AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Except like I have said previously - the Front Street plaza is paved in granite; the stairs around the moat is the same.
AoD
Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR
Except like I have said previously - the Front Street plaza is paved in granite; the stairs around the moat is the same.
AoD
EastYorkTTCFan
Senior Member
Maybe they just want save money on what people won't see all the time. I don't relly get using granite for sidewalk it just seems to be an unnecessary expense. Plus there could also be issues with the weight of anything other then concrete in the area do to the Streetcar tunnel and some parts of the TTC station being under there.
44 North
Senior Member
Agreed 100%. Exposed ironwork like this is a major bonus, and imo will contrast well with the Union Station structure. Also agree that if it were black it'd look sharper, either that or dark red/rust colour.
TransitBart
Senior Member
Black can look dirty or dusty. Taupe(y) neutrals won't show dirt. There will be plenty of that in 20 years. The only thing worse than no public works or bad public works are kick-ass public works that just look shitty due to lack of maintenance.
ndawgg
Active Member
Not sure if you're genuinely trying to help a foreigner or being flippant...but I'm from Canada. I'm aware of "combos". But spending 12 bucks on a shitty Subway sub with a stale cookie is different from grabbing a quick pre-made sandwich with real chicken and bacon with a drink and crisps for 6 bucks at the station as you dash off to your train.
nfitz
Superstar
It's true in fast food establishments here and there - and worldwide if you've travelled.
But who has pre-made sandwiches like that? The Longos just east of Union might ... but I can't think of anything at the station offhand.
MetroMan
Senior Member
Man, I walk through the station nearly every day and I can't believe how few food options there are after all this time. There really is nothing to eat other than McCafe's limited breakfast menu or variety store fruit. Retailers must have lost millions in revenue at this point. What's taking so long?
TOareaFan
Superstar
The convenience store in the York Concourse (right beside McCafe) has pretty good pre-made/packaged sandwiches.
nfitz
Superstar
Oh, I didn't see it. I walked past yesterday, and saw the McCafe. I'll keep my eyes open. I kept going towards Harbourfront, and I was going to go into the Rexall down there ... but it was closed. Mid-day on a Saturday afternoon, surrounded by Condos? It's not like there's another Rexall in the area ... bizarre.
Neil
Active Member
We need a separate thread to discuss the pursuit and infatuation of putting things in one's pie hole.
Forgotten
Active Member
Ever been in a supermarket before?
nfitz
Superstar
Where is there a supermarket at the station? There is that Longos south of Bremner, and the tiny Longos in Brookfield Place, but you don't see small groceries in major train stations here, like you do in other places.
Megaton327
Senior Member
For one, the food options at Union are hilariously incomplete. Within a couple of years, once all of the food options are open, then we'll be in a better place to have justified complaints about the food makeup at Union. Of course, a lot more should be open by now, but regardless of that, it's incomplete.
Also, the Brookfield Place longos was renovated a few months ago, it's now a good bit bigger, and the nature of that location is such that they have a lot of quick to-go meals like sandwiches for the office workers who need something quick to take with them. It's actually a great location to have in the PATH/close to Union. And, of course, the Bremner location is about a 2 minute walk from the southwest corner of the York concourse, and it's more or less the flagship Longos location.
TOareaFan
Superstar
This thread is about the Union Station redo....which is essentially the creation of a huge food court wrapping around passengers waiting for trains....food options seem right on point to me.
nfitz
Superstar
Yes, that's true. I guess I'm not overly optimistic that lower retail area will be a success. I guess it will all depend on how accessible it is - all I've seen so far is that new escalator bank in the York concourse.
I wandered into to it a few weeks ago, and was quite impressed. It was the first thing I've seen here that reminded me of the kind of outlets you often see in the UK these days - particularly in train stations, etc. Given the success in the UK, you'd think there's a market here. Someone in Longo's is thinking! I'm curious how many more of these little stores there are - seems to be one in First Canadian Place according to their website.
I was impressed enough, that I went to find their Yonge/Bloor location in the Hudson's Bay Centre, that I've never actually seen before. And no wonder, you follow the map through the entire underground section from the Yonge entrance, out onto Park Road, and look around to find that it's above you, in the building - with not an entrance in sight - eventually you find the main entrance is right onto Bloor, at the SE corner of the entire facility. Which is good street presence, but I reckon a stairwell or somethingdown to the PATH would increase sales. Surely I'm not the only one who'd always walk south to the Loblaws or ValueMart (I'm not actually sure what it is these days) in the Manulife Centre, because I knew where it was.
Unlike Brookfield, the location is full-size (or at least close enough to it). But it felt a bit disappointing in comparison. Still I found what I was seeking (a fresh not frozen Channa Masala dish that my fussy daughter will actually eat - there's not much pre-prepared food (or any food really) that she'll eat. But spicy curry sauces (but not meat), lentils, chick peas, and other pulses are top of the small list. A large dahl and a bowl of rice is heaven - I have some reincarnation theories here ... note, I'm not Indian ... but I digress.
It is - but no casual traveller would ever find it. I took the PATH from the York Concourse on Saturday to Queens Quay, and it felt like I was using secret passages with the narrow winding passages leading out of the south of the concourse, and the hidden door to a nondescript staircase in the ACC. Even on the second floor walkways, there's little indication that turning right would lead you to food heaven. (and how in this day and age do you get away with putting a staircase in a main artery of the PATH network with no elevator or even escalator?).
In reality though, those in the know would simply walk out the south door of the station (after wandering through the narrow pathways - gosh I hope that improves if/when the VIA concourse is rebuilt) .. I assume there will be access to the new lower level somewhere there) across Bremner, and into the building (not that there is even any Longo's signage at this point!). Certainly not something a casual traveller will find.
Compare to London, where with the kids getting squirrelly , I knew that heading into a nearby mainline station would quickly find all sorts of food choice, be it sandwiches at Marks & Spencers, sausage rolls or cornish pasties from (there's always one or two places selling them), or junk food at WHSmith and/or Boots, or whatever food court type vendors there are. (a strategy that failed me one Sunday at Charing Cross, when I walked in to find all trains cancelled for the day for construction, and the vendors all closed!) - of course it's London, so there's other choices nearby too - but trying to find them quickly with children melting down fast is ... well it's the nature of my life these days. And with up to 60 different type of M&S sandwiches (among other choices), you could grab lunch there 3 days in a row, and not feel like you were in a McDonald's 3 days in a row (though the kids were somewhat distressed to discover upon leaving London that they were in many of the motorway services as well ... but typically so is some kind of outlet with hot food that they'd eat, that the M&S sign only served to taunt them).
Last edited: