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

DSC said:
The roof is already underway - they have closed off two platforms at south side of Union and will, apparently, work north from there.
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What about the station interior? The entire new section that has to be excavated, etc.

catcher_of_cats said:
It is almost comical that there are virtually no pics of the work being done on the moat, teamways, or shed considering the thousands of pics of nearby construction sites.
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I've always wondered why that is. Especially as it is a heavily used station. I'm sure many people on UT use it. Maybe there just isn't much to photograph?
 
I've passed through the moat frequently in the past couple of months; there's nothing really to talk about in the moat. It just looks like construction equipment sitting around--nothing noteworthy that I could see.
 
The Lost Station
Toronto Life

After stalling for years amid corruption charges, lawsuits and bureaucratic bungling, the overhaul of Union Station is finally happening. But the plan we got funnels GO riders into an underground mall, leaving the iconic building’s Great Hall empty and missing the chance to transform the daily commute into a thing of true beauty. Inside a $640-million mistake by Stephen Henighan

http://www.torontolife.com/daily/informer/from-print-edition-informer/2010/04/28/the-lost-station/
 
IF the article is what was published in their magazine a few weeks ago, then it seems to really not make much sense. Given that the Great Hall is at the same elevation as the tracks, most people will arrive either at the subsurface level from the subway or PATH, or south Entrance (where the ground is lower).

It makes little sense to route all these people up to the Great Hall, and then down to the subsurface level again, just to enjoy the nice entrance hall. The article in the print edition suggest blocking off some of the tracks, so that people would walk directly into the Great Hall .... which is just astounding given how much capacity would be lost. It also makes little sense, as in this world of 12-car GO trains, the people would have to walk all the way to one end of the station, rather than enter the Great Hall in the middle.
 
The article also makes it sound as though the Great Hall is going to be abandoned. Its grandeur is still important for intercity travel, and it will only see more traffic with high-speed services. The Great Hall isn't exactly empty either; people pass through it to the TTC/GO connections and will continue to do so because it's a logical path from the street. Then there's also the connection to the convention centre and the CN Tower/Skydome area.

I'm just not seeing the problem. I just hope they get rid of that massive white camera on a pole mounted from the beautiful coffered ceiling.
 
Though it is not inside Union Station, it seems appropriate to note here that the City is having an EA on the improvements they hope to do on Front Street immediately in front of the station.

I got this email:

I am contacting you concerning a study of potential changes to Front Street West at Union Station.

The City of Toronto is hosting the first Public Information Centre (PIC) event for this project:

Date: Monday, July 5, 2010
Time: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Location: Union Station, Main Floor, West Side (towards the Skywalk)

At this event you can see draft drawings of a new design for Front Street at Union Station (known as a “Preliminary Preferred Alternative” within the Environmental Assessment study process).

Changes being considered for Front Street at Union Station include:

* designing a grand civic plaza
* creating a mid-block pedestrian crossing
* improving the intersections and widening sidewalks
* considering changes to traffic lanes and the layout of taxi stands and pick-up/drop-off areas

We invite you and other members of your organization to attend the July 5 PIC where you can view information panels, speak with members of the project team and provide your input in to the study.

You can download a PDF of the public notice and background information at:
http://www.toronto.ca/involved/projects/frontunion/pdf/2010-07-05_flyer.pdf
 
Where are the pictures? I can hear the jack hammers running almost non-stop through the day but everything is hidden. This is one of, if not the, most important transportation project in the city. With most projects the public can see the progress. With this project you only notice a temporary wall move once in a while, hear noises, and if you are lucky see refuse come out a chute into a bin. Hopefully Vanbots comes out with some updates.
 
If he really wants to, he always can throw monkey wrenches into the deal - but again, there is a tripartite agreement in place and signed contracts - so mess at his own peril.

AoD
 
Lol well he's hardly letting such things stand in his way on Transit City.

He has a mandate to do as he likes, dontcha know?
 
Ford may be reactive but his handlers and city council will keep him in check. Luckily we didn't elect 44 hot headed buffoons to council positions, like we did for the Mayor. This project is pretty far along and I don't think he'll be dumb enough to mess with all city building projects, specially the ones where penalties and lost prior money spent will add up to a considerable part of the total budget of the project.
 
MetroMan said:
This project is pretty far along and I don't think he'll be dumb enough to mess with all city building projects, specially the ones where penalties and lost prior money spent will add up to a considerable part of the total budget of the project.
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You just described transit city and the waterfront... 2 projects he has targeted to kill. I don't think he's read your material.
 
MetroMan said:
Ford may be reactive but his handlers and city council will keep him in check. Luckily we didn't elect 44 hot headed buffoons to council positions, like we did for the Mayor. This project is pretty far along and I don't think he'll be dumb enough to mess with all city building projects, specially the ones where penalties and lost prior money spent will add up to a considerable part of the total budget of the project.
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Give it time. He's going to spin his wheels on both the waterfront and TC, and once he realizes that he can't just cancel projects, he's going to look for something else to smash. Fortunately, I don't think he'll be able to get to this one either.
 
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