Chester station (Toronto)

Chester
Location 22 Chester Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates 43°40′42″N 79°21′09″W / 43.67833°N 79.35250°W / 43.67833; -79.35250Coordinates: 43°40′42″N 79°21′09″W / 43.67833°N 79.35250°W / 43.67833; -79.35250
Platforms Side platforms
Tracks 2
Connections
Construction
Structure type Underground
Bicycle facilities bike racks
Disabled access No
History
Opened February 26, 1966
Traffic
Passengers (2016[1]) 6,690
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
toward Kipling
 Bloor–Danforth
toward Kennedy

Chester is a subway station on the Bloor–Danforth line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station is located on Chester Avenue just north of Danforth Avenue. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.[2]

It opened in 1966 as one of the original stations of this subway line. The Toronto Parking Authority operates a public parking lot across Chester Avenue opposite the subway entrance.

History

Chester station was opened on February 25, 1966, along with the rest of the first phase of the Bloor-Danforth line which operated between Keele and Woodbine stations.[3]

Platform tiles and name

Following the design style set by the stations of the Bloor-Danforth line, Chester station uses a two colour theme with the station's name in the Toronto Subway Font.[4] In keeping with the style, Chester's colours match the 'opposing' stations on the western half of the subway line: the trim tiles are blue and complement Lansdowne station, while the light green main tiles complement the original tile colour for Dufferin station.[5]

Facilities

Chester station has one entrance which is located on Chester Avenue just north of Danforth Avenue. A walkway leads to the station from a nearby street to allow access to the station from the west side. The nearby communities that are served by this station are Greektown, Withrow Park, Riverdale, and Broadview North. In addition to serving these communities, Chester station is commonly used to access local street festivals such as the Taste of the Danforth.[6]

Although the station is rated as high priority in the requirement for a second exit,[7] Chester is the only one left on the east end of the Bloor-Danforth line where design work and consultation has yet to be done.[8]

The Gateway Newsstand kiosk at the station, which had been vacant for over six years, was reopened on May 8, 2015[9] as "The Artist Newsstand" by a group of local artists led by Jess Dobkin.[10][11] Along with the usual offerings of newspapers, magazines and drinks, The Artist Newsstand is a performance and gallery space for artists[12] as well as being staffed by artists, as a way of funding their work. A $4000 Kickstarter campaign was launched to fund the renovation of the kiosk, with the campaign successfully raising $4,931.[13] The Artist Newsstand will operate in the space for one year.[11]

Station improvements

As part of its Public Art Program announced in June 2017, the TTC intends to install, an artwork titled FLORAE by artist Katharine Harvey. The work is a series of wall mosaics and art glass elements inspired by native plants and flowers of the area.[14]

Surface connections

This is the only station with no TTC bus service during the day. When the subway is closed, however, the following TTC routes connect with Chester station:

Route Name Additional Information
300A Bloor-Danforth Eastbound to Warden, westbound to Pearson Airport
(On-street transfer)
300B Eastbound to Kennedy station, westbound to West Mall
(On-street transfer)

References

  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ "OUR STATIONS - TCONNECT.ca". TCONNECT.ca. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  3. ↑ Bow, James (November 29, 2009). "A History of Subways on Bloor and Queen Streets". Transit Toronto. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  4. ↑ Brader, Mark (January 10, 2008). "An Essay on Original Subway Station Design". Transit Toronto. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  5. ↑ Blackett, Matthew (March 25, 2008). "Ride the Rainbow of the Bloor-Danforth". Spacing Toronto. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Map To Greektown With TTC and Parking Lots". Greektown on the Danforth BIA. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  7. ↑ Richard C. Ducharme (April 14, 2004). "Fire Safety and Second Exits at Subway Stations". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  8. ↑ Danielle Milley (July 20, 2010). "Chester station last one without emergency escape". InsideToronto. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  9. ↑ "We open on Friday, May 8! Grand Opening celebration on Wednesday, May 13!". Kickstarter. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  10. ↑ Derek Flack (March 18, 2015). "Art kiosk and newsstand set to open at Chester Station". blogTO. Retrieved March 1, 2015. The kiosk opens on May 1st.
  11. 1 2 Dupuis, Chris (April 29, 2015). "Artist Newsstand breathes new life into the TTC". Daily Xtra. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Toronto artists to transform Chester Station newsstand into performance space". MetroNews. March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015. The plan is to re-open the kiosk as a newsstand, but also sell artists' works and schedule regular performances.
  13. ↑ The Artists Newsstand. "Extra! Extra! An Artists Newsstand is Coming to Toronto!". Kickstarter. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  14. ↑ "TTC Public Art Program". Toronto Transit Commission. June 5, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
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