TORONTO - One of the Spadina subway extension stations has a new name — for the third time in less than a year.
Commissioners voted Wednesday to name the Steeles Ave. W. stop Pioneer Village station.
The vote came after another lengthy debate over the name and against TTC staff advice to go back to the original station name, Steeles West.
Commissioners voted in September 2012 to give the station the lengthy name Black Creek Pioneer Village station rather than Steeles West station — a name featured prominently in the original station design.
Councillor John Parker argued against the Pioneer Village name Wednesday because the station is actually about a kilometre away from the attraction.
“The station isn’t at the front door of Pioneer Village,” Parker told the commission. “I would suggest it would be misleading to call it Pioneer Village station.”
Parker pointed out the station’s design includes whatever name the TTC selects in big, bold letters.
“This is a honking big sign,” he said, adding people could think it is actually the entrance to Black Creek Pioneer Village rather than to the subway system.
“If we’re careless with our naming we are going to give the appearance that it is something that it isn’t.”
Councillor Maria Augimeri heralded the Pioneer Village name as the best solution.
“We agreed to a compromise that we go from the longer name to Pioneer Village which is 14 letters and four of them are I’s and L’s,” Augimeri said. TTC CEO Andy Byford stuck by the staff recommendation to stick to the TTC’s standard naming policy and call the station Steeles West.
The TTC still doesn’t know what the full cost of changing the name will be. Staff warned any name change would cost around $25,000 for design fees plus costs around materials and contract changes.
TTC chair Karen Stintz supported going back to Steeles West.
“When we voted for (the name change in September) we didn’t realize it was going to be a significant cost to doing the architecture work on the station,” Stintz said.
She doubted the name change will delay the subway construction.
“There might be delays but they won’t be as a result of this name,” Stintz said.