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

[Michael62]

Finally, two shots of the Train Shed with it's mostly completed white roof. I've been watching them dilly dally with this for almost 10 years now. The last thing to go on top of this white waterproofing coat will be the green roof planting boxes. Hopefully, this will get done before autumn

 

[DSC]

Welcome back!

 

[raptor]

Finally, two shots of the Train Shed with it's mostly completed white roof. I've been watching them dilly dally with this for almost 10 years now. The last thing to go on top of this white waterproofing coat will be the green roof planting boxes. Hopefully, this will get done before autumn

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Welcome back Michael! Your updates were missed. Just a quick comment that the green roof was cancelled. In its place, there will be some sort of public art.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

Welcome back Michael! Your updates were missed. Just a quick comment that the green roof was cancelled. In its place, there will be some sort of public art.

Which is an insanely stupid decision. Was really looking forward to the green roof.

 

[Michael62]

Which is an insanely stupid decision. Was really looking forward to the green roof.

I'm sorry to hear about that. The green roof would solve the leaking roof in the Bay Street team way

 

[mdrejhon]

I'm sorry to hear about that. The green roof would solve the leaking roof in the Bay Street team way

I think unfortunate decision had to do with 25,000 volt catenary being directly underneath damp gardens.

They really should have gone with furrows of angled victorian glass, to enhance the heritage shed.

 

[EnviroTO]

Welcome back Michael! Your updates were missed. Just a quick comment that the green roof was cancelled. In its place, there will be some sort of public art.

What??? I can't believe I missed this news. The green roof was key to the whole thing!

I think unfortunate decision had to do with 25,000 volt catenary being directly underneath damp gardens.

That doesn't make sense because the purpose of a green roof is to reduce storm runoff and the urban heat island. Nobody waters a green roof and the rain that falls is going to fall regardless. There would be less water to impact the catenary.


Who decided this??

 

[mdrejhon]

That doesn't make sense because the purpose of a green roof is to reduce storm runoff and the urban heat island. Nobody waters a green roof and the rain that falls is going to fall regardless. There would be less water to impact the catenary.

Who decided this??

Beats me. But green roofs still require occasional maintenance (humans to walk on them). Perhaps their worry was irrational. I don't know.

Nontheless, I would have preferred victorian-glasshouse furrows instead of a flat opaque roof. Better views of CN tower and saves on lighting too. And likely safer during the day with sunlit illumination -- train drivers having difficulty adjusting quickly to dark -- when driving train from sunny outdoors driving train into currently-dark shed -- and sometimes having difficulty seeing crowd-spill in the dark after being sun-blinded.

No green garden. No glass. I look forward to Union revitalization's endgame except for... the utilitarian shed. A missed opportunity indeed.

 

[Toronto1834]

Part of the old rusting roof structure is still in place under the new glass atrium supporting some signals. There does not appear to have been any progress on it in over a year. Very ugly. Anyone know when they plan to replace it with a new signal structure or tear down the remaining part of the old roof?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Part of the old rusting roof structure is still in place under the new glass atrium supporting some signals. There does not appear to have been any progress on it in over a year. Very ugly. Anyone know when they plan to replace it with a new signal structure or tear down the remaining part of the old roof?

I think they have been removing the structure *very* slowly.

AoD

 

[raptor]

Part of the old rusting roof structure is still in place under the new glass atrium supporting some signals. There does not appear to have been any progress on it in over a year. Very ugly. Anyone know when they plan to replace it with a new signal structure or tear down the remaining part of the old roof?

Work on the new signal structures is ongoing. I believe all new signal masts are in place, awaiting the actual signals. tear down should follow

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Beats me. But green roofs still require occasional maintenance (humans to walk on them). Perhaps their worry was irrational. I don't know.

Nontheless, I would have preferred victorian-glasshouse furrows instead of a flat opaque roof. Better views of CN tower and saves on lighting too. And likely safer during the day with sunlit illumination -- train drivers having difficulty adjusting quickly to dark -- when driving train from sunny outdoors driving train into currently-dark shed -- and sometimes having difficulty seeing crowd-spill in the dark after being sun-blinded.

No green garden. No glass. I look forward to Union revitalization's endgame except for... the utilitarian shed. A missed opportunity indeed.

They spent the past 8 years fixing a shed that - other than the central atrium - is starting to look exactly like the shed before the renovation. I believe they have achieved the heritage preservation goal of replicating a sh*tty transportation experience - or was that a bug, not a feature?

AoD

 

[steveintoronto]

^It's depressing. But at least the shed before was that way because of age and neglect. It was understandable depressive. What's there now is expensive, modern hopeless depressive.

I've run into one of Toronto's most noted architectural journalists a number of times on the Spadina car this last week. We have some excellent albeit limited time discussions, and something he said first time we met resonates with me, haunts me actually, it's so true, and this is a prime case of it: "Sometimes Toronto is its own worst enemy"

 

[raptor]

Removal of the old steel structures under the central atrium has commenced

 

[DSC]

For Executive Committee next week:

http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2018.EX36.13