Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR

What are the Star's motives??? They previously placed support behind the St. Clair Streetcar and the Transit City plan but now criticizing this crucial project for being behind schedule.

Are they trying to portray themselves as an activist newspaper? As in look we are concerned for the hundreds of thousands of commuters that use this space.

Or are the criticizing the project because of who approved/is building this project. Wasn't this project conceived, planned under the Miller regime, or was it a Ford plan???
 
Woodbridge_Heights said:
What are the Star's motives??? They previously placed support behind the St. Clair Streetcar and the Transit City plan but now criticizing this crucial project for being behind schedule.

Are they trying to portray themselves as an activist newspaper? As in look we are concerned for the hundreds of thousands of commuters that use this space.

Or are the criticizing the project because of who approved/is building this project. Wasn't this project conceived, planned under the Miller regime, or was it a Ford plan???
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I think the Star is generally in favour of this project as it is meant to improve transit. They're not criticizing the project, or even criticizing the contractors, and the project is not behind schedule AFAIK. The article is meant as an update on what's happening and what commuters can expect. Wanting to inform commuters is not activism.

It is indeed a product of the Miller administration, although I seem to recall Ford showing up for a tour of the site and expressing admiration for it, even though he proposed selling the station 4 years ago.
 
Woodbridge_Heights said:
What are the Star's motives??? They previously placed support behind the St. Clair Streetcar and the Transit City plan but now criticizing this crucial project for being behind schedule.

Are they trying to portray themselves as an activist newspaper? As in look we are concerned for the hundreds of thousands of commuters that use this space.

Or are the criticizing the project because of who approved/is building this project. Wasn't this project conceived, planned under the Miller regime, or was it a Ford plan???
Click to expand...

I did not read any particular criticism of the project in the Star's report today; the report noted that it was a bit behind schedule and that when the move happens from (old) east concourse to the (new) west one it will be a challenge. It is a huge project, made more complex by having to keep a very busy train and subway station operating during the work.
 
DSC said:
I did not read any particular criticism of the project in the Star's report today;
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I think this statement is the key:

Unfortunately, before it gets better, it’s going to get worse.
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I think that is a particularly negative phrasing. Yes, the opening of York concourse and the closing of Bay will make TTC connections more challenging for a while, but at the same time commuters will have (assuming all of York opens on day 1) a larger, more modern space. Even as an incremental step it will be an improvement.
 
DSC said:
I did not read any particular criticism of the project in the Star's report today; the report noted that it was a bit behind schedule and that when the move happens from (old) east concourse to the (new) west one it will be a challenge. It is a huge project, made more complex by having to keep a very busy train and subway station operating during the work.
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I found the following:

“It feels like I’m going to get run over or trampled. It’s tense,” he says. “I’m just trying to follow the body in front of me hoping they’ll lead me to the right place. Most of the time, I’m lost.”
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Like many of the 200,000 users of the GTA’s biggest transportation hub, he copes with his frustration with the recently reorganized GO train platforms and ever-changing staircases and exits by envisioning the station in 2015....
Unfortunately, before it gets better, it’s going to get worse.
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To be a bit critical of the project and it's staging.
 
Woodbridge_Heights said:
What are the Star's motives??? They previously placed support behind the St. Clair Streetcar and the Transit City plan but now criticizing this crucial project for being behind schedule.

Are they trying to portray themselves as an activist newspaper? As in look we are concerned for the hundreds of thousands of commuters that use this space.

Or are the criticizing the project because of who approved/is building this project. Wasn't this project conceived, planned under the Miller regime, or was it a Ford plan???
Click to expand...

A little protective are you? This is just a commentary on the changes happening at the station. People are currently being inconvenienced and it will get worse for them when the primary route for most commuters through the PATH into the subway station to get to the GO will no longer be a valid route to take the train. Once the Bay Concourse closes it will be a bit chaotic with all those people ending up on the street or cramming east to the teamway or west to the new York Concourse. Once you actually get to the York Concourse or if you walk from York Street or points south and west it will be a big improvement, but the bulk of the people go through that corridor in the picture and it is going to get worse for them. I don't know how reporting on the frustration of commuters and their anticipation of what is to come is anti-Miller, anti-Ford, pro-St.Clair, anti-Union, activist, or whatever. That just seems hyper-sensitive or hyper-cynical to me. There need not be an agenda. Fact: Union Station is changing and people are inconvenienced by construction. This is the same type of article which did exist during St.Clair construction talking about the impact to store owners and people on the street, and on summer road construction season.
 
EnviroTO said:
A little protective are you? This is just a commentary on the changes happening at the station. People are currently being inconvenienced and it will get worse for them when the primary route for most commuters through the PATH into the subway station to get to the GO will no longer be a valid route to take the train. Once the Bay Concourse closes it will be a bit chaotic with all those people ending up on the street or cramming east to the teamway or west to the new York Concourse. Once you actually get to the York Concourse or if you walk from York Street or points south and west it will be a big improvement, but the bulk of the people go through that corridor in the picture and it is going to get worse for them. I don't know how reporting on the frustration of commuters and their anticipation of what is to come is anti-Miller, anti-Ford, pro-St.Clair, anti-Union, activist, or whatever. That just seems hyper-sensitive or hyper-cynical to me. There need not be an agenda. Fact: Union Station is changing and people are inconvenienced by construction. This is the same type of article which did exist during St.Clair construction talking about the impact to store owners and people on the street, and on summer road construction season.
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Just my opinion. They could have framed the story as "some short term pain for long term gain" and "commuter will be treated to a spacious new station once complete' rather than focus on the inconvenienced commuters.
 
Woodbridge:

TBH I think the piece is fine - any news is better than no news re this project, which really should be higher up on people's radar.

the lemur:

I take every opportunity to remind others that Ford can wax poetic about the project all he wants - as a councillor having voted against it.

re: PATH

I wonder what's the status of this aspect of the project - they are short of funds for the full extension to Wellington (?) the last time I checked.

AoD
 
Woodbridge_Heights said:
Just my opinion. They could have framed the story as "some short term pain for long term gain" and "commuter will be treated to a spacious new station once complete' rather than focus on the inconvenienced commuters.
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I see that the articled focused on the inconvenienced commuters as an illustration of the short-term pain while also citing the ultimate benefits such as 'Spacious concourses complete with art installations, a new subway platform and glass roofs over the railway tracks and the “moat” between the subway station and the rail station'. To characterize the piece as being against the revitalization on the whole seems unnecessarily alarmist.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Woodbridge:

the lemur:

I take every opportunity to remind others that Ford can wax poetic about the project all he wants - as a councillor having voted against it.

AoD
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I wasn't sure if he had (couldn't find the council minutes), but thanks for confirming it. It's become a habit with Ford - vote against something, then show up months later for a photo op to talk about how great the thing he opposed has turned out.
 
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