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TTC Cartography, Signage, and Wayfinding

And I know this isn't the map designer's fault, but why can't somebody overrule Vaughan and stop them from embarrassing themselves with the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre name. Just call it Vaughan Centre. This is a subway map, not a city council presentation promoting the future of their city.

Everyone will just call it VMC.
 
And I know this isn't the map designer's fault, but why can't somebody overrule Vaughan and stop them from embarrassing themselves with the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre name. Just call it Vaughan Centre. This is a subway map, not a city council presentation promoting the future of their city.

It's also the established TTC standard with North York Centre and Scarborough Centre. They both drop "City" and "Town" respectively.

As for the duplicate station names, I really wish the TTC would be open to changing the names of existing stations that may conflict with future stations, especially when the resultant station name for that future station is forced to be some obscure neighbourhood reference that 99% of Torontonians have never heard of. The existing stations that I would change the names of are:

Islington -> Etobicoke Centre (following the standard described above)
Keele -> Parkside
Dundas West -> Bloor Junction (or some derivative of that name, so that it can both describe the neighbourhood but still be used for the RER station too)
Bathurst -> Bloor Annex
Eglinton -> Eglinton Centre
Eglinton West -> Eglinton-Allen
Don Mills -> Fairview

For the names that are changed to neighbourhood names, the Junction and the Annex for example, are places that most Torontonians should know of. None of the names on the Danforth leg, except for maybe Victoria Park and Warden need to be changed, since there aren't very many duplicate station names of those streets north of Danforth.

Just make the changes all at once when Eglinton opens, so that the new station names are introduced along with the new map, so there's only one period of adjustment.
 
It's also the established TTC standard with North York Centre and Scarborough Centre. They both drop "City" and "Town" respectively.

As for the duplicate station names, I really wish the TTC would be open to changing the names of existing stations that may conflict with future stations, especially when the resultant station name for that future station is forced to be some obscure neighbourhood reference that 99% of Torontonians have never heard of. The existing stations that I would change the names of are:

Islington -> Etobicoke Centre (following the standard described above)
Keele -> Parkside
Dundas West -> Bloor Junction (or some derivative of that name, so that it can both describe the neighbourhood but still be used for the RER station too)
Bathurst -> Bloor Annex
Eglinton -> Eglinton Centre
Eglinton West -> Eglinton-Allen
Don Mills -> Fairview

For the names that are changed to neighbourhood names, the Junction and the Annex for example, are places that most Torontonians should know of. None of the names on the Danforth leg, except for maybe Victoria Park and Warden need to be changed, since there aren't very many duplicate station names of those streets north of Danforth.

Just make the changes all at once when Eglinton opens, so that the new station names are introduced along with the new map, so there's only one period of adjustment.

Gah you're like Metrolinx but even worse :-/

Please just use names that make sense. Is it so hard? Station names should tell you where you are. This has gotten ridiculous
 
It's also the established TTC standard with North York Centre and Scarborough Centre. They both drop "City" and "Town" respectively.

As for the duplicate station names, I really wish the TTC would be open to changing the names of existing stations that may conflict with future stations, especially when the resultant station name for that future station is forced to be some obscure neighbourhood reference that 99% of Torontonians have never heard of. The existing stations that I would change the names of are:

Islington -> Etobicoke Centre (following the standard described above)
Keele -> Parkside
Dundas West -> Bloor Junction (or some derivative of that name, so that it can both describe the neighbourhood but still be used for the RER station too)
Bathurst -> Bloor Annex
Eglinton -> Eglinton Centre
Eglinton West -> Eglinton-Allen
Don Mills -> Fairview

For the names that are changed to neighbourhood names, the Junction and the Annex for example, are places that most Torontonians should know of.

As a regular user of Bathurst and local resident (but not a resident of the Annex): no.

There's more to that area than the Annex, and west of Bathurst (including the Markham St entrance) is definitely not the Annex.

Bloor-Bathurst or Bathurst-Bloor.
 
It's also the established TTC standard with North York Centre and Scarborough Centre. They both drop "City" and "Town" respectively.

Scarborough Centre is not named after the mall (STC) but after the development around it (offices, etc.). Same with the Scarborough Centre GO terminal.
 
Gah you're like Metrolinx but even worse :-/

Please just use names that make sense. Is it so hard? Station names should tell you where you are. This has gotten ridiculous

How is that worse than Metrolinx? At least I used neighbourhood names that most people actually know. Personally, I'm fine with having the same station name on two different lines, but clearly Metrolinx and the TTC aren't, so I'm just trying to improve their naming scheme based on the criteria they've laid out.

As a regular user of Bathurst and local resident (but not a resident of the Annex): no.

There's more to that area than the Annex, and west of Bathurst (including the Markham St entrance) is definitely not the Annex.

Bloor-Bathurst or Bathurst-Bloor.

What would you define the area west of Bathurst along Bloor as then? And I'm not a fan of hyphenating a station that isn't an interchange station.

Scarborough Centre is not named after the mall (STC) but after the development around it (offices, etc.). Same with the Scarborough Centre GO terminal.

That is true. It still fits the established naming convention though, about dropping whatever the middle descriptor is.

Hasn't the TTC already decided to rename this one Cedarvale?

Yes, and it makes absolutely no sense, considering that nobody outside of that neighbourhood knows where the hell Cedarvale is.
 
I personally really like Cedarvale. It might not be all that descriptive to those who aren't aware of the neighbourhood or Cedarvale Park, but it sure is a beautiful sounding name. But since we already have a N/S Cedarvale Ave (just east of Woodbine station), I'd say we should have something follow Cedarvale. Perhaps Cedarvale Ravine, or Cedarvale Stream (a lost river which ran roughly where Eglinton West station is now). Many often overlook our city's geography, and I think station naming is a good way to pay tribute to that.
 
Or we can call it Allen Road, a landmark everyone in the city is aware of. Or we can keep it as Eglinton West, the name everyone already knows. :)

I can only imagine this naming scheme idea came from some middle-manager at Metrolinx that nobody wanted to stand up to. How hasn't it been scrutinized in the preliminary process?

Just think about it. If somebody unfamiliar with Toronto's geography whose destination is at Don Mills or Bathurst, or requires a transfer to a bus route on Victoria Park, how will they know which station to get off at? The naming scheme, just like the cartography and wayfinding, should be as intuitive as possible for the general public.
 
I decided to tweet Brad Ross.


I guess we'll see if he responds

Metrolinx has set up a guideline for station naming that is being applied to new stations they fund. Safe to say that Vaughan Metropolitan Corporate Centre would not be accepted if the station has been paid for by Metrolinx. Also Bloor Yonge and Sheppard Yonge wouldn't have been picked in favor of Yorkville and Avondale or something similar. Place names that build a sense of place rather than intersections.
 
What would you define the area west of Bathurst along Bloor as then? And I'm not a fan of hyphenating a station that isn't an interchange station.

Koreatown, Seaton Village, Palmerston ...

If another station gets built along Bathurst somewhere, that station can have an expanded name (Bathurst North?). Bathurst can stay as it is.
 
Metrolinx has set up a guideline for station naming that is being applied to new stations they fund. Safe to say that Vaughan Metropolitan Corporate Centre would not be accepted if the station has been paid for by Metrolinx. Also Bloor Yonge and Sheppard Yonge wouldn't have been picked in favor of Yorkville and Avondale or something similar. Place names that build a sense of place rather than intersections.

Doesn't mean the station naming guideline makes sense.
 
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