Toronto Ontario Line: Osgoode Station | ?m | 1s | Metrolinx | HDR

I wonder if they can be transplanted. Every effort should be made to save them.

SLOCRO said:
More than a dozen mature trees, some of which are probably 100 years old if not more, in downtown Toronto, will be cut down for this?! An Apple store? An urban planning travesty.

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From the Ontario Heritage Trust:

"The. Law Society grounds consist of the land south of the principal facade [of Osgoode Hall] to Queen Street and west to University Avenue. This area with cobblestone driveway and landscaped lawns laid out by John G. Howard, architect and City Engineer, in 1843. It is partly enclosed by an ornate cast iron fence with six baffles, attributed to William Storm, cast by the St. Lawrence Foundry of Toronto, installed in 1866, and extended by a brick fence."

Re. Osgoode Hall from the Federal Directory of Heritage Designations:

"Contextual elements: its formal setting, including the grassed lawn with Y-shaped walkways and traditional plantings, the decorative wrought iron fence along the perimeter of the property, and the Victorian, wrought-iron entrance gate; the presence, design and material of the wrought-iron fence; viewscapes of the building from the street; features establishing its landmark status within the urban environment, including its axial location heading York Street, its low height in a dense environment, the enclosure of its grounds, and the extent of open land around the building."
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These are notional renderings, not actual designs - there is nothing to suggest committment to a level of excellence that would even approach that of Apple stores.

AoD
 
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Perhaps design the entrance to something more sympathetic to Osgoode Hall / the fence - more Guimard style than bland 21st century TTC style.
 
Rascacielo said:
Perhaps design the entrance to something more sympathetic to Osgoode Hall / the fence - more Guimard style than bland 21st century TTC style.
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From the looks of it it does fit in well with it. I'm not sure what design you are looking at but the ones posted have a partial fence around it unfortunately we can't do the ones that they have to prevent cattle from entering the grounds because everyone has to be able to access it.
 
When I first saw the renderings for the placement of the north east station entrance on that corner, I really bemoaned the intrusion onto a space that has become something of an urban oasis around the majestic Osgoode Hall. I will grieve the loss of those beautiful old trees, but the only thing worse than the loss of that green canopy and that section of historic cow fencing(c'mon, do you really think they'll put it back afterwards?) would be the relocation of the entrance pavilion onto the northbound lanes of University Avenue itself as is now being proposed. Marring the sightlines of University Avenue, which is arguably one of this country's finest and rarest boulevards, would be a travesty. Trees can be replanted and given time will grow back, but if this harebrained proposal somehow gets approved, it will be with us forever. I can already hear future generations of Torontonians saying "what the hell were they thinking back then?".
 
EastYorkTTCFan said:
I don't think it's going to change anything as far as I know it's the property of the Ontario Law Society and they have most likely given Metrolink permission to build it on their land.
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You really need to read the things you are replying to before commenting. The Law Society of Upper Canada/Ontario have not given permission and are opposed to what is proposed. The Province has (or is in the process of) expropriation.
 
DSC said:
You really need to read the things you are replying to before commenting. The Law Society of Upper Canada/Ontario have not given permission and are opposed to what is proposed. The Province has (or is in the process of) expropriation.
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Kinda hard to do when it's behind a paywall...

....that said, are they planning of ripping up the whole property, buildings and all, to install this? Or they just altering those corners as picted in the renders? The latter would be most certainly be a cause for concern, the former not so much so...least from a layperson's perspective.
 
Hmm. Is this a vista we're willing to sacrifice the Osgoode Hall fence and trees for? University Avenue if famously a mediocre implementation of the idea of the grand boulevard. I don't think dropping a well designed one-story pavilion into this picture would be a crime against design. The plan calls for a plaza where these lanes would be, and presumably if you're in it perhaps you are at the opera or enjoying lunch. I think you be more interested in the opera house than consternated by the fact you can only see the top half of Queen's Park. By contrast the plaza along Osgoode Hall would have views you could enjoy from as a pedestrian or lounger-about, not just a driver.

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The corner space is such an under-utilized area, that this is really much ado about nothing.
BUT as I've said before I don't understand why on this particular corner there needs to be a pavilion at all. For decades the stairway in the sidewalk has been just fine. Maybe there is a creative way to amend that? Does every single corner need some grandiose entrance?
 
longfortheoldview said:
The corner space is such an under-utilized area, that this is really much ado about nothing.
BUT as I've said before I don't understand why on this particular corner there needs to be a pavilion at all. For decades the stairway in the sidewalk has been just fine. Maybe there is a creative way to amend that? Does every single corner need some grandiose entrance?
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Likely cause of accessibility entrance, need room for elevators and utilities.
 
I think this issue was gone over a few weeks ago, and someone cited the need for more capacity at the exits because of there now being 2 lines - code issues. Having no elevators at the streetcar stop is not going to get off the ground.
 
longfortheoldview said:
The corner space is such an under-utilized area, that this is really much ado about nothing.
BUT as I've said before I don't understand why on this particular corner there needs to be a pavilion at all. For decades the stairway in the sidewalk has been just fine. Maybe there is a creative way to amend that? Does every single corner need some grandiose entrance?
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As others have said, it's not accessible to someone in a wheelchair at all. This is supposed to be the main entrance to the Ontario Line. Based on the renderings, the pavilion is most likely to have 2 elevators, which is now the standard for accessibility on new transit lines (every station in Ottawa has redundant elevators, as an example). Those will most likely access both the Line 1 and OL concourses. An entrance with just stairs cannot do that. The current accessible entrance cannot access the OL concourse, unless we tear it apart and make Osgoode station inaccessible for years.

Plus the TTC clearly does not like street entrances anymore anyway, as they have been moving to have more and more of them removed and replaced with ones integrated into buildings (St Patrick Station being the best example, although they are working on removing the Northwest street entrance at Dundas as well), as the street stairs are health and safety disasters in the winter. And yes, this is a Metrolinx project, but this is one area where it seems both agencies seem to agree, in that sidewalk-based walk-down entrances are not ideal anymore.
 
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