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

EastYorkTTCFan said:
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.
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This is a Guimard metro entrance in Paris (there's one in Montreal as well). I realize that this is for a non-accessible entrance, but perhaps some semblance of this can be designed for an accessible entrance. That would be more in tune with this corner.

Métro_Père_Lachaise_sous_la_neige_01.jpg

Source: Wikimedia Commons
 
I do not think that anyone is suggesting an open air sidewalk entrance to the OL here. The Star reo=pport referred to above stated:

"Earlier on Tuesday, the city’s planning and housing committee declined to approve a routine zoning change to facilitate construction of the station after hearing from residents and city staff who expressed concerns about the plan’s negative impact on the landmark property, green space and urban tree cover. The Law Society of Ontario, which co-owns Osgoode Hall with the Ontario government, was among those objecting.

The committee voted to ask staff to go back to Metrolinx and discuss potential alternative designs, including a proposal to remove northbound traffic lanes on University to create a pedestrian plaza west of Osgoode Hall where the station entrance could be built.

But Metrolinx showed no signs of changing plans Tuesday. In a statement, agency spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said the northeast corner of University and Queen is the best site for the station entrance because it would allow for direct transfers with streetcar service, have better pedestrian flows, and avoid conflicts with other buildings and infrastructure in the area.

She said Metrolinx has reviewed the plaza option but determined it would still require disturbing Osgoode Hall grounds. That’s because even if the subway entrance is moved westward, the station itself will still need to be built under the corner of Osgoode Hall to avoid the Line 1 subway."
 
Edward Skira said:
So build it underneath and re-sod it when done.
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It's not that sod than anyone is concerned with; it's the removal of a couple of the very large decades-old (or older) trees; and the historically protected fence.
 
The fence can be put back in. And new trees can grow. We'll all be gone and the infrastructure will remain. Short term pain for long term gain.
 
Edward Skira said:
The fence can be put back in. And new trees can grow. We'll all be gone and the infrastructure will remain. Short term pain for long term gain.
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Short-term is relative; those trees are 4-6 storeys tall. Give or take, about 50 years to get back to that height.

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For clarity, no one is suggesting not having the Ontario Line; or not having a station interchange at Osgoode in order to save these.

Rather, the suggestion is that a slight relocation of the proposed entrance exit would greatly reduce or eliminate the damage.

A cursory review of the options open to Mx suggests to me this is feasible, and we're only really discussing money and time required to modify the plans. There is ample time as excavation will not begin here in the next several months, if not longer.
 
Northern Light said:
View attachment 406892

Short-term is relative; those trees are 4-6 storeys tall. Give or take, about 50 years to get back to that height.

***

For clarity, no one is suggesting not having the Ontario Line; or not having a station interchange at Osgoode in order to save these.

Rather, the suggestion is that a slight relocation of the proposed entrance exit would greatly reduce or eliminate the damage.

A cursory review of the options open to Mx suggests to me this is feasible, and we're only really discussing money and time required to modify the plans. There is ample time as excavation will not begin here in the next several months, if not longer.
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I just realized, any chance the trees may actually be younger than the University line?
 
11th said:
I just realized, any chance the trees may actually be younger than the University line?
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I don't believe so.

I'm just skimming photos from the Archives.

This is the corner (looking from the north to the south) in 1979.

Those trees look a lot older than 16 years to me (University line dates from '63)

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Nah, I've tracked two of them back to 1975 now:

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I just misplaced the photo link ....grr............

That really scraggly looking large one there was a decent sized tree in 1958............so pre-University line........and more than 90 years old for sure.
 
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Glad you keep raising the University Park issue, @AlexBozikovic. I was really hopeful that University Park and Rail Deck Park (in some form) could be built. Will be quite depressing if both fail to pan out.
 
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Don't hold your breath expecting the City of Toronto to intervene here. The only things John Tory would chain himself to are (a) big business interests and (b) outmoded ideas from the past.
 
So they are proposing to remove the centre medium on U Ave. and have the station entrance jut out like that? Why not just relocate it to the centre medium as sorta suggested up top?
 
UtakataNoAnnex said:
So they are proposing to remove the centre medium on U Ave. and have the station entrance jut out like that? Why not just relocate it to the centre medium as sorta suggested up top?
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believe the response from MX was the foot traffic and the construction impacts would make it harder to build
 
The alternative version of the entrance, which saves the trees and enhances the public realm seems like such a no-brainer. I can't believe there's even controversy about it. It achieves Metrolinx's aims of maximizing the accessibility of the entrance and facilitating connections with surface transit. It also preserves some amazing features of our public realm.

The cost of building the plaza is like pennies in the greater scheme of things with a multi-billion dollar infrastructure project (that will directly benefit the city.) If the trees are cut, we won't see such trees again in our lifetime at that location, particularly if Metrolinx fills in the area around the excavation with construction fill. Even with ideal soil conditions, which is highly unlikely post-construction, there's no chance we'll see that much tree growth in our lifetimes.

I think the city should be prepared to pay the costs of a high-quality plaza, and Metrolinx should be prepared to build the entrance at the city's preferred location in this case. Government agencies need to working together within their realms of expertise. Metrolinx's responsibility isn't to be building plazas and parks. It also shouldn't be telling the city it opposes closing a lane of traffic for a plaza. That's none of its business.
 
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