Bloor–Yonge station

Bloor–Yonge
Location 20 Bloor Street East,
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates 43°40′16″N 79°23′09″W / 43.67111°N 79.38583°W / 43.67111; -79.38583Coordinates: 43°40′16″N 79°23′09″W / 43.67111°N 79.38583°W / 43.67111; -79.38583
Owned by Toronto Transit Commission
Platforms Side platforms (Line 1)[1]
Centre platform (Line 2)[1]
Tracks 4 (2 on each level)
Connections
Construction
Structure type Underground
Platform levels 2
Disabled access Yes
Architect Charles B. Dolphin
History
Opened March 30, 1954 (1954-03-30) (Line 1)
February 26, 1966 (Line 2)
Traffic
Passengers (2016[2]) 204,630 (Line 1)
186,860 (Line 2)
391,490 total[lower-alpha 1]
Ranked 1st of 69
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
toward Vaughan
 Yonge–University
toward Finch
toward Kipling
 Bloor–Danforth
toward Kennedy

Bloor–Yonge is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University and Line 2 Bloor–Danforth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located downtown, under the intersection of Yonge Street and Bloor Street. It is the busiest subway station in Toronto; more than 400,000 rides are taken on an average weekday.[lower-alpha 1] Wi-Fi is available at this station.[3]

History

The station was opened in 1954 and designed by Charles B. Dolphin.[4] It was originally named "Bloor", and connected with a pair of enclosed platforms in the centre of Bloor Street to allow interchange with Bloor streetcars within the fare-paid zone.[5] When the streetcars were replaced with the Bloor-Danforth subway in 1966, the station began to be shown on maps as "Bloor–Yonge". However, actual platform signs still show "Bloor" on the Yonge–University line and "Yonge" on the Bloor–Danforth line, following a naming style common in New York subway station complexes, where only the platform's cross street is shown on the platform signs.

Similarly, the automated station announcement system installed from 2007–2008 refers to the station as "Bloor" on Line 1 and "Yonge" on Line 2 respectively. The new Toronto Rocket subway trains that operate on Line 1 refers to the station as "Bloor–Yonge" along with "Change for Line 2". It is the only TTC station named in this way; all other interchanges share the same name for both lines, including Sheppard–Yonge.

The station used to feature a small retail concourse along the corridor leading from the entrance at the south side of Bloor Street. This concourse was closed and disappeared during the construction of the office building at 33 Bloor Street East in the late 1980s.

Due to its congestion, the TTC has had to expand the station. In 1992, it took advantage of building construction over the Yonge–University portion of the station to open it out and widen the platforms. This was the first stage of a plan, known as the Spanish solution, to enable trains to open their doors on both sides: the tracks would next have been slewed outwards within the widened station, and a central platform built between them. The TTC does not intend to proceed with that plan.

In 1996, the station became accessible with elevators as one of the TTC's first accessible stations.[6]

The TTC experimented with crowd-control measures on the southbound platform of the Yonge–University level on November 24, 2009, and made these permanent as they allowed for improved passenger flow by discouraging crowding near the stairs leading to the Bloor–Danforth level. These measures also reduced dwell times by a few seconds, such that a few more trains can enter the station during rush hour without building additional capacity.[7][8]

Increasing ridership has led to overcrowding of the station and discussion of a potential Relief Line. The TTC took various crowd-control measures during peak periods; empty trains were often dispatched to the station to clear the platform.[9] Signal upgrades and other improvements on Line 1 have relieved the station and line of some crowding, but a study conducted by Metrolinx concluded that the benefits would only last until 2031.[10]

As of March 2014, a trial for new numerical signage referring to the subway routes such as Line 1 for the Yonge line and Line 2 for the Bloor line were phased in on signs and maps at the station.[11][12]

Subway infrastructure in the vicinity

North of the station the Yonge–University line crosses under Church Street in a tunnel then emerges to the surface at the Ellis Portal,[13] continuing in an open cut through Rosedale Station. South to Wellesley Station, the line was constructed by cut-and-cover, with the surface areas now occupied by a Toronto Parking Authority multi-storey garage at Charles Street and three parks maintained by the City of Toronto – George Hislop Park, Norman Jewison Park, and James Canning Gardens south of that.

The east–west Bloor–Danforth centre platform was constructed under the existing north–south Yonge–University side platforms, and is fully accessible by elevator.[14]

Between Yonge and Sherbourne Station to the east, the Bloor–Danforth line crosses to the south side of Bloor Street in a 2,250 feet (690 m) long section of bored tunnel,[15] rather than the shallow cut-and-cover method used to construct most of the line. Cumberland Terrace, a two-storey shopping centre, has been built over the right of way west of Yonge Street to Bay Street.

Entrances

There are six entrances to Bloor–Yonge station.[1] The main entrances along with the fare collector booth and elevators are located at the northeast side via the Hudson's Bay Centre and at the southeast side via the Xerox building. There is also an unmanned automatic entrance at the northeast corner which leads directly to the Line 2 platform and is accessible only to Presto card holders since January 2018. All entrances are located near the intersection of Bloor and Yonge streets.

Nearby landmarks

Nearby landmarks include the Toronto Reference Library, the Hudson's Bay Centre, and 2 Bloor Street West.

Surface connections

A paper transfer is required to connect to surface routes located at Bloor Street & Yonge Street. TTC routes serving the station include:

Route Name Additional Information
97B Yonge Northbound to York Mills station and southbound to Queens Quay
300A Bloor–Danforth Blue Night service; Westbound to Pearson Airport and eastbound to Warden Avenue
300B Blue Night service; Westbound to West Mall and eastbound to Kennedy station
320 Yonge Blue Night service; Northbound to Steeles Avenue and southbound to Queens Quay

Notes

  1. 1 2 Figure derived from adding the ridership of Bloor and Yonge platforms; therefore a passenger transferring from Bloor to Yonge or vice versa will be counted twice.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "TTC Bloor-Yonge Station (Station Description)". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Subway ridership, 2016" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved July 3, 2018. This table shows the typical number of customer-trips made on each subway on an average weekday and the typical number of customers travelling to and from each station platform on an average weekday.
  3. ↑ "There's now free WiFi at over 40 TTC subway stations". blogTO. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  4. ↑ http://archindont.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ArchindontWeb/buildingType.do?type=Subway+Stations&typeID=112
  5. ↑ "Canada's First Subway: Underground Downtown". City of Toronto Archives. City of Toronto. Retrieved June 28, 2018. Two platforms, one for eastbound and one for westbound streetcars, were built in the centre of Bloor Street to allow passengers to walk from the streetcars directly down to the subway cars.
  6. ↑ "Milestones". About the TTC. Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved December 8, 2014. 1996: Downsview Station, Bloor–Yonge Station, and Union Station become the first accessible subway stations.
  7. ↑ Kalinowski, Tess (December 7, 2009). "TTC crowd control now permanent". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  8. ↑ Munro, Steve (November 27, 2009). "The Bloor-Yonge Platform Experiment". Archived from the original on March 4, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  9. ↑ Kuitenbrouwer, Peter. "'We're out of station': Yonge Subway line desperately close to bursting". National Post. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ Warnica, Richard. "Relief coming for TTC riders on overcrowded Yonge subway line, but it might not last: Metrolinx report". National Post. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  11. ↑ "New Wayfinding Standards" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. October 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2014. Pilot study – Bloor-Yonge & St. George Stations
  12. ↑ "New Subway Station Signage on the TTC". TTC. March 3, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2014. The Toronto Transit Commission launched a trial for new signage at Bloor-Yonge Station as part of its efforts to improve and ease navigation of the subway system and its stations
  13. ↑ http://www3.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/History/cavalcade_of_progress.jsp
  14. ↑ http://www3.ttc.ca/Subway/Stations/Bloor-Yonge/Accessible_Alternative.jsp Bloor-Yonge: Accessible Alternatives
  15. ↑ James Bow. "A History of Subways on Bloor and Queen Streets". Transit Toronto. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
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