Toronto Union Pearson Express | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | MMM Group Limited

[muller877]

I have noticed a trend towards the planting of "dwarf" trees. By "dwarf", they mean very slow growing trees. They'll take much longer to reach maturity. They are almost the same tree as the non-dwarf trees, but take a couple or three generations to see them grow into tall trees.

ALMOST the same tree. But quite often they are very different.

Toronto has been encouraging native trees to be planted throughout the city by private land owners. For example, there are over 10 varieties of maple trees. Some are native, some are from the South. The quick-growing one such as a Norway Maple is an invasive species, very quick growing but is short-lived, branches fall off and emits a chemical into the ground which reduces the native undergrowth. On the other hand, Sugar Maples are slower growing but can live as long as 500 years. They are the ones that produce the best maple syrup.

So yes, many people have been planting these slower growing trees but at the request of the city of Toronto. And I think it's a good thing to have native species. I just wish there was more variety in the planting which would increase the diversity, decrease the risk of disease and just be prettier.

I also wish that the City of Toronto would follow its own recommendations and plant these native species along roadways. Imagine a newer subdivision in 50 years when there are 75 foot high trees, not stumps of invasive species that died.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Mature sugar maples are themselves slow growing, but can grow to 70 feet tall by 50 feet wide.

However, there are species of dwarf sugar maples that mature to 30 feet tall by only 10-12 feet wide. Still not adequate in my books for a shade tree.

 

[Tuscani01]

A friend that I was supposed to pick up from the UP station this evening just sent me a text saying he took a cab home instead. Got frustrated because he couldn't locate the train once he got out of customs and didn't want to walk around aimlessly with all of his luggage. Not a single sign.

I don't understand how they can be so incompetent with the signage. This is beyond ridiculous.

 

[nfitz]

A friend that I was supposed to pick up from the UP station this evening just sent me a text saying he took a cab home instead. Got frustrated because he couldn't locate the train once he got out of customs and didn't want to walk around aimlessly with all of his luggage. Not a single sign.

I don't understand how they can be so incompetent with the signage. This is beyond ridiculous.

I saw plenty of signs at Pearson. They clearly says "Trains" and/or have pictures of a train.

If there's questions of competence here, I'm not sure it's necessarily those who put what I thought was very clear signage at Pearson. Seemed a lot better than what I've seen in the TTC and GO concourses at Union.

 

[Tuscani01]

I saw plenty of signs at Pearson. They clearly says "Trains" and/or have pictures of a train.

If there's questions of competence here, I'm not sure it's necessarily those who put what I thought was very clear signage at Pearson. Seemed a lot better than what I've seen in the TTC and GO concourses at Union.

He claims he looked everywhere for a sign, and even tried to look for staff he could ask, but there wasn't a single staff member around. He doesn't sound impressed with Pearson at all right now.

 

[TOareaFan]

He claims he looked everywhere for a sign, and even tried to look for staff he could ask, but there wasn't a single staff member around. He doesn't sound impressed with Pearson at all right now.

Perhaps your friend was tired from his journey but those of us who have been to the airport since UP opened know that his claim of not single sign is not correct. Perhaps they are not as obvious as they could be (although I have not found that to be the case....but perhaps I have a higher familiarity with, both, how Pearson is laid out and how signage is typically done at airports) but if he needs evidence that there is, at least, one sign he could look here

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Cue the scandal over low UPX ridership:

UP Express ridership dropping, now only 2,500 passengers a day

It seems the much-maligned UP Express is becoming more of a white elephant than anyone expected.

Earlier this summer, Metrolinx reported that the gold-plated shuttle that runs between Pearson Airport and Union Station was running nearly empty during the Pan Am games, at about eight per cent capacity.

According to the government transportation agency, at the time about 3,250 riders were taking the train each day, well below the 5,000 rider goal Metrolinx set for the first year of the service.

But since then, instead of numbers slowly increasing, they have dropped – by a stunning 23 per cent, to only 2,500 riders per day.

http://www.citynews.ca/2015/09/22/t...ship-dropping-now-only-2500-passengers-a-day/

 

[Tuscani01]

Perhaps your friend was tired from his journey but those of us who have been to the airport since UP opened know that his claim of not single sign is not correct. Perhaps they are not as obvious as they could be (although I have not found that to be the case....but perhaps I have a higher familiarity with, both, how Pearson is laid out and how signage is typically done at airports) but if he needs evidence that there is, at least, one sign he could look here

He says that's great, but he wouldn't have seen that, as you walk to the right when you get out and head away from that sign. Once you are in a space where you can stop and think without holding back everyone coming out, there is no signage.

And with amount of travel he does every year, airports are one thing he's used to. He's even saying he can't believe people are defending it in response to me pointing out responses here.

He's the second friend I've had comment on how bad the signage is. The other one managed to find the train before giving up, but if these two people are having a hard time finding it, I'm sure many more are too.

 

[TOareaFan]

He says that's great, but he wouldn't have seen that, as you walk to the right when you get out and head away from that sign. Once you are in a space where you can stop and think without holding back everyone coming out, there is no signage.

And with amount of travel he does every year, airports are one thing he's used to. He's even saying he can't believe people are defending it in response to me pointing out responses here.

He's the second friend I've had comment on how bad the signage is. The other one managed to find the train before giving up, but if these two people are having a hard time finding it, I'm sure many more are too.

No one is defending anything....we (at least I) are saying that there are signs...all over the terminals... and that I have had no difficulty finding the train....certainly easier to find than, say, the 747 bus at PET in Montreal (not that it is hard to find either but it is less obvious than the UP - IMO).

 

[nfitz]

He says that's great, but he wouldn't have seen that, as you walk to the right when you get out and head away from that sign. Once you are in a space where you can stop and think without holding back everyone coming out, there is no signage.

There's numerous other signs. And I think some are further up the thread.

I just don't buy that someone can find the signage to the taxi, but not find the signage to the train.

Though it's also hard to fathom that someone with as much travel experience as being alleged here, would't have noticed exactly where the station was, after 2 years of very obvious construction. It's the same station as the Link train to T3 and the parking - and I really haven't heard people complaining they couldn't find that other the years.

Sounds to me more like someone simply wanted to take a taxi, and is willing to be willfully blind to do so.

I can understand someone at TTC Union or GO Union not finding the Airport train, as there is little to no signage that hows an airport symbol or uses the word airport. But the airport? Not unless they don't understand what "Train" means.

 

[Tuscani01]

You're assuming that everyone traveling to Toronto is from Toronto. It's easy for us, because we know it exists and where to look. For people coming from outside of Toronto, it hasn't been easy.

Judging by the ridership numbers, it seems like many are keeping away. When cabs are waiting within spitting distance of the arrivals exit, of course someone is going to choose one right away over looking around for the UP terminal. (Which is why he ended up in a cab instead... it was waiting right there)

There are many airports with much better signage than ours that we can learn from. Madrid's Barajas airport has an amazing system that is clear and intuitive, Heathrow has their signage in bright colours that stand out easily, making them no trouble to find, and even YVR here in Canada has signs along corridors that people walk through pointing you to the train from arrivals. Heck, even Shanghai does a better job of directing you to the trains.

 

[Tuscani01]

Going through reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp:

1. Even months after its opening, the signage at Pearson is so awful you might as well not have any - ask the staff where to find the UP Express!

- From Toronto

Great altenative to a taxi right into the heart of downtown Toronto. Was a little tricky to find at first when exiting the airport

- From the UK

A very smooth ride in the brand new UP express. WIFI works quite well. One oddity: after all the trouble of branding the train as UP express, I could not find signage at Pearson airport for UP express

- From Montreal

Signage at Pearson is hopeless.

- Toronto

It does, however, take that much time, at least, from passing through customs to reaching the Airport station. Signage at Pearson could be much improved

- From the UK

Like someone else mentioned, the signage to the station is not the best at the airport or when we got to Union Station. At the airport, we had to ask the info desk where was the train location

- From California

The train is new and comfortable. However, the signage at Pearson Airport is rubbish

- From Barbados

I found the signage to be incredibly limited in the terminal I was in. I later found out that I wasn't in the main terminal where the UP express is. I followed the signs that said "trains" and this actually took me to the monorail which I needed to take for one stop and then transfer off of it and walk over to UP

- Toronto

These are all 4 ans 5 star reviews. The experience has generally been great for people, yet the signage (including at Union, which I left out) seems to be one concern many have.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I wonder if they actually tested the efficacy of the signage. In any event, aren't there anyone available at the terminal to ask? Information desk?

AoD

 

[nfitz]

I've seen the signage in both T1 and T3.

The final quote seems perfectly accurate. In T3 you follow the signs to Trains, and it leads you to the train that takes you to T1. There's signs in that station saying to take the link to T1 to get to the train to downtown. I don't see how that's a problem - to anything otherwise would be to make signage unnecessary complex. Still, hard to take too seriously comments from someone so clueless that they refer to the link train as a monorail. It's perfectly clear there are two rails there, not one! Clearly observational skills are limited.

You tell me someone who travels a lot can't find the same train station they have likely used before to change to the other terminal despite clear signage; but had no problem finding taxi? I say wilfully oblivious, or drank too much on the flight.

And if really true ... why wouldn't they have asked at the ground transportation desk?

Though there's no doubt the Union station signage has issues.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

@Tuscani Not an important fact but did your friend arrive at T3 or T1? I imagine getting to the UP station from T3 might not seem very logical, but T1?