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

[EdDrass]

Where's everybody gone...!? The biggest shift in travel patterns for a while and it's like folks went on holiday or something...
This info is going to need updated with more images once the moat opens tomorrow. Otherwise it's kinda misleading, literally:
From Metrolinx: A partial walk-through of the route to TTC beginning Sunday, July 7

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

Well my kid woke up before 6 this morning, so we managed to take a walk and head down to Union for some pics.

Gotta say I didn't realize how open and spacious the West Moat was, holy cow it's huge! I guess that will be taken up by tables and cairs once it's no longer the only route to/from the TTC and the shops open, but damn.

Lots of work to do in said shops.

The Centre Moat stone work looks pretty great, but the tacked on utility cables ruin it and kinda look haggard. Hoping the art installation makes it better.

The space on the south side of the Centre Moat is small AF, maybe 1.5 m deep. Again, not sure what's planned to go here, but my money is still on TD ATM's.

Boy it's great to see this all opened up, it really is amazing when this happens and you can see the progress on the Revitalization like this. It will be interesting to watch how this performs during the rush hour tomorrow, after the summer, and during a major sporting event.

 

[DSC]

Well my kid woke up before 6 this morning, so we managed to take a walk and head down to Union for some pics.

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Gotta say I didn't realize how open and spacious the West Moat was, holy cow it's huge! I guess that will be taken up by tables and cairs once it's no longer the only route to/from the TTC and the shops open, but damn.

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Lots of work to do in said shops.

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The Centre Moat stone work looks pretty great, but the tacked on utility cables ruin it and kinda look haggard. Hoping the art installation makes it better.

View attachment 193574

The space on the south side of the Centre Moat is small AF, maybe 1.5 m deep. Again, not sure what's planned to go here, but my money is still on TD ATM's.

Boy it's great to see this all opened up, it really is amazing when this happens and you can see the progress on the Revitalization like this. It will be interesting to watch how this performs during the rush hour tomorrow, after the summer, and during a major sporting event.

Thanks, I see that the art work (commemorating the Walks and Gardens Trust) has not yet been installed along this passageway. One day! See: http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2018.MM36.29

Authority is being sought to release Section 37 funds to Real Estate Services for the installation of a Walks and Gardens Trust Commemoration public art piece at Union Station (65 Front Street West). The public art piece went through an open public art competition and jury selection process in 2013. The piece is for the Walks and Gardens Trust Commemoration at Union Station, with the purpose of creating an interpretative installation on the Walks and Gardens Trust in perpetuity. The art piece is located below the Front Street Pedestrian Bridge, where a portion of the original trust lands were located. The jury selected "fLUX" by internationally renowned, Brussels, Belgium-based studio LAb (au) as the winning proposal. The piece will generate an immersive experience of light and sound within the corridor, providing an element of interaction that will engage pedestrians traversing the walkway. fLUX will also be a significant contribution to contemporary art and Toronto's public art collection.

 

[DSC]

The south entrance to Union is moving on too. The ramp going from Maple Leaf Square/Bremner Blvd towards GO and VIA has been partially de-boarded and you can now see the new ramp going DOWN to the new Bay Concourse. The old ramp going up to the GO area is still there but they will, sooner or later be able to open the ramp down and then demolish the up-ramp.

 

[DSC]

The space on the south side of the Centre Moat is small AF, maybe 1.5 m deep. Again, not sure what's planned to go here, but my money is still on TD ATM's.

I think that is where the art work is going from the illustration in the City Staff report linked to above. UPDATE. Yes, I also confirmed that the art will be installed 'in the next phase' - so I assume late 2019 or early 2020.

 

[Richard White]

The south entrance to Union is moving on too. The ramp going from Maple Leaf Square/Bremner Blvd towards GO and VIA has been partially de-boarded and you can now see the new ramp going DOWN to the new Bay Concourse. The old ramp going up to the GO area is still there but they will, sooner or later be able to open the ramp down and then demolish the up-ramp.

They just painted the area last week but it makes sense. They will eventually need to do some work in that area. It makes sense that they would redirect people into the York Concourse via the backside of the station.

The only downside is that tracks 25, 26 and 27 would need to be accessed via the teamways which is a bit of a pain in the derriere.

 

[DatTranzitGuy]

Is the walkway through the moat air conditioned or are they adding that later?

 

[DSC]

Is the walkway through the moat air conditioned or are they adding that later?

The Star quotes a City spokesperson who says "Because it is sheltered, Hawkins said it will be air-conditioned in the summer and will offer heating during the winter months. " I think that because the east side (East Front Moat) is still open to the outside (as is the west, to a lesser degree) that turning on either a/c or heat would be wasteful just now.

 

[bobbob911]

So, I'm just curious - what exactly did they do in this moat that it has been closed for years? it looks like its in essentially original state?

I also assumed the point was to close the part of the moat that everyone has been walking through to get to the TTC so they can finish the roof glass, but that part is still open?

 

[nfitz]

So, I'm just curious - what exactly did they do in this moat that it has been closed for years? it looks like its in essentially original state?

In the west, it's been used to access the subway station for years. In the east, it used to be a roadway ... I recall driving in it at some point in the 1980s, getting picked up by someone. Didn't their used to be rental cars down there somewhere too?

 

[DSC]

So, I'm just curious - what exactly did they do in this moat that it has been closed for years? it looks like its in essentially original state?

I also assumed the point was to close the part of the moat that everyone has been walking through to get to the TTC so they can finish the roof glass, but that part is still open?

Many years ago they excavated what is now Sir John A MacDonald Plaza and the 'tunnel' below it - which opened today as the new walkway was completely overhauled and partly rebuilt. I do not think it is all new but some certainly is.

The west Front Moat was also partly excavated and new drainage and electrics were installed, then the glass was installed. The east Front Moat was dug down by about 8 feet so that there is now a level pathway from the TTC station to the new *not-yet opened) Bay Concourse and a level pathway (also not yet open) runs through it at the 'mezzanine level"). Its glass is 90% done.

The east front moat will need to be closed in sections to lay the new granite flooring, finish the 'walkway', install the rest of the glass and tidy things off. I bet they would like to close it completely but they really can't have the only exit/entry to the TTC to be by the ramp inside the station and the internal stairs.

If you are really interested you can probably see pictures of all this by going back to Page 1 of this thread! (474 pages ago)

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

Is the walkway through the moat air conditioned or are they adding that later?

The Star quotes a City spokesperson who says "Because it is sheltered, Hawkins said it will be air-conditioned in the summer and will offer heating during the winter months. " I think that because the east side (East Front Moat) is still open to the outside (as is the west, to a lesser degree) that turning on either a/c or heat would be wasteful just now.

I can tell you it was quite cool in the centre moat today, so that would back that up.

 

[Hieberrr]

Despite all of the delays, seeing actual progress like this has been amazing. I go through this section every day for work and the flow with this new tunnel is night and day. Hopefully they can maintain the cleanliness.

 

[Jonny5]

In the west, it's been used to access the subway station for years. In the east, it used to be a roadway ... I recall driving in it at some point in the 1980s, getting picked up by someone. Didn't their used to be rental cars down there somewhere too?

There were two rent a car shops (Thrifty and Budget?) around what is now the entrance to the York Concourse on Bay just south of Front. I think they were there until at least the mid 2000's. I recall going to Niagara Falls once in the summer of maybe 2006 or 2007, and we rented a car there. They apologetically told us they had run out of the Economy Class cars that we booked, so they would have to upgrade us at no charge to the only car left, a Ford Mustang Convertible... which we very reluctantly accepted ?

They stored their cars in an area around where the York Concourse is now. You would usually drive them right out onto York Street to exit, not through the moat, at least in their latter days there. I'm not sure if in earlier times you could drive through the moat all the way around to Bay Street, but my recollection of what it used to look like implies that would be possible.

 

[innsertnamehere]

When the station was first constructed in the 1920's the lower moat was the taxi pickup area. It got cut in half when the subway opened in 1954 from my understanding, with the eastern half being the access between the subway and the station. The western half remained as a part of the car rental business I believe.

Streetview from April of 2009 shows Alamo and National as the rental car companies with the condition pre-renovation. You can see how cars can still access the eastern moat and how there is actually a bit of Green P parking.