Dupont Station accessibility project (TTC)

[AlbertC]

AKA Apple Fifth Avenue on a budget:

March 14, 2020

Ongoing interior work inside the station:

 

[whatever]

I give them credit for maintaining the yellow mullions on the new structure, but wish they'd also gotten yellow snap caps for the curved roof. That would be an easy fix, nothing $50 worth of spray paint couldn't fix.

And I hope the finishing on the mezzanine includes the curved details seen around the rest of the station. They should be able to apply that over the cinderblock, if they're inclined to do so. Dupont isn't my cup of tea, but they should at least try to maintain the existing style as much they can.

 

[AlbertC]

April 25, 2020

 

[AlbertC]

Aug 17, 2020

 

[AlbertC]

Aug 20, 2020

 

[W. K. Lis]

A lot better than Montreal's accessibility...

From link.

My parents visited Montreal for the first time four summers ago. One evening, I convinced them to walk and metro to dinner, one had a recent knee injury and the other had trouble taking stairs due to their hips. As we enthusiastically arrived at McGill metro’s Union entrance, we faced a design conundrum and had to change our plan. At that entrance, there was an escalator to come up to the ground but only stairs to access the metro station.

26% (18) of Montreal’s stations have at least one such entrance.
47% (32) have at least one entrance without an escalator.
76% (52) don’t yet have an elevator in at least one of their entrances.

4 years ago, my parents and I were standing by the door at the top of these flights of stairs, hungry and confused. At this entrance of McGill metro, there are 40 stair-steps to be precise, I found that by conducting an accessibility audit of all 68 stations of Montreal.

4 days — 4 lines — 68 stations — 8600+ stair-steps

I will be sharing with you an extensive design challenge, highlighting five odd structural obstacles in the Montreal metros, discussing implications and talking about a crowd-solving design event in October 2020. I aspire to live and thrive in a universally-accessible version of Montreal and to reach that level of accessibility, the first element is access to knowledge.

You may wonder, why didn’t we just walk over to another entrance of McGill metro. Three points: all four ground entrances/exits of McGill metro have the same format — an escalator to come up paired with 32, 38, 40, and 43 stair-steps to access the metro Terminal. Secondly, how can we ask someone with mobility concerns to put an extra effort to access a service that is supposed to assist them in accessing the city in the first place? Lastly, if somehow (empathize about their time, pain, energy, and self-esteem) they managed to get down those 32–43 stair-steps to then walk to the Terminal, they would have to take another 21 stair-steps to actually reach the McGill metro Platform to enter the train and then benefit from the priority seating marked and reserved for older people or anyone who could require a seat...

 

[Johnny Au]

It would be great if there were a flowerbed next to one of the entrances to Dupont station planted with the same flowers as the one depicted at platform level.

 

[AlbertC]

Sept 27, 2020

 

[reactx]

A bit concerned earlier about how this would turn out, but good to see the TTC match it well with the existing Dupont station domes.

 

[AlbertC]

Dupont Station is Now Accessible

September 30, 2020

Dupont Station is the newest TTC subway station to receive an upgrade to become accessible. Three new elevators connecting the street to concourse and subway platforms levels are now open for use. The new accessible TTC subway entrance/street-level elevator is located on the Southeast corner of Dupont St. and Spadina Rd.

Art was also an important component of this major station upgrade. As a part of the Dupont work, the TTC contacted the original artist, James Sutherland, who was first commissioned in 1977 to complete the glass mosaic tile mural entitled “Spadina Summer Under all Seasons”. His original work is installed at Dupont Station’s subway platform level. In 2020, James Sutherland was invited back to create a new public art concept, “The Force that through the Green Fuse drives the Flower”. The new mural will be installed in 2021 on the station’s Concourse level.

Other minor project related work will continue at the station. For further information you can read the TTC notice by clicking here.

Dupont Station is Now Accessible | Mike Layton

 

[junctionist]

A bit concerned earlier about how this would turn out, but good to see the TTC match it well with the existing Dupont station domes.

At first glance, it looks like they did a good job. I'm quite concerned about how they'll finish the cinder block walls inside the station, though. The original orange interior tiles are some of the best in the system.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

At first glance, it looks like they did a good job. I'm quite concerned about how they'll finish the cinder block walls inside the station, though. The original orange interior tiles are some of the best in the system.

I thought it turned out poorly. It had none of the delicacy of the original portal - the rhythm of the mullion is all wrong (original - equal width of the panes at the base; equal arc for the end quarter spheres); no attempt at curvature (and where they faked it - at the roof - it is done with the wrong material and bending down to an abrupt edge, a la porta-potty). It takes more than painting something the same colour to make it meaningful. They might not be able to afford curved glass - but the response to that isn't faking it and getting neither here nor there - but to take the fundamental cues and reinterpret it.

(Wikipedia)

AoD

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

The only silver lining here with this is that they tried to keep the same colour theme going...just.

 

[turini2]

Didn't know about the new public art planned here! Dupont Station is accessible – Easier Access Project Update

Public Art:​

Art is an important component of major station upgrades. As a part of this station upgrade work, TTC contacted the original artist, James Sutherland, who was first commissioned in 1977 to complete the glass mosaic tile mural entitled “Spadina Summer Under all Seasons". His original work is installed at Dupont Station’s subway platform level. In 2020, James Sutherland was invited back to create a new public art concept, “The Force that through the Green Fuse drives the Flower”. The new mural will be installed in 2021 on the station’s Concourse level​

​

 

[AlexBozikovic]

I thought it turned out poorly. It had none of the delicacy of the original portal - the rhythm of the mullion is all wrong (original - equal width of the panes at the base; equal arc for the end quarter spheres); no attempt at curvature (and where they faked it - at the roof - it is done with the wrong material and bending down to an abrupt edge, a la porta-potty). It takes more than painting something the same colour to make it meaningful. They might not be able to afford curved glass - but the response to that isn't faking it and getting neither here nor there - but to take the fundamental cues and reinterpret it.
(Wikipedia)

AoD

This is an agency that’s commissioned billions of dollars worth of extravagant architecture in the past decade. And they can’t get it right with the design of an elevator tower? After five years of work? It’s just embarrassing.