE]

I'm going to have to use Bloor station (I usually use my nearest station on the University line to go southbound) sometime soon to check this out.

Are the temporary pylons/cones and beams what they will be using "permanently" or are actual gates being drilled into the floor? Because something about it scares me in the case there was a fire or emergency... aren't there any issues around fire code/ ability to leave the station freely while it's crowded?

 

[yyzhyd]

^^From the article in the Star: "Similar techniques are used around the world to move people through trains more efficiently"

After quickly Googling this to see other systems methods, I can't find anything. Does anybody know of any other system that uses a crowd control method similar to what the TTC has been using? I would like to find an example that doesn't use Barbie Dolls and GI Joes, or the temporary-dollarstore-like method the TTC has been using (i.e. permanent infrastructure).

I can't remember where but there is a place (possibly Japan) where they have people on the platform to literally push you onto the train so the doors can close... Not really the same thing but I'll see if I can find a pic.

Edit... Found it!