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

[Leo_Chan]

I am trying to figure out how to transfer from VMC station to get to Vaughan Mills, i looked at the York transit map but it does not appear there is direct bus connection - bus 26 is the closest but its market as rush hour service only.

You should take route 20 outside of rush hour, which stops on Jane St rather than Millway Ave.

Dec 17

You should have shown the connection from Viva station to Subway.

Are you audibly shivering throughout your videos?

I noticed that too

 

[TheTigerMaster]

I was able for what every reason, to shoot a video between stations, as well arriving at VMC, since the driver door was open. Seeing a train only about 100 feet in front of us at VMC shows how close trains can get to each other using ATO.

Neat. I didn't know ATO was yet activated. Has TTC reactivated ATO for the Dupont to Wilson stretch yet?

Most train after I arrived at VMC were close to peak load going both ways.

What time was this? I was on TYSSE between 7 am and 10:30 AM and the trains were carrying just small loads

 

[TheTigerMaster]

View attachment 130430

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The good

It's a subway! Got me to Vaughan in record time.

The bad

407 may as well have been outside for how cold it was at the platform.

VMC's transfer box was giving transfers with the time 12 hours offset (e.g. 12:30 am instead of pm)

The ugly

Sheppard West (nee Downsview) looks better at 21 years old than any of the new stations except for possibly VMC.

I have a soft spot for corten and really wanted to like Pioneer Village, but the bare concrete saddle and the baffling PA box room puts this one at the bottom for me. Ditto the concrete at York U -- completely the wrong kind for the brutalism look. The platform is having efflorescence issues already.

Thanks for sharing. Your photos make the stations look even more impressive than when I saw them in person!

I would not be surprised to see the Finch West platform in particular used as an example of excellent transit architecture.

It's a shame that the Crosstown LRT won't look anywhere as nice as these. Shame on you, Metrolinx!

 

[Juan_Lennon416]

Metrolinx is treating the Crosstown LRT like a streetcar line .

I could even see the grand opening of that line as a boring celebration.

 

[drum118]

Neat. I didn't know ATO was yet activated. Has TTC reactivated ATO for the Dupont to Wilson stretch yet?
What time was this? I was on TYSSE between 7 am and 10:30 AM and the trains were carrying just small loads

I got to VMC after 10 and my train was haft empty and most of the platforms were empty. As I started going south by station after 12, the trains and platforms were pack. The trains that were a minute behind the one in front of it north were about haft loads.

When I left Pioneer Village around 3, it was standing room only going south.

As for ATO, I was told it was in service from Dupont to VMC for sometime since the extension is only ATO. The last line closure was to bring Wilson area on line.

 

[maxt797]

You should take route 20 outside of rush hour, which stops on Jane St rather than Millway Ave.

oh, i missed that - this one requires short walk i see. I work at the mills until 9pm, sometimes leave 10:30 - tomorrow will try first time. thanks

 

[Leo_Chan]

oh, i missed that - this one requires short walk i see. I work at the mills until 9pm, sometimes leave 10:30 - tomorrow will try first time. thanks

You might want to take it at/to Highway 407 or Pioneer Village, as the route actually stops at those terminals.

 

[speedkar9]

I had a chance to spend quite some time touring the six stations today. Here are my observations and questions:

- Southbound trains are marked "FINCH". Its easy to confuse FINCH with FINCH WEST. I had to think twice if my southbound train from Pioneer Village was going to short turn at FINCH WEST...

- 407 is the most grande and beautiful of all the stations. However I think its a waste of money to have such a large station there. It would be nice to have this for Union station!
The station is huge, it takes a long time to walk from the parking lot to the station, and then more to get to the trains below or buses above. Passengers heading for the street (i.e. the cemetery across the street haha) - good luck trying to navigate out of there while walking. Its meant for cars only.

- The entrance to 407 and Pioneer Village station parking is a stone throw away under the bridge. I guess if you can't find parking at 407, your sure to find it at Pioneer Village. However there was no signage for the driveway entrance to Pioneer Village at Jane south of the train tracks. How's someone supposed to know there's parking there?

-Downsview Park is also quite grande and wasteful. Sure its great to connect to the GO station, but there isn't much around it. The east entrance is a joke...you get out and go where exactly? Sit on the grass? A lot of other people were wondering the same thing, only to turn around and go back inside.

- Station Spacing: VMC, 407, Pioneer, York and Finch West are all reasonably spaced for a suburban subway. Its not too far apart (ala Sheppard Subway). I feel like I can almost see Pioneer Village from the York U platform. What's the stop to stop spacing on this extension?

- Having the YRT stop at the north end of Vaughan Metropolitian Center and the Viva stop in the middle of Hwy 7 is far from each other. What if someone wanted to transfer between Viva and YRT? That's a lot of walking in the cold...and there's no underground path to the Smart Center.

- "Vaughan Metropolitian Center" is a mouthful. But I noticed the trains just write "Vaughan" station.

- Same can be said about transferring from YRT way at the north end of Pioneer Village to a TTC bus at the south end. Its a long walk across the street or go down to platform level to cross over.

- The curves on the subway line are very long and gentle. I stood up the entire ride without the need to hold onto a railing or grab handle in the train. Can't say that about the downtown stretch!

- Any news on new development at the NE corner of Sheppard and Allen, and NE corner of Keele & Finch now that the subway tunnels are complete? Its great to see Keele and Finch back to its original state after a decade. Do you think they're going to touch NE Keele and Finch before the LRT is put in?

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I found this quite amusing as well, the two most expensive stations on the extension are the two most overbuilt, grande, and will be the least used. There even seemed to be less tourists in the 407 and Downsview Park stations than there were touring the other 4 stops.

Overall I'm in agreement with the size and design of VMC, Pioneer, York, and Finch West because they are sized appropriately for their projected use, given the area.

Dropped someone off at the 407 station......signage needs a lot of work.....no entry signs at such awkward angles they actually encourage you to drive into the areas that you are not supposed to be in.

I agree! I got lost looking for the parking lot at 407. The roundabouts and intersections are very confusing. I can imagine if the station were to get busy that it would narrow all the traffic toward the west (back) of the parking lot as they exit. They also need to plow and salt that parking lot, there's a lot of slippery ice/snow.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but are all the new TTC bus platforms outside of the fare-paid area? Interesting change, makes sense with the move to Presto.

I had trouble understanding this at Finch West Station. The Four Winds drive extension does not have any signage for inbound pedestrians or those coming from the PPUDO/parking lot warning not to enter the bus terminal.

As a matter of fact, how are you supposed to get from the parking to Finch West Station? I thought there'd be an underground link (as with other PPUDO in the system) or at least a covered canopy or marked pathway...? There isn't even a bus shelter for you to stand while waiting for your ride.

Emergency exits: I noticed there's an exit between Pioneer Village and 407 underground. But I can't find where it is on the maps above ground. Any pointers?

Sheppard West (old Downsview) still looks quite modern for its age, I actually like the platform level more than the utilitarian concrete look of the extension's other platform levels.

Today was quite a cold day. All the stations in general were very cold inside, 407 the most so. Are the stations supposed to be heated, or just the trains?

 

[Leo_Chan]

Having the YRT stop at the north end of Vaughan Metropolitian Center and the Viva stop in the middle of Hwy 7 is far from each other. What if someone wanted to transfer between Viva and YRT? That's a lot of walking in the cold...and there's no underground path to the Smart Center.

There is an underground connection through the TTC station, without going into the TTC fare paid area, but not to Walmart of course.

The entrance to 407 and Pioneer Village station parking is a stone throw away under the bridge. I guess if you can't find parking at 407, your sure to find it at Pioneer Village. However there was no signage for the driveway entrance to Pioneer Village at Jane south of the train tracks. How's someone supposed to know there's parking there?

Emergency exits: I noticed there's an exit between Pioneer Village and 407 underground. But I can't find where it is on the maps above ground. Any pointers?

Here (and you drew the road wrong):

 

[WillTo]

Looks like the escalators need some tweaking - they were tripping off regularly - but there were maintenance people on scene.

I honestly thought they were intentionally shutting them down at VMC because it was a zoo upstairs.

 

[speedkar9]

There is an underground connection through the TTC station, without going into the TTC fare paid area, but not to Walmart of course.

Is it from the same tunnel that leads to the KPMG building, etc? I saw that entrance at the mezzanine level.

Here (and you drew the road wrong):
View attachment 130541

Thanks
Seems like I drew the bus only road.
The emergency exit is pretty close to the station box isn't it?

 

[DKsan]

-Downsview Park is also quite grande and wasteful. Sure its great to connect to the GO station, but there isn't much around it. The east entrance is a joke...you get out and go where exactly? Sit on the grass? A lot of other people were wondering the same thing, only to turn around and go back inside.

- Having the YRT stop at the north end of Vaughan Metropolitian Center and the Viva stop in the middle of Hwy 7 is far from each other. What if someone wanted to transfer between Viva and YRT? That's a lot of walking in the cold...and there's no underground path to the Smart Center.

There are plans to gently intensify the lands around Downsview Park Station.

For VMC, there's a knock-out wall on the level that you pay, that reveals a tunnel to the under construction YRT terminal.

 

[Leo_Chan]

Is it from the same tunnel that leads to the KPMG building, etc? I saw that entrance at the mezzanine level.



Thanks
Seems like I drew the bus only road.
The emergency exit is pretty close to the station box isn't it?

I believe there was a false wall put up next to the Millway Ave and KPMG exits.
There used to be a wall here:

They moved or created a new one here:

Photos from the Open House.

 

[Miscreant]

I toured all six stations today. A few thoughts---

First, aesthetically and architecturally I'd rank them as follows:

1. 407
2. Pioneer
3. Vaughan
4. York
5. Downsview
6. Finch

Pioneer is especially beautiful, but I took the 407 over it just because it's quite grand and impressive. Vaughan and York both get notable mentions and are likely ties. So why'd I'd rank Downsview and Finch at the bottom? Simply because the aesthetics--colour scheme in particular--are already looking dated. Cream yellow at Downsview? Mustard yellow at Finch? That's not working, in my view. 407 hit it out of the park with the modern aesthetic, and Pioneer has genuine character. York is well done simply because it's so well ensconced where it is, and Vaughan was also tastefully modern.

I was more than a little struck at how in-the-middle-of-nowhere the stations felt, though (with the exception of York). Sure, that's not my part of town. But still. At Downsview in particular, the east exit, it was like walking out into post-industrial suburban hell.

But today's not a time for negativity. It was great to see these finished, and I can't say I didn't feel more than a little civic pride. I think everyone else there did too. There was a lot of interest and enthusiasm. Great to see.

 

[robmausser]

I had a chance to spend quite some time touring the six stations today. Here are my observations and questions:

- Southbound trains are marked "FINCH". Its easy to confuse FINCH with FINCH WEST. I had to think twice if my southbound train from Pioneer Village was going to short turn at FINCH WEST...

- 407 is the most grande and beautiful of all the stations. However I think its a waste of money to have such a large station there. It would be nice to have this for Union station!
The station is huge, it takes a long time to walk from the parking lot to the station, and then more to get to the trains below or buses above. Passengers heading for the street (i.e. the cemetery across the street haha) - good luck trying to navigate out of there while walking. Its meant for cars only.

407 is meant for the many GO bus services along the 407.

It will be a more apparently inter modal station once the 407 Transitway is up and running.

Long time away but its in anticipation of that.