Toronto Spadina Subway Extension Emergency Exits | ?m | 1s | TTC | IBI Group

reaperexpress said:
The station that bothers me the most is Sheppard West/Downsview Park. The entrance is massive and it doesn't look like it will support any development near it. It seems to be designed under the assumption that it will always be in a park. But if that's the case, what's the point of even having a stop there? The industries on the north side won't make much use of it, and Downsview Park isn't really that large of a trip generator.
Click to expand...

I think it's primarily because of the transfer between TTC and GO. But yes, I agree that it's larger than what's needed.
 
reaperexpress said:
The station that bothers me the most is Sheppard West/Downsview Park. The entrance is massive and it doesn't look like it will support any development near it. It seems to be designed under the assumption that it will always be in a park. But if that's the case, what's the point of even having a stop there? The industries on the north side won't make much use of it, and Downsview Park isn't really that large of a trip generator.
Click to expand...
Presumably much of the usage will be from the GO station, and from all the buildings planned on the south side of Sheppard. Are you saying that the station is poorly situated for that development?
 
scarberiankhatru said:
It was a bafflingly random response. Unless Amy Rose thinks parkettes are for compact cars...
Click to expand...
I thought it was a reference to parking lots, but I agree about the vacant land being quite wasteful, maybe like a small amount surrounding the station entrance could be nice, and the response to the giant station, I think TTC is trying to make it look like some sort anti-claustrophobic space, when they could of downsized and save, but seeing of how the TTC goes now, they want to go big on everything, even if its a lot of land surrounding the station.
 
TJ O'Pootertoot said:
I think you have to look at the context.
The York U station is in the middle of a universtiy, for example. No surprise there's green space around that one.
Steeles is also, for all intents and purposes, at the university and any development will be along the north side of the street. UPS wasn't going to allow for condos in their parking lot.
407 is in the middle of a hydro corridor and has a parking lot so it's not designed to be in the centre of development.
VMC (or whatever it's gonna be called) is a fairly compact, urban style station.
Click to expand...

You're not really looking at the context or the plans. York U station has one entrance even though the campus is huge and the platform itself is adjacent to existing and future buildings. Vaughan Centre station is at the centre of a large development site but will have no buildings on top of it other than a large entrance hut. Sheppard West is the silliest example, but Finch West will have multiple surface structures that will never be redeveloped (just like the Sheppard subway situations that the city keeps saying it wants to avoid). The 407 and Steeles West will both have a fair chunk of redevelopable land nearby though this land is diminished by multiple bus terminals and parkettes.
 
gweed123 said:
I do have an understanding of it, which is why I'm baffled at how much the TTC is quoting for the Sheppard West extension. I should have been more clear, the stations are part of the ballooning cost, but don't account for all of it, sorry for the confusion. I forgot the exact number they quoted, but it was far beyond what the 'conventional average' for subway construction is (I believe it was somewhere between 15-20% higher per km)..
Click to expand...

Yard connections at Downsview - would have been a lot easier 10 years ago before all the development along Sheppard - and getting across the Don River east of Bathurst. It's one of the largest ravines in the city and will necessitate a station at Bathurst to be either incredibly deep, or the subway will require an expensive high-level bridge.
 
nfitz said:
Presumably much of the usage will be from the GO station, and from all the buildings planned on the south side of Sheppard. Are you saying that the station is poorly situated for that development?
Click to expand...

The location is fine, I just don't think the design is well suited for an urban context, with it's massive entrance area and massive amounts of space taken up with little use. Take a look at the Exterior view and Site plan here. There doesn't seem to be a direct entrance onto Sheppard, the only street in the area.

On a different note, there seems to be a discrepancy between the TTC and GO in terms of the GO station. In the renderings, it seems to have side platforms, but in GO's reports, it has a centre platform.
 
reaperexpress said:
The location is fine, I just don't think the design is well suited for an urban context, with it's massive entrance area and massive amounts of space taken up with little use. Take a look at the Exterior view and Site plan here. There doesn't seem to be a direct entrance onto Sheppard, the only street in the area.

On a different note, there seems to be a discrepancy between the TTC and GO in terms of the GO station. In the renderings, it seems to have side platforms, but in GO's reports, it has a centre platform.
Click to expand...

I agree with you on New Sheppard West. There is no connection to Sheppard (the station entrance is literally up a slope, and the path to it meanders around) and very little to indicate that it will connect very well to the planned downsview park development.

Now granted with the GO connection (and here's hoping it gets built and is used to it's potential) there is a need for large interior space for upwards of 1500+ passengers moving through it (again assuming full loads of both GO and Subway are let out simultaneously into the station)

From a urban development point of view I cannot understand why this isn't the planned centre of the Downsview park neighbourhood (or at least the north end), having amenities like GO and Subway at one location should be no brainer focal point of any development. A retail street with density surrounding the station should be the minimum here no?
 
Woodbridge_Heights said:
I agree with you on New Sheppard West. There is no connection to Sheppard (the station entrance is literally up a slope, and the path to it meanders around) and very little to indicate that it will connect very well to the planned downsview park development.

Now granted with the GO connection (and here's hoping it gets built and is used to it's potential) there is a need for large interior space for upwards of 1500+ passengers moving through it (again assuming full loads of both GO and Subway are let out simultaneously into the station)

From a urban development point of view I cannot understand why this isn't the planned centre of the Downsview park neighbourhood (or at least the north end), having amenities like GO and Subway at one location should be no brainer focal point of any development. A retail street with density surrounding the station should be the minimum here no?
Click to expand...

I have the week off and I normally don't get passed St. George Station on the BD line where I go south to work. With this week and a bit off I am going to go up and check out the progress of this major transit project. I am glad that York U is finally getting a rapid transit link. As for the Sheppard West Station, I am glad that it will be an intermodal station with the subway of course and hopefully an convenient link to the planned GO station there. To be an even more important intermodal station does anyone know how many feeder bus routes are going to terminate at this station? Possibly Downview Station can be scaled down if some of its bus routes are diverted to this Sheppard West Station and the freed up land at Downsview could be sold for commercial purposes. I don't think there is enough business in Toronto yet to fill an office building if it were built there because I read that the North York Centre station on the Yonge line the office buildings there had a high vacancy rate- frustrating the developers a bit. A city only has so much business, with its tax revenue to spread around I am guessing.
 
GO and York Region buses are going to 407 station, GO trains to Sheppard West (Downsview GO), and TTC will continue to use the existing bus bays at Downsview. Sheppard West is to connect to GO trains and serve the huge development in Downsview Park lands.
 
GTS said:
As for the Sheppard West Station, I am glad that it will be an intermodal station with the subway of course and hopefully an convenient link to the planned GO station there. To be an even more important intermodal station does anyone know how many feeder bus routes are going to terminate at this station? Possibly Downview Station can be scaled down if some of its bus routes are diverted to this Sheppard West Station and the freed up land at Downsview could be sold for commercial purposes. I don't think there is enough business in Toronto yet to fill an office building if it were built there because I read that the North York Centre station on the Yonge line the office buildings there had a high vacancy rate- frustrating the developers a bit. A city only has so much business, with its tax revenue to spread around I am guessing.
Click to expand...

Downsview station already has huge areas of unused, developable land. I expect the TTC will sell them at huge profit when the extension opens. The bus bays will be much more lightly used than today, with the loss of the York U Rocket and Keele North buses, but will still be usefull for the Dufferin North, Alness, Wilson Heights, Sheppard West, Downsview Park and possibly York U Local buses.
 
reaperexpress said:
Downsview station already has huge areas of unused, developable land. I expect the TTC will sell them at huge profit when the extension opens. The bus bays will be much more lightly used than today, with the loss of the York U Rocket and Keele North buses, but will still be usefull for the Dufferin North, Alness, Wilson Heights, Sheppard West, Downsview Park and possibly York U Local buses.
Click to expand...

And you can throw Idomo into the mix depending on who buys that up.
 
Passed by the Downsview TBM launch shaft today - large majour components (cylindrical) of what are obviously the TBMs are collecting on site, of course with LOVAT boldly present on some of them. It looks like they are presently receiving the TBM.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top