Toronto Ontario Line 3 | ?m | ?s
- Thread starter JasonParis
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gibsonm
Active Member
I don’t understand why Metrolinx chose that exact location to build the station. That intersection is already a thriving centrepiece to the King West neighborhood. Just up the road is the derelict intersection of Queen and Bathurst. I’m sure no tears would be shed over the Pizza Pizza being turned into an entrance. The two former bank buildings at King and Bathurst deserve full preservation.
tsm1072
Active Member
Your second sentence answered your first. Having strong transit access to King West is important in the long term. It is unfortunate that some buildings will have to be demolished, but the long-term benefits are worth it.
syn
Senior Member
I think this group is focused on a particular issue though. In that context the name makes sense.
syn
Senior Member
Is the plan really to demolish them though? The presentation seems to make it clear they'll be retained.
Or is the issue that they won't be fully preserved as-is?
crs1026
Senior Member
^According to the City's Heritage Register Interactive map, three quadrants of Queen-Bathurst and three quadrants of King-Bathurst are all either Listed or Designated as Heritage properties. All of Queen east of Bathurst is part of a Heritage Conservation District, and all of Queen west of Bathurst is under study as a potential Heritage Conservation District.
- Paul
- Paul
gibsonm
Active Member
Yes, but the southwest and northeast corners of Queen and Bathurst could use upgrades. Three of the four corners of King and Bathurst are quite intact historic structures, including the critically important Wheat Sheaf. The remaining northwest corner is a condo building that can’t really be converted.
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W. K. Lis
Superstar
junctionist
Senior Member
While not like the "ruins" of Rome, Italy, Metrolinx will likely have to build around and incorporate the old buildings into the Ontario Line stations.
From link.
It's not like we've never done that before. With that said, the idea absolutely should not be to preserve the building merely for use as a station entrance and to leave the rest dilapidated. Notice the plywood in the second floor windows in the Street View imagery. It's been that way for at least 4 years.
Preservation is a must, but I think the Kendall Avenue entrance to Spadina Station is unfortunate. I don't think the house has been used for anything besides a subway entrance for decades. As of 2007, it apparently needed over $100,000 in repairs to be used as an apartment.
I suspect it needs to be gutted. No one is going to spend that kind of money to live in it as a tenant. But the house should be renovated and reused for more than just an entrance if practical. The location and building are amazing. It should be an apartment, condo, or office, provided that noise and vibrations don't make the house uninhabitable.
syn
Senior Member
If Boston could figure out how to integrate a subway stop into the Old State House, I'd like to think we could figure something out for these buildings.
Allandale25
Senior Member
Tonight's presentation for the OL meeting happening right now.
Allandale25
Senior Member
Not the biggest turnout but the complete crowd size isn't shown in this picture I guess.
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Johnny Au
Senior Member
...or Mexico City:While not like the "ruins" of Rome, Italy, Metrolinx will likely have to build around and incorporate the old buildings into the Ontario Line stations.
From link.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
daniel_kryz
Active Member
To be fair, they're protesting the fact that the Yonge North Subway Extension to Richmond Hill was supposed to run under Yonge St, but will now run under their neighbourhoods. What I'm worried about is that there were supposed to be way more stations along the extension. Langstaff station was removed, and now people have to choose between keeping either Royal Orchard or Cummer/Drewry. It's a big disappointment and will hurt the extension's ridership and ease-of-access. But on the other hand, it'll save money to run some of the alignment along the rail corridor and there is significant planning by the cities of Richmond Hill & Markham to create great communities under this alignment.
Steve X
Senior Member
Honestly ridership in York Region is going to be very low except for the commuter rush at Richmond Hill Centre. Most of the ridership would be fed in from buses or driven to the parking lot. I am pretty sure they could have built an express subway between Steeles and Highway 7 and less people would be inconvenienced than the John Tory version of the Express Scarborough subway.
The subway extension isn't designed to be part of the York Region transit network but instead as an convivence for York Region to get to Toronto. The TYSSE fare structure is designed for exactly that. Since Toronto taxpayers are paying up for the subway in York Region, I don't expect anything to change unless the subsidizer changes. If someone is traveling from Clark Station to Newmarket, they won't be pleased to have to pay for both TTC and YRT fares unlike VIVA today. This isn't making it better unless Queen's Park steps in.