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

APTA-2048 said:
The washrooms throughout Union Station are not cleaned frequent enough nor throughly. They just do the bare minimum and it’s gross. I don’t even know who to complain to.

Such a high traffic area needs constant attention. I was at a mall near the Brooklyn Bridge, and they had someone stationed outside going in and doing light cleaning every so often. Like before things become a huge mess. It was great. By contrast, the washrooms at Penn Station were even more gross than Union. Even at 07:00 in the morning.
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If it were a U.K. or (most of) mainland Europe station, you'd have to pay to enter the WC, but it would be constantly attended for cleanliness and security. Not popular to say here, but I do sometimes wonder if it is the better model.
 
nightstreak said:
@WB62 I had some things to do downtown so I'm wandering the station and I see where the concourses can connect. There's a passageway under the ramp from the Great Hall. On either side are the York and Bay concourses walled off with nothing in the way. If this passageway were to be opened, you'd have free movement across all three concourses and easy access to the food hall from York and Bay concourses.

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The more I wander around, the more I realize where I am relative to the old station.



All my memories of old Union Station are scented in Cinnabon. The new ripoff "Cinnaholic" cinnamon pastry place smells like nothing. Never forget what they took from us. 😩
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How do you prepare to go head to head with the masters of cinnamon buns, and NOT nail the aromatics? They’ve had decades
 
JasonParis said:
If it were a U.K. or (most of) mainland Europe station, you'd have to pay to enter the WC, but it would be constantly attended for cleanliness and security. Not popular to say here, but I do sometimes wonder if it is the better model.
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As someone who once had urgent and explosive diarrhea while out shopping at a market I can assure you it is not.

If the attendant isn't there, the washroom is closed.

A nice idea in theory but even the UK is abandoning the idea. Last time I was there, Paddington and Victoria abandoned the idea.

UtakataNoAnnex said:
^If someone needs to go and they are broke…

…things could get..er, real messy. >.<
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In my case, I came within seconds of a code brown.
 
…if it where the case of better cleanliness and security, that should be given whether one has to pay for access or not.
 
JasonParis said:
If it were a U.K. or (most of) mainland Europe station, you'd have to pay to enter the WC, but it would be constantly attended for cleanliness and security. Not popular to say here, but I do sometimes wonder if it is the better model.
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An easy solution to this issue is to have one custodial staff responsible for each WC set, so that there's always eyes on it and so they're usually clean.
 
Northern Light said:
This tender is for @DSCToronto


Restored Great Hall floors with heritage-compliant Marble.
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During the Union Station Revitalization Project (USRP), completed in 2021, only two-thirds

of the Great Hall flooring was restored; the remaining one-third was descoped due to

budget constraints at the time.
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"Completed" is just a word we can assign any meaning to now, is it? John Tory's premature ribbon cutting at Union when he was just sick of the thing not being finished comes back to haunt us.
 
DSCToronto said:
This was promised a few months ago and it's great to see that it is FINALLY going to happen. The Great Hall Lighting is supposed to be done in early 2026 as is the Art Work. Maybe, just MAYBE, the restoration of Union Station is finally going to be completed!!
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The Centennial is in August 2027 so they better get crackin'! I hope this means they'll have either secured a tenant for the Great Hall hospitality space or at the very least removed the hoarding.
 
nightstreak said:
The Centennial is in August 2027 so they better get crackin'! I hope this means they'll have either secured a tenant for the Great Hall hospitality space or at the very least removed the hoarding.
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The hoarding (and the Travellers' Aide information desk) will probably need to go when they fix the floor!

Here is more info from the Report

Background

Union Station opened to the public in 1927. As a National Historic Site, it is one of the finest examples of Beaux-Art architecture in Canada. As part of its sale in 2000 from the Toronto Terminals Railway Company Limited to the City, the City was required to enter into a heritage easement agreement with Parks Canada which governs all restoration work at the station. In July 2006, City Council approved the Master Plan for the USRP as Council's vision to invest in the restoration and revitalization of this historic site and to expand the life of this vital transportation hub for the next 50 to 100 years. To put the City's investment in the station into context, Union Station had seen no significant capital investment by its previous owners for nearly 90 years prior to its acquisition by the City. The USRP represents a "once in a century" investment in a city building. Council's vision for the station centered on three main objectives, all of which have been enabled through the USRP:• Promote Union Station as a multi-modal transportation hub first and foremost, achieved by expanding and enhancing its transportation purpose, primarily through improved pedestrian flows;• Preserve it as a heritage building, which has been achieved through the restoration of this National Historic Site; and• Revitalize Union Station as a destination in order to promote financial sustainability, achieved through the creation of a destination and commercial retail hub as important in Toronto as Grand Central Station is in New York and others in similar world-class cities. Although the USRP was completed in 2021, only two-thirds of the restoration of the Great Hall floor was completed as part of the project; the remaining one-third was descoped due to budget constraints at the time. This work is now being resumed to address worsening tripping hazards and other safety concerns caused by the unfinished floor, and to ensure its completion in time for Union Station’s 100th Year Anniversary Celebration in 2027. The east and west sections of the Great Hall floor were restored with marble from the TMC quarry with only the central portion remaining.
 
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Richard White said:
It's a shame they cannot restore the original desk that was there.
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You mean this one, from 1930ish

Union 1923.jpg
 
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