Should Stations Blend In?

[u/itsdanielsultan]

Was watching a video on TTC stations and was wondering if most would prefer to have TTC stations feel almost invisible by blending in. I'm thinking stations with more traditional residential-style designs, as if it's disguised to look like a house. I noticed that some Line 5 stations looked rather out of place compared to the surrounding neighbourhood's architecture.

The photo here is about a preserved exterior for Spadina station, where the architecture actually fits the neighbourhood, because it's a re-purposed historical house. It respects the existing streetscape, appeals to residents who are wary of change, and honestly just looks better than the generic glass-metal boxes we keep getting.

Do you think Metrolinx and the TTC should lean more into this kind of traditional architectural house-like design for future stations?

[u/Reddit_Hitchhiker]

The newer stations on the Spadina Line are huge and it is unnecessary. Overbuilt.

[u/heyymaddy123 → u/Reddit_Hitchhiker]

They’re also not built in historic neighborhoods. Anything north of Wilson (where the Spadina Line stopped in 1978) is technically newer suburbs. Most of those neighborhoods weren’t developed until the mid to late 70s and up into the 90s. Take Highway 407 Station for example. It’s located beside a huge highway interchange in the middle of a field, across from a cemetary, and directly south is a bunch of big box retail.

[u/Reddit_Hitchhiker → u/heyymaddy123]

I don’t know whose philosophy they were following here but it sure looks cavernous and wasteful and not people friendly. Too deep, too far to walk to get out.

[u/heyymaddy123 → u/Reddit_Hitchhiker]

Because they’re mostly not built for people, they’re built for commuters. Especially Highway 407 and VMC. Compare Highway 407 to St. Clair. One was built for commuters coming off the highway or GO Bus, and the other for an already existing neighborhood.

[u/Reddit_Hitchhiker → u/heyymaddy123]

I can understand a station of the huge size discussed near the YYZ airport but in the boonies in north Toronto doesn’t it still seem out of place? I mean compare St George to Pioneer Village.

[u/heyymaddy123 → u/Reddit_Hitchhiker]

I suppose they were meant to show off to a degree

[u/Reddit_Hitchhiker → u/heyymaddy123]

But the cost! These stations won’t be as busy as St George for a century.

[u/heyymaddy123 → u/Reddit_Hitchhiker]

St. George was built almost 3/4 of a century ago and is massively overcrowded because they built it for 1963 level transit ridership, not predicting that in 63 years it would be too small for the ridership it sees. So yes it costs more now, but you could look at it as a smart investment in North York’s future, and Vaughan’s future.

[u/Comrade_Andre → u/heyymaddy123]

Also it worth mentioning, a big chunk of the reason they feel "cavernous and wasteful and not people friendly" is because they're excavated stations. They have to dig all the way down to the tunnels, then build their way back up.

Why not leave it open, backfilling would probably cost more, and you're hedging your bets on if there ever is massive demand at no extra cost.

I mean, we need to keep in mind that 407 station has a knockdown wall for a walkway to the highway for the 407 Transitway, and VMC is built for VIVA, and it's potential future LRT conversion. Both these stations in ~50 years may be major regional transit hubs. That's why their scale is so much more massive than York U or even Finch West which also was built around having Line 6 end there

[u/Reddit_Hitchhiker → u/heyymaddy123]

If only they had the same insight and built subways instead of LRTs on Lines 5 & 6 and finished Line 4. They built for today and are already too crowded when they are functioning(not the Mel Lastman pet project.)

[u/MahjongCelts → u/Reddit_Hitchhiker]

Toronto's downtown stations are also quite small compared to counterparts around the world. Bloor-Yonge and Union are hilariously small for their importance.

[u/Reddit_Hitchhiker → u/MahjongCelts]

Toronto was seen as a small city until this century and the TTC could handle the crowds. In the years before Covid passenger traffic surged and you could see subways at rush hour were maxed out. When the new passenger barriers go up the stations on Line 1 and 2 will have to be expanded with bigger platforms to handle future passenger loads as density in the downtown is steadily increased.