Richard White
Senior Member
but but.. John Tory said...
Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR
but but.. John Tory said...
kingkam
New Member
Ya why were we in a rush to announce completion of Union Station? This is embarrassing.
Mercenary
Active Member
Because the delay of Union Station was an embarrassment to the city.
So as long as the Bay Concourse was partially opened, they announced its completion.
This Revitalization construction won't end for another couple of years. Probably Summer 2023.
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
The wayfinding here drives me absolutely nuts. I don't use Union Station on a regular basis, but I've been in the facility dozens of time. Half the time I'm in there I end up getting lost. And I know I have a really good sense of direction, so if I'm getting lost in there, it must feel like an unnavigable labyrinth to someone from out of town that might not be directionally inclined.
As a concrete example, I find the signage directing commuters to the "York Concourse" and the "Bay Concourse" to be completely useless. They might be useful if you're someone intimately familiar with the facility, but as someone who rarely uses the station, these names are completely meaningless to me. What the heck is the "Bay Concourse"? How is anyone that doesn't use this station on a regular basis supposed to know what that is? I don't know what the Bay Concourse is, and honestly I don't care to know. Just tell me where to go to find my trains. That is my singular goal. Where is my train!?
And yea, the UPX signage is completely unacceptable. I couldn't give a damn about the "UP Express" branding, all I care about is getting to the Airport. The only thing these signs need to say is "Train to Airport" with a pictogram of an airplane. Simple, clear and straightforward.
rbt
Senior Member
It's not useful information if you're looking for an exit either as the concourse name implies you are nearby but not which direction the street is.
I don't think I've seen a sign for Raptors Way anywhere despite being nearly as useful as Front Street at this point.
Transportfan
Senior Member
The western section was rebuilt when the Dome was built: Bremner Blvd. was called The Esplanade West originally. I guess it was renamed when it dawned on the City that it made no sense as it would never be connected to the eastern half under the rail corridor.
Richard White
Senior Member
No worse than St Clair Ave East.
It has a massive break in it from Mt Pleasant in the west to O'Connor in the east. Somehow they manage to treat it as one continuous street even though it's around an 8-9 KM gap between the two.
DSC
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Following the Mayor's somewhat premature announcement that "Union station is completed", I wrote to him asking about some of the "minor' bits and pieces we have been wondering about. Rather to my surprise, I got a reply.
- Repairs to the Great Hall floor – The City expects this work to be completed by end of 2022
- Installation of lighting in the Great Hall – The City expects this work to be completed by end of 2022
- Repairs to the Front St Promenade ceiling – The City expects this work to be completed by the first quarter of 2022
- Turning on the external heritage lighting – The City expects this work to be completed by September 2021
Northern Light
Superstar
trtcttc
Active Member
I think they should’ve renamed the concourses East and West, especially since the future South concourse is hopefully not “Lakeshore concourse” or “Bremner Concourse”. When people ask for directions, they usually don’t understand what “walk towards York street” means relative to where they are in the station, especially because York is not a prominent street until you get south of Front.
The wayfinding should also focus more on function and not branding. A big “GO” should be renamed “regional rail”, Via = National, etc. and I think they’ve started to do that in some spots.
Lastly, they should reduce the number of signs. I know my way around the station but they put up so many signs that they end up contradicting each other. Such as signs beside each other, pointing right and front for the TTC, you can take both paths but they should choose a path or space out the signs, I should not see two contradicting signs standing in one spot.
DSC
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I think 'by the end of 2022" means that that sub-project is in the budget for 2022 so it may happen much sooner. And is more likely to happen faster if we continue to bug the City and its staff!
DSC
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Just back from a stroll and can report that "they' are testing and adjusting the external heritage lighting (so they may actually be turned on as promised!). Also, the work on the Platform 3 'bridge' over Bay seems to be finishing. They have removed the construction shielding and seem to be starting to dismantle the scaffolding.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
DSC
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Platform 3 is also closed!