Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR

[nightstreak]

They are about to start Phase 2 of repairing the floor so it may need to be moved to do everything. They may have done the area behind the hoarding when they did Phase 1, not sure. I assume that when the floor is fixed, Osmington will try harder to rent the space out - at the moment it probably does not cost much to keep it empty but having a tenant would give them $$.

I did see something curious. The kitchen staff from what I presume is Blue Bovine come out of a door not too far from this hoarding and then punch in a code and go into that door behind the hoarding. Are they leasing space back there? They now have 2 restaurants/bars at Union Station, I wonder if they're going for a third.

 

[DSCToronto]

I did see something curious. The kitchen staff from what I presume is Blue Bovine come out of a door not too far from this hoarding and then punch in a code and go into that door behind the hoarding. Are they leasing space back there? They now have 2 restaurants/bars at Union Station, I wonder if they're going for a third.

The space in the Great Hall will be leased eventually but I am not surprised it has sat vacant as the floor work will be disruptive (so best to get done first) and until the lighting is finished the Hall is somewhat 'austere' in a bad way!

 

[daptive]

View attachment 708007

Don’t get too excited. They’re repainting the hoarding. This thing is here to stay.

Heritage hoarding

 

[nightstreak]

They are about to start Phase 2 of repairing the floor so it may need to be moved to do everything.

How soon is "about to start" because they've just repainted the hoarding like they plan to keep it for the long term? I'm guessing the lighting is first if they have to set up scaffolding to access the ceiling to install the lighting. I don't think a cherry picker will do at that height.

 

[DSCToronto]

How soon is "about to start" because they've just repainted the hoarding like they plan to keep it for the long term? I'm guessing the lighting is first if they have to set up scaffolding to access the ceiling to install the lighting. I don't think a cherry picker will do at that height.

They repaired and cleaned the ceilings of the Great Hall using a cherry-picker so I would assume it would be good for the lights and I think that the existing lights can actually be lowered from above to replace bulbs etc so maybe the new ones can be hoisted the same way.

The purchase of the new floor tiles was just approved (SEE: https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.GG26.28 ) so I doubt we will see work starting before late summer (6-8 months counts as 'soon' when dealing with governments!) . Repainting the hoarding is not a huge job and maybe being done so they can see advertising space on it - maybe FIFA ads?

 

[nightstreak]

They repaired and cleaned the ceilings of the Great Hall using a cherry-picker so I would assume it would be good for the lights and I think that the existing lights can actually be lowered from above to replace bulbs etc so maybe the new ones can be hoisted the same way.

The purchase of the new floor tiles was just approved (SEE: https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.GG26.28 ) so I doubt we will see work starting before late summer (6-8 months counts as 'soon' when dealing with governments!) . Repainting the hoarding is not a huge job and maybe being done so they can see advertising space on it - maybe FIFA ads?

It's crazy how so many projects in this city have been put on pause "until after the world cup", the opposite of what's supposed to happen with World Cups and other major international events that are meant to act as catalysts to get shit done in time. Not with Toronto it seems. Hopefully they can at least get the lighting done in time.

 

[DSCToronto]

It's crazy how so many projects in this city have been put on pause "until after the world cup", the opposite of what's supposed to happen with World Cups and other major international events that are meant to act as catalysts to get shit done in time. Not with Toronto it seems. Hopefully they can at least get the lighting done in time.

The tender for the floor tiles was just agreed so the tiles will certainly not be here or installed by FIFA. The lighting is, apparently, approved (or maybe only up for approval in the upcoming budget) but I have seen no tender call recently so I doubt that it will be done 'soon'. I think any FIFA related work is to get the streets clear of construction, not so much the beautification stuff!

 

[Red October]

Hopefully the new lighting will make it feel less dark in there. Even in the middle of the day it feels like nighttime in the Great Hall.

On another note, I know it's been talked about to death but taking the train into Union after a few years away just reminded me how awful the "heritage shed" is. Please for the love of god can we get rid of that thing and extend the glass canopy over the whole platforms? If we really want to keep some of it move it to a spot and let it cover a farmers market or something.

 

[WB62]

Reinventing travel between Toronto and Québec City

1. The Toronto–Québec City corridor under study The study corridor stretches nearly 1,000 kilometres between Québec City and Toronto, in a region that includes almost half of Canada’s population. This zone forms a band about 10 km wide, allowing us to explore various

en.consultation.altotrain.ca

The ALTO website now has information about the Toronto station location:

Arriving in Toronto presents challenges due to dense urban development. We are studying options to reach downtown from the north or theeast, using existing corridors or solutions such as tunnels or elevated tracks to reduce impacts.
For the Toronto station, several locations are being considered:

• Union Station and surrounding area: strong potential for connectivity and accessibility.
• Eastern site: close to public transit and the financial district.
• Western site: would lengthen travel time but bring the station closer to attractions like the CN Tower and Rogers Centre. 

In all cases, sites must provide sufficient space to accommodate the station.

According to an unverified source (which can be found in a post I made in the ALTO thread yesterday), the eastern site is supposedly at East Harbour GO.

 

[nightstreak]

the eastern site is supposedly at East Harbour GO.

That much has been clear when they said they were considering not going to Union Station.

It's almost certainly going to go to East Harbour if they can't make it to Union.

An eastern transit hub makes sense and it'll be connected by subway to downtown but I still feel that it'll be a cop out to avoid Union. Take the corridor and divert into a tunnel under the Dominion Building. It's just crying to become a transit building.

If that proves too complex, the parking garage on the Esplanade is right there, waiting to be re-developed and will be connected to Union via the CIBC bridge.

Like the Dominion Building, the building along the Esplanade that could become the façade for the Alto station also has a transit station type vibe and is tragically underused.

 

[Art Vandelay]

The problem isn't where do you put the station downtown. The problem is how do you get it downtown. Remember this line is being built through Peterborough to Ottawa because the existing rail line through Oshawa, Belleville, Kingston, has too much existing traffic to accommodate a highspeed rail line. No existing rail line corridor in Toronto can even begin to handle what they are proposing. You can't simply rip a new a path through a dense urban area like Toronto so what options do you have left? Elevated? Undergound? It is ridiculous that they are proceeding with this project without figuring this part out first.

 

[Milaisacat]

FWIW, if you feel strongly about Alto having its western terminus at Union Station, it would be worthwhile to make this opinion known through the current public engagement process.

Shaping the Canada of tomorrow with high-speed rail

The train we need Alto’s aim is to build the country’s first high-speed rail network that will run at speeds of 300 km/h or more to efficiently connect major cities in the Toronto–Québec City corridor. Fast, reliable and frequent: Alto will reinvent the way we travel

en.consultation.altotrain.ca

Fortunately, the three options noted for the station are as follows:

For the Toronto station, several locations are being considered:

• Union Station and surrounding area: strong potential for connectivity and accessibility.
• Eastern site: close to public transit and the financial district.
• Western site: would lengthen travel time but bring the station closer to attractions like the CN Tower and Rogers Centre. 

Edit: I didn't see WB62's post when I wrote this.

 

[Red October]

Option 4 - re-open Summerhill as a train station

 

[DSCToronto]

Option 4 - re-open Summerhill as a train station

They are (supposedly) building a 'fast train", if it ends far from the centre of any city on its route that station needs to be VERY well connected to an equally fast route to get there 'seamlessly". Not sure Summerhill fits the bill. Though I understand why they closed the train station in central Ottawa, having done so makes the train a less desirable option.

 

[Civdis]

Union or bust I mean come on, why are we even debating this. I know it may mean more cost in possibly having to tunnel, but this is a generational project, let's do it right. This comment is coming from a fiscal conservative btw.