Toronto Spadina Subway Extension Emergency Exits | ?m | 1s | TTC | IBI Group

[AlvinofDiaspar]

My favourite. I wish we had more of these downtown but they were nicer looking like Paris or NYC. The concrete perimeter doesn't hold a candle to this

I like the aesthetics of it, but I find them to be wanting from a usability perspective - way too narrow, for one.

AoD

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

^I am not a big fan of station overbuild anywhere, TBH....but building "grand" stations downtown would likely be prohibitive from a cost point of view...land is so much scarcer and, as a result, more expensive.

I guess, in the remoter areas there are two aspects to the "grandness"...stations need to be noticed for people to get/accept/realize (whichever word works) that transit is there...and, I guess, from a creature comfort point of view the need to make transit attractive and "nice" to use is higher.

Still don't like it, but it is no surprise to me that the "grandness" is more to the outskirts than DT.

Not necessarily, the grandeur can/should be mostly underground since you are going to be building the station the existing right of way in the core area in any case, and there is really no need for extensive, pavilion styled entry points in most cases (though RL under Queen Street alignment may offer possibilities than cubbyholes - Queen/City Hall and Moss Park, potential given space availability).

AoD

 

[salsa]

I like the aesthetics of it, but I find them to be wanting from a usability perspective - way too narrow, for one.

AoD

The same is true for a lot of TTC entrances, even some of the new ones.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

The same is true for a lot of TTC entrances, even some of the new ones.

I tend to think the Union Station example is an exception - no secret TTC is moving away from these "slot entrances" where resources permit.

AoD

 

[christiesplits]

Re: Finch West Station

Due to cost cutting, this is the most recent render:

*Photo removed*
Source: BlogTO

 

[salsa]

I tend to think the Union Station example is an exception - no secret TTC is moving away from these "slot entrances" where resources permit.

AoD

I was gonna post a picture of Osgoode instead, but I couldn't find it. There are lots of other examples too especially along University.

 

[44 North]

My favourite. I wish we had more of these downtown but they were nicer looking like Paris or NYC. The concrete perimeter doesn't hold a candle to this

That is pretty nice. And I do like minimalist portals, whether classic or plain concrete. One I've always liked is Dupont. It has a Modernist look, it still offers enclosure but with a minimal surface footprint, and reminds me of something from SimCity2000. I'm sure it'd cost a lot less than Hwy 407 station, which when doing a quick google image search of "airport + terminal" looks to be a smaller replica of Kuwait Int'l.

credit where it's due.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I was gonna post a picture of Osgoode instead, but I couldn't find it. There are lots of other examples too especially along University.

Plus the awful one at Carlton and worse, Dundas.

AoD

 

[salsa]

Re: Finch West Station

Due to cost cutting, this is the most recent render:

Source: BlogTO

Not true. This was debunked about a year ago in this thread. And according to your very same source:

"Correction: According to TTC spokesperson Brad Ross, the original station design stands despite the updated renderings from Will Alsop's architecture firm."

 

[salsa]

Plus the awful one at Carlton and worse, Dundas.

AoD

Oh absolutely. But at least the Dundas one will be rebuilt inside the Atrium at Bay when it gets renovated, unless plans have changed.

 

[44 North]

Plus the awful one at Carlton and worse, Dundas.

AoD

The one at Carlton is probably the worst...but at the same time, I love it. I'm used to it, and it is what it is: a grimy dingy stairwell into a cramped subterranean station. As long as I don't slip on the dirty slush while descending and get covered in said grime, I'm fine with it. It's urban Toronto. And plus, it's a helluva lot easier than navigating through College Park.

 

[gweed123]

I preferred the old one on the NE corner of Dundas & Yonge to the maze you have to go through now to make that same trip. IMO, the entrance on the SE corner of Carlton & Yonge is how it should be. Built into the adjacent structure, but still easy to access from street level, without having to walk through a mall (and freakishly narrow escalators) to get there. SW corner of Queen & Yonge would be another example.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

The one at Carlton is probably the worst...but at the same time, I love it. I'm used to it, and it is what it is: a grimy dingy stairwell into a cramped subterranean station. As long as I don't slip on the dirty slush while descending and get covered in said grime, I'm fine with it. It's urban Toronto. And plus, it's a helluva lot easier than navigating through College Park.

Neither are great, but Dundas get special scorn given the generally gawdawful, cluttered state of the station, the dicey crowds and how the entrance squeezes the sidewalk to nil (which is invariably blocked by fools chatting/texting on their cell before they lose their signal)

AoD

 

[TOareaFan]

The one at Carlton is probably the worst...but at the same time, I love it. I'm used to it, and it is what it is: a grimy dingy stairwell into a cramped subterranean station. As long as I don't slip on the dirty slush while descending and get covered in said grime, I'm fine with it. It's urban Toronto. And plus, it's a helluva lot easier than navigating through College Park.

and anyone old enough to have used it to get to Leaf games at the Gardens can't help but have fond memories of the crush of bodies and the increasing noise levels as you ascended to the street!

 

[nfitz]

Oh absolutely. But at least the Dundas one will be rebuilt inside the Atrium at Bay when it gets renovated, unless plans have changed.

Is that a good thing? I'll use that one if I can, because you can get out of it quickly. On the east side, I use the one for Dundas Square instead of in the building in the NE corner (whatever it's called this week) because it's quicker to get out of.

If I'm catching a 506 eastbound from College station, I typically come out the stairs at the SE corner because it's faster than the longer walk out of College Park.