smallspy
Senior Member
So, everyone has forgotten that a very healthy portion of the SRT extension will be elevated then?
Dan
Toronto, Ont.
Dan
Toronto, Ont.
Toronto Union Pearson Express | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | MMM Group Limited
That's only because it was initially planned and designed as ICTS. When Transit City came along, all they did was change the technology type, they didn't bother doing a redesign.
EnviroTO
Senior Member
It was redesigned. It was a brand new EA and some places that were originally at grade in previous studies are now above grade, and some places originally above grade are now planned below grade. You can read the EA and see the alternatives that were analyzed.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
could someone link to that EA? I would love to look at it. I don't know all that much about the SRT extension, especially compared to the other transit city lines.
nfitz
Superstar
M II A II R II K
Senior Member
The SkyWalk could come crashing to the ground
Read More: http://www.blogto.com/city/2013/02/the_skywalk_could_come_crashing_to_the_ground/
Union Station's arching SkyWalk, that most photogenic of Toronto's urban landmarks, could be on the chopping block if the city's preservation board adopts a report recommending its demolition at next week's meeting.
- Revised construction plans for the downtown terminus of Metrolinx's Union-Pearson Express (formerly the Air-Rail Link) call for the removal of a large part of the curved glass arcade parallel to Station Street by summer at the latest. A small remaining section closer to to Simcoe Street will later be gobbled up by the podium for a separate office tower project.
- If the station is built to the new, revised plan the route itself from Union to the ballpark and convention centre, which forms part of the PATH network, will be retained inside a new, square-roofed structure. The bridge crossing the railway tracks will be unaffected. According to digital designs released with the report, Station Street, named for its former location in front of Old Union Station, will be closed off at one end and turned into an pedestrian plaza when the tower project begins.
- Though the city says in a report it would have preferred to keep the existing arcade, it cites "construction scheduling and programmatic requirements" as the reason for the design shift, suggesting pressures of Metrolinx's pledge to complete the project in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games are at play. Allison Meistrich, a city of Toronto planner, insists that's not the case. "It is our understanding that the ARL station fit better (fewer grade changes, etc.) in a reconstructed SkyWalk connection. The ARL is to be running in time for the Pan Am Games and those timing issues will affect the project phasing, construction, etc., but is not a factor in the design change regarding the SkyWalk."
.....
Read More: http://www.blogto.com/city/2013/02/the_skywalk_could_come_crashing_to_the_ground/
Union Station's arching SkyWalk, that most photogenic of Toronto's urban landmarks, could be on the chopping block if the city's preservation board adopts a report recommending its demolition at next week's meeting.
- Revised construction plans for the downtown terminus of Metrolinx's Union-Pearson Express (formerly the Air-Rail Link) call for the removal of a large part of the curved glass arcade parallel to Station Street by summer at the latest. A small remaining section closer to to Simcoe Street will later be gobbled up by the podium for a separate office tower project.
- If the station is built to the new, revised plan the route itself from Union to the ballpark and convention centre, which forms part of the PATH network, will be retained inside a new, square-roofed structure. The bridge crossing the railway tracks will be unaffected. According to digital designs released with the report, Station Street, named for its former location in front of Old Union Station, will be closed off at one end and turned into an pedestrian plaza when the tower project begins.
- Though the city says in a report it would have preferred to keep the existing arcade, it cites "construction scheduling and programmatic requirements" as the reason for the design shift, suggesting pressures of Metrolinx's pledge to complete the project in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games are at play. Allison Meistrich, a city of Toronto planner, insists that's not the case. "It is our understanding that the ARL station fit better (fewer grade changes, etc.) in a reconstructed SkyWalk connection. The ARL is to be running in time for the Pan Am Games and those timing issues will affect the project phasing, construction, etc., but is not a factor in the design change regarding the SkyWalk."
.....
junctionist
Senior Member
That's a shame. The arched walkway is an architecturally interesting space. Sam Javanrouh of Daily Dose of Imagery photographed it many times. It has a grand arch that recalls Union Station's Great Hall, but with a modern truss structure clad in glass. If it survived a few more decades, it would probably be deemed a heritage structure.
MisterF
Senior Member
Skywalk is very much a product of its time. It was essentially a bridge from Union to Skydome through a wasteland of rail yards and vacant lots. With that area becoming a genuine downtown neighbourhood, the need for that link isn't there anymore.
officedweller
Senior Member
I think it boils down to branding and creating a sense of place for the terminus.
If it was installed within the existing structure, it wouldn't have the prominence expected of the high-priced service.
It would appear like a storefront in a mall.
If it was installed within the existing structure, it wouldn't have the prominence expected of the high-priced service.
It would appear like a storefront in a mall.
EnviroTO
Senior Member
I find the scale of the SkyWalk is what makes it impressive and frequently photographed, but somehow it still seems cheap looking. It seems more engineered than designed. If this was the BCE Place arch being talked about I would be up in arms to see it go, but SkyWalk can be made better and all signs are that the new design keeps the scale of the space intact.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Regrettable, but the replacement (esp. when the Allied office project is complete) is suitably grand and probably presents a better outcome than grafting the ARL terminal to the existing structure.
What I do feel sorry for is probably the business owners along the stretch - all of the stores have failed.
AoD
What I do feel sorry for is probably the business owners along the stretch - all of the stores have failed.
AoD
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TOareaFan
Superstar
I don't mind the new drawings/look....so am indifferent...but the ARL (or UP) terminal will be inside, no? So it is not "grafted onto" anything...it is just contained within.
It seems to me that the rail link is being used as an easy explanation for something that really does not have anything to do with it....more to do with the other projects taking place in the area.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
TOareafan:
Yeah, that's semantics, i.e. grafting doesn't necessarily meant sticking out physically - what I meant is that adding the box in the arched structure is an inferior solution than wholesale replacement.
AoD
Yeah, that's semantics, i.e. grafting doesn't necessarily meant sticking out physically - what I meant is that adding the box in the arched structure is an inferior solution than wholesale replacement.
AoD
junctionist
Senior Member
I think its only problem is the finishes: the cheap tile floor and white plaster walls on one side detract from its otherwise impressive truss arch. That could be changed. I think that the change from the glazed truss arch to a safe box seems like a decline in architectural sophistication. However, I wasn't too excited by the previous rendering of the station box entrance inserted into the arch because it looked disharmonious with the arch, so maybe this situation is a catch 22.
vegeta_skyline
Senior Member
What project is this? I don't recall seeing it on the construction board.