Subway access from the street...

[wonderboy416]

I've been navigating my way through Seoul's crazy subway system (just google image search it to see how insane it is) and have been most impressed by one thing Toronto doesn't seem to have (well about a dozen or so things we don't have in TO)... multiple entrances for each Subway station.

What I mean is, every subway station I've been to here (about 40 in total, yeah I've been busy) has at least 4 exits to the street, some have up to 16! They are all clearly marked and numbered and very easy to navigate. If there's a subway station at an intersection every corner of the intersection (which can be up to 6 as Seoul does not have a traditional street grid) will always have a subway entrance. A subway station is such a huge investment, why not spend a few more bucks when building them to put in entrances so pedestrians aren't all cramming down the same one or two stairwells? This also eliminates the crush of pedestrians waiting to cross through a busy intersection at peak hours. Also this saves a lot of walking outdoors in the cold weather as subway stations are quite large making it possible to dabble entrances far apart above grade... keep in mind this would require larger subway stations for the TTC underground, Seoul remedies this by filling them up with retailers (cell phone stands, body shop type places, market type vendors) and is a god-send in this bitter cold weather we're having.

Do any TTC subway stations do this? Even Yonge and Bloor only connects at the street level twice as well as underground.
I guess this would be considered a luxury upgrade to make but why not start building them this way to begin with?

 

[CityPlaceN1]

Many do. King, Queen, Dundas have 4 or more exits to the street for example.

 

[threnody]

If you count the PATH, then Union, St. Andrew, Osgoode, King, Queen and Dundas each have dozens of entrances and exits with a ton of shops...and why shouldn't you? Same thing for College station and College Park.

 

[drum118]

Many do. King, Queen, Dundas have 4 or more exits to the street for example.

It should be most of the system have 2 exit at best except the section between College and Queen Park that have 4 exit.

By 2020, all stations will have 3 or 4 exit for fire code reasons.

At the same time, most 4 exit only 2 main feeder area to the concourse and that is a major problem now as how fast you can move riders in/out of the stations. If we are to add as many riders to the Yonge line as plan.

How are you going to move them without another true fare stations.

You need more than 2 exit from the platform to allow for faster clearing.

 

[Observer Walt]

Relatively few TTC stations have more than two entry / exit points, and many still have only one, which is a serious fire hazard among other things. Yonge and Eglinton stands out as one of the very few stations with exits to all four corners at a major intersection, but more could have been done at almost every station in Toronto. Wonderboy's comments about Seoul remind me more of the Montreal system, with walkways (admittedly sometimes a bit long) running under streets.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

Hong Kong's MTR system also has multiple exits. Any entrance that guides you to a station is marked with an exit letter and number (Letter for vicinity, number for exact exit). So if a store is near Exit A-3, for example, people can follow the signage to the exit letter area, which then has more specific signage for the exact exit. It's quite logical and efficient.

 

[wyliepoon]

^ Just to illustrate the point, here's the station map for Tsim Sha Tsui station on the MTR. Note that the map indicates the exit to take to get to local points of interest. Exit letters are commonly quoted in advertisements for stores or restaurants near MTR stations. When I'm in Hong Kong, sometimes I am told to meet a friend at a certain exit in a station.

On Google Maps of Asian cities, the maps show where the entrances to subway stations are, and in some cases, the outline of the station is shown on the maps as well.

 

[BobBob]

Shinjuku Station in Tokyo (where several subway lines intersect with several more private suburban and inter-city railways) has over 200 exits! It's a bit of an unfair comparison, as it's really a number of stations in one, but it's amazing to witness the maze of underground and above-ground passages from the various parts of the huge station complex.

BTW, Eglinton Station is another station in Toronto with exits on all 4 corners, plus more indoor connections to shopping malls (YEC to the north and Canada Square to the south).

 

[Archivist]

I will testify that the Asian practice of numbering their exits from stops is fantastic! It really helps navigate and give directions.

Of course, once you are on the street, since almost no buildings have street numbers, you can't find anything anyways just about ever, but you can get out of the best exit from the subway with which to become subsequently lost.

 

[wonderboy416]

It's good to know I'm not the only one finding it a much better way to navigate (and meet people, "hey lets meet at exit 5") over here. Even without so many exits the TTC could at least number then.

Here's a map showing a few subway stops, Jongo (4 stops from where I am) has no transfers or connecting lines yet look at the surface entrances, if this were done TTC style there would be 2 or at most 3 all on the same intersection.