GO Transit: Union Station Shed Replacement & Track Upgrades (Zeidler)

[DSC]

Is that a joke, or do people actually consider the shed "heritage" worthy? If so, who?

Though I am not really a Bush (of any kind) fan, many people love the Bush Shed and want it preserved. See http://www.toronto.ca/culture/pdf/484-050506-Carr.pdf

 

[Hipster Duck]

Is that a joke, or do people actually consider the shed "heritage" worthy? If so, who?

Probably people who enjoy living in a worst of both worlds scenario. One that maintains the sewer-like ambiance of a station that sits under an office development, without getting any of the revenue or convenience of developing your air rights.

 

[hkric88]

Not only that ... I don't think people even stand under most of the atrium, correct me if I'm wrong ... i.e. it extends passed the loading areas of the train.

People load onto the trains across the entire length of the trains, excluding the locomotive. GO trains are pretty long, especially the lakeshore trains. So, believe me, this atrium doesn't come even close to covering the entire loading area. There will be plenty of people standing well into areas where the sun don't shine. And they will probably be saying to themselves, or others: "this is stupid." And it definitely is.

 

[taal]

But we all know all the cool people ride GO trains in the middle ... so who cares about the rest

Okay in that case it is silly ...

But I mean it is a matter of $$, the rest can be replaced in due time. I mean what's happening in / outside Union station it self is way more important then the train shed.

 

[hkric88]

Agreed, overall i'm very excited about this project. I think it looks great, and I love the new union square. It was just a tad disappointing to see the train shed cut short, I really hope that you'd be right in suggesting that there is potential to extend it in the future, however that also scares me because, in Toronto I find if it doesn't happen all at once, it will never happen.

But like I said, when this gets built, and I see it for the first time, i'm fairly certain that I will be all smiles.

 

[smuncky]

there is an article in Award magazine which has some more details on this project.

http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/Award/Award_Oct08/2008111301/

the article is on page 99. there is also a rendering in the table of contents on page 3 in the top left corner.

 

[Silence&Motion]

I guess I'm alone in saying this, but I really like the old shed. The dingy brick and iron interior provides a great industrial atmosphere as one steps off the train. However, I realize that this maybe isn't the atmosphere that commuters want to experience daily during rush hour. We should probably be trying to encourage people to think of rail travel as a modern, practical choice rather than a boutique option for those wanting to experience the past.

 

[adma]

Is that a joke, or do people actually consider the shed "heritage" worthy? If so, who?

Heritage experts. Not Commerce Court West-hating uninformed, ignorant amateurs like you.

It doesn't mean the Bush sheds are 100% don't-touch sacrosanct. But it definitely means they'll be "accounted for" in whatever future plans come this way.

Besides, who's saying decaying/dingy now = decaying/dingy forever? If the new faux-OCAD midpart is accompanied by a clean-and-burnish restoration job on the Bushies, we might not feel so yuck about them as we do now...

 

[taal]

Yea, I'm sorry but I'm leaning toward the "you're alone on this one"

Ah but everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. Maybe if they cleaned it every once in a while ? Nah ... I still wouldn't like it. Common think how much nicer it would be with all the natural light!

 

[CDL.TO]

The train shed offers citizens a piece of true heritage dank.

 

[adma]

Yea, I'm sorry but I'm leaning toward the "you're alone on this one"

Take a hint.

http://www.toronto.ca/culture/pdf/484-050506-Carr.pdf

That doesn't bespeak "alone", unless you advocate a tyranny of the majority versus the forces of heritage.

 

[Whoaccio]

Hands up people who could care less about the Union train shed and want it replaced to the best of our abilities?

The "forces of heritage" have no rights, no legal standing and no votes. The majority have absolute and total control over it. Go ahead, find me the section of the Human Rights Charter that lays out "heritage" rights?

 

[CDL.TO]

Hands up people who could care less about the Union train shed and want it replaced to the best of our abilities?

Although I want to see it gone, I see the importance of general heritage preservation, I see the place of the Bush trainshed in railway architectural history, and think that it would be worth considering providing a portion of the shed to any heritage or preservation group who may wish to have it.

So I do care, so it would be fair to say that I could care less.

 

[Whoaccio]

In an effort at conciliation, If heritage is so important, why not just move the bush shed somewhere else? It's not like anyone appreciates it where it is. Nobody gets off the GO train and marvels at it's beauty and majesty. Why not reassemble it at Downsview and turn it into something for heritage types to faun over, while people who actually use the station get something decent. We could turn it into a farmer's market, heritage types would love that. Organic granola AND buildings nobody else likes! As far as technical challenges, dissembling and reassembling a shed must be pretty easy in comparison to moving these babies 65m up.

 

[interchange42]

While I cannot speak for Adma, I see where his now deleted frustration comes from. Heritage preservation receives special consideration at City Hall, but that doesn't mean it "subordinates" democracy. In our form of democracy we elect officials to make some choices for us. That means that mob rule on an internet forum only extends as far as that forum, and instead the machinery of democracy is placed in fewer hands, people who focus on the issues and are educated about them on our behalf. It is not conceivable those people will make every decision the way the majority of the public wants them to, but every four years the public get a chance to change the people who are making those decisions if overall the public are not happy with them.

In the meantime, here in this thread, closer to its beginning is more information about the Bush Shed and what GO intends to do with it. If you look back you will find that there are plans to refurbish the remaining parts of it, to bring more light down to the platforms by renewing strips of skylights and by improving artificial lighting, and to green the rest of the roof. It's not all as bleak as you're making out, you just have to dig for more info.

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