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New look for the Victoria Park subway station (Brown and Storey)

I'd love to get my hands on some of the Sketchup objects that were put in the renderings. The TTC signage, the buses, the Beck Taxis, and top it off with Sarkozy.

I think the design is a good improvement of what is there right now, but I think more could be done in terms of form and function. I'd like to see more natural lighting at the platform level- perhaps punch a few skylights in the middle of that green roof. For function, I'd like to see more retail incorporated into the station and the surrounding areas. I'd like to see more space devoted to retail in the concourse, and around the entrances on the north side of the station. If ugly Warden station is able to support a miniature mall, maybe the same could be said for Victoria Park.
 
Some mixed office/retail/residential would be nice for the area. A standard 18-storey for instance could rent out it's ground levels to retail, floors 4-6 call centre-type workplaces, with the final 12 floors reserved for private residents. The vacant lot opposite the station (next to where the portal is), could also be developed into a parkette/public space.
 
bah! while it is probably an improvement, it lacks any imagination- this is surely a project governed and directed by engineers and almost certainly only for efficiency' sake.

p5
 
p5connex said:
bah! while it is probably an improvement, it lacks any imagination- this is surely a project governed and directed by engineers and almost certainly only for efficiency' sake.
Click to expand...

Even if that were true, having a subway station designed for efficiency's sake doesn't sound that bad to me. What did you want? To have it blown up and replaced with a Calatrava masterpiece?

I understood that development on the parking lot was in the cards, but it's been years (or three pages in this thread) since I covered this, so I'm foggy.
 
Of course the station should be efficient, but that is expected. What I also want is something more than pure efficiency, they could use some imagination, and that artwork is pathetic really!...What bothers me is that it has to look like this because THAT is how efficiency looks and well, needs to look, and I am sure that 8 out 10 people on this board will agree- You get me? probably not!

p5
 
Looks Great!

Any improvement to that station is good news. It's a very busy and popular station and it's current shape is disgusting.

I would prefer a parking lot (for my own selfish reasons) to any condo or businesses simply because it is a very useful and popular Metropass holder lot

I wonder if the improved design will prevent or at least deter the stabbings/shootings/beatings that routinely occur there!
 
A lot of the improvements to the station are to enhance safety. Victoria Park was one of, if not the lowest, ranked station when it came to safety and security. The pedestrian bridge linking the station was definitely a place to avoid at night, yet often unavoidable. These changes probably will help that.

robbiedigital - any condo/commercial redevelopment of the lot would replace the existing parking into underground or above ground structures. don't worry, you'll still be able to drive your way to the station.
 
Imagine if apartments eerrrrr...sorry I mean luxury condos 'at the time' across from VP were never built.
 
^ I dunno, Victoria Park Stn has created an unique microcosm within the city, a high rise apartment cluster whose dwellers appear to be completely reliant on the subway for travel. Cresent Town/Dentonia probably is what it is crime wise to keep the area from mass-developing which in turn would force urban poor and recent immigrant communities out.

In north Rexdale you can rent bachelors for $700/mth. If Dentonia offers the same for the same price but with the subway at your footstep, it'd be tough to give that up via over-gentrification. My point, changes should be at a graduated pace that residents can adjust to over time.
 
Vic Park St. note

I don't know if anyone has been at this Vic Park Station lately but the construction has started. They are using part of the existing ground level parking lot to construct a temporary bus bay that will be able to have a number of dif. buses use at the same time- their is a sign there telling you what the construction company (Ellis Don) is doing. I imagine once this temporary bus bay is complete they will begin demolishing the old elevated bus bay and sheltered parking beneath. This will make room for the new station and bus bays.

I am so relieved that the Station Modernization program is getting rid of a lot of the stations that use those seperated bus bays. Hopefully they do Warden Station as well. I like the design of the new Vic Park station, you come down one level from the subway lines and we will have access to all the different bus routes on the same level. It will really ease transferring and might even help increase ridership. I sometime take the 24 bus from my home and get off at Vic Park Station but I need to get on the 12 bus because I have to continue down Victoria Park Ave. This will make my tranfers a lot easier as I won't have to go down a set of stairs and then go up another to get on the #12 Kingston Rd. bus.

The rendering of this proposed station show an indoor waiting area for all the different bus routes. Those bus bays they presently have are a very cold place to wait for a bus in the winter. I appreciate this investment in transit from the TTC.

In last weeks Star, Christopher Hume had an article about the head of London, England Piccadilly Line come and check out the TTC. I know our subway length and route numbers can't compare to London's but one thing he did compliment us on was our well designed subway stations and bus bays. The TTC is upgrading the not so well designed ones to help bring the system up to par. I am from Vancouver, where I became a transit enthusiast, but when I moved here a few years ago a lot of the designs of the bus/subway stations blew me away. I am glad that article was written showing one thing the TTC is doing right. It isn't perfect but it is improving.
 
Update

They have one of the Temporary bus bays poured and ready to go. I think at this pace they should have all the temp. platforms poured and ready to take us commuters so they can begin demoshing the old station and start building the new station and bus bays. This is going to be great for easing transfers at this station. Even the temporary bus bay and transfer area looks to be an improvement over what they have now.
 
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