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

[ToroTO]

I checked out the renovations yesterday and while the new concourse is very nice, I don't like the York St. Teamway, it looks unfinished. The floor looks temporary, like they still have to put down the finish, it doesn't compare with the York West Teamway which is polished concrete. Same with the ceiling, there is no covering with just hanging florescent lights while the York West has steel panels on the ceiling. Also don't like the exposed pipes and wiring on the pillars and also that they are unfinished, just rough patched, stained concrete that was never originally meant to be seen.

 

[Megaton327]

2. It seems a fair number of people were lost in the new concourse, and I don't completely blame them. I considering myself a bit of a way-finding master, and it tripped me up a few times as well.

3. Does anyone know yet if the payment machines at the ticket windows in the York concourse have tap function? Small detail, but crucial to speeding up transactions.

2. I honestly found it very straightforward. Much more intuitive than Bay. Guess it'll be different to different people--I will concur that many people seemed lost but many others seemed fine during afternoon rush today.

3. Yes. I loaded $20 onto my Presto card using Visa today, tapped, worked fine+quick. I don't remember the last time I saw a business install new payment terminals that don't have tap, except for stores where sales >$100 are most of their transactions. Come to think of it, grocery stores, drug stores, fast food establishments/coffee shops, even a rising percentage of vending machines...all of the places that I generally make purchases at in the course of an average week have tap. Honestly I don't remember one occasion in 2015 that I've inserted my chip, swiped, or paid cash for a purchase under $100. TTC has it for anything over $10, tap for single $2/$3 "cash" fares is thankfully coming to subway collectors and the new streetcars within the year. I'd love to see it added to the GO ticket vending machines, VIVA oneride machines, etc...would say TTC token vending machines are a logical addition but that would require quite an overhaul and those are on the way out for Presto anyways.

 

[Uncle Teddy]

Its looking great. A great time to be a transit geek in Toronto.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I checked out the renovations yesterday and while the new concourse is very nice, I don't like the York St. Teamway, it looks unfinished. The floor looks temporary, like they still have to put down the finish, it doesn't compare with the York West Teamway which is polished concrete. Same with the ceiling, there is no covering with just hanging florescent lights while the York West has steel panels on the ceiling. Also don't like the exposed pipes and wiring on the pillars and also that they are unfinished, just rough patched, stained concrete that was never originally meant to be seen.

I wish they can upgrade all the teamways to the level of design proposed for the Bay Street East renovation, as part of the 45 Bay project. New, covered ceilings, light walls, etc.

(From the 45 Bay Urban Design Analysis and Planning Rationale report)

AoD

 

[the lemur]

I checked out the renovations yesterday and while the new concourse is very nice, I don't like the York St. Teamway, it looks unfinished.

Do we have any indication of what else will be done to it? I regularly walk from Bremner to Front along York and as much as it looks rough and utilitarian at the moment, it beats walking through the underpass (especially when it rains).

 

[AlbertHWagstaff]

It is funny that in the internet age there's little use for a concourse in the traditional sense. Rather than mill about in a large area waiting for your train, simply check the schedule & platform number online and head directly there at the train's expected arrival time.

The platform numbers are only displayed 10 minutes prior to departure, but most people know the platforms for their regular trains. Occasional riders and those taking Lakeshore trains earlier or later than their usual departure wait in the concourse, unless they can leave their destination and get to Union inside the 10 minutes. The concourse is often busy on weekends as people arrive at Union whenever they are done whatever they came downtown to do, and then just wait until the platform is displayed. The addition of the food and retail area will really make waiting for trains or buses in the off-peak times a lot more pleasant.

The VIA concourse has a lot of people waiting as travelers arrive well ahead of train departures. The lines down there during busy travel times (long weekends, holidays) fill the whole concourse sometimes.

 

[LNahid2000]

The platform numbers are only displayed 10 minutes prior to departure, but most people know the platforms for their regular trains. Occasional riders and those taking Lakeshore trains earlier or later than their usual departure wait in the concourse, unless they can leave their destination and get to Union inside the 10 minutes. The concourse is often busy on weekends as people arrive at Union whenever they are done whatever they came downtown to do, and then just wait until the platform is displayed. The addition of the food and retail area will really make waiting for trains or buses in the off-peak times a lot more pleasant.

The VIA concourse has a lot of people waiting as travelers arrive well ahead of train departures. The lines down there during busy travel times (long weekends, holidays) fill the whole concourse sometimes.

GO has an app which shows the platform numbers on your phone at the same time that they are displayed on the screens at Union. So you don't need to be in the concourse to see the platform numbers.

 

[TOareaFan]

GO has an app which shows the platform numbers on your phone at the same time that they are displayed on the screens at Union. So you don't need to be in the concourse to see the platform numbers.

and a very nice app it is....developed at Ryerson, I believe.

 

[Megaton327]

GO has an app which shows the platform numbers on your phone at the same time that they are displayed on the screens at Union. So you don't need to be in the concourse to see the platform numbers.

I've actually noticed they tend to come up 5-10 seconds earlier on the app vs the screens. It's funny, the times I've used it for an unfamiliar train, I started walking to the platform, then halfway up the stairs I'd suddenly hear the stampede start behind me. That being said, the screens present in, say, the 24-27 lobbies, and the LED boards on the platforms themselves, seem to come up several minutes before the app or the main boards do.

and a very nice app it is....developed at Ryerson, I believe.

Really? I think it's pretty awful. It was very nice at the time, but it launched Oct 2011, and received a whopping TWO updates since then in August and October 2012--it's been 2 and a half years since the last update! Not only has it not been updated on iOS for the new screens on the 6 and 6 Plus, but it was never even updated for the taller screens on the 5 or 5S! I don't think I have a single other app so out of date. It's clear GO thought of this as a disposable one-shot, which is very disappointing. I use GOToronto now instead, a much better (and to this day still frequently-updated) app; it has a lot of nifty features including the ability to check platform numbers at stations other than union, and is generally much better designed and more usable.

 

[AlbertHWagstaff]

GO has an app which shows the platform numbers on your phone at the same time that they are displayed on the screens at Union. So you don't need to be in the concourse to see the platform numbers.

No, but you still need to be within 10 minutes of the station. If you work within the 10 minute running radius of Union it would work, but again, most daily riders are familiar with their regular trains and go straight up to the platforms anyway.

 

[Hairball]

GO has an app which shows the platform numbers on your phone at the same time that they are displayed on the screens at Union. So you don't need to be in the concourse to see the platform numbers.

That's correct, but also now I find they display the platform number 15 minutes before departure, at least on the Stouffville line.

 

[Miscreant]

I checked out the renovations yesterday and while the new concourse is very nice, I don't like the York St. Teamway, it looks unfinished. The floor looks temporary, like they still have to put down the finish, it doesn't compare with the York West Teamway which is polished concrete. Same with the ceiling, there is no covering with just hanging florescent lights while the York West has steel panels on the ceiling. Also don't like the exposed pipes and wiring on the pillars and also that they are unfinished, just rough patched, stained concrete that was never originally meant to be seen.

Yep, strongly agreed. I was going to bring this up too. I was assuming it was unfinished, and that there was a fair bit more to come. If they're leaving it that way, that's really unfortunate.

 

[the lemur]

Yep, strongly agreed. I was going to bring this up too. I was assuming it was unfinished, and that there was a fair bit more to come. If they're leaving it that way, that's really unfortunate.

I don't see why they'd leave it looking so industrial compared to the rest of the project.

 

[AlbertHWagstaff]

I don't see why they'd leave it looking so industrial compared to the rest of the project.

A fellow commuter pointed out to me that he noticed exposed rebar in the concrete in the York East teamway. Maybe repairs will be a separate project now that the Concourse is open. It definitely needs work.

 

[Miscreant]

I don't see why they'd leave it looking so industrial compared to the rest of the project.

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