Downsview Park station

Downsview Park
Location 1212 Sheppard Ave West,
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates 43°45′14″N 79°28′42″W / 43.75389°N 79.47833°W / 43.75389; -79.47833Coordinates: 43°45′14″N 79°28′42″W / 43.75389°N 79.47833°W / 43.75389; -79.47833
Operated by Toronto Transit Commission
Platforms Centre platform
Tracks 2
Bus routes
Construction
Disabled access Yes
Architect Aedas
Architectural style Postmodern architecture
History
Opened December 17, 2017 (2017-12-17)[1]
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
toward Vaughan
 Yonge–University
toward Finch

Downsview Park is a rapid transit station on Line 1 Yonge–University of the Toronto subway and a commuter rail station on the Barrie commuter rail line of GO Transit. Subway service began on December 17, 2017, and GO Train service began on December 30, 2017.[2] Downsview Park station is a fully integrated multi-modal transit facility serving both transit lines. This is in contrast to other interchanges between TTC subway and GO Transit rail lines, which have separate structures for each agency.

Services

TTC Line 1 operates every 5 minutes or better all day, every day.[3]

The GO Transit Barrie Line operates approximately every 15–30 minutes during the morning peak period, every 30 minutes during the afternoon peak period, and every 60 minutes outside of peak periods including on weekends and holidays. [4]

Subway station

Name

The station had been expected to be named Sheppard West[5] and was officially referred to by that name during construction.[6]

Approval was given in 2010 for the station to be named Downsview Park, subject to the satisfactory resolution of negotiations between the Toronto Transit Commission, the City of Toronto, and the federally-managed Downsview Park related to property acquisition, and to rename the existing Downsview station to Sheppard West.[7]

Description

Entrance to one of the subway station buildings
Artwork: Spin
by Panya Clark Espinal

The subway platform is underground on an east–west axis parallel to Sheppard Avenue West. It is one of three stations on Line 1 with an east–west orientation, the others being Union and St. George. An intermediate concourse level is located below ground between the subway and GO platforms. GO Transit has committed to cost sharing at this station. Upon its opening, York University GO Station located a short distance to the north experienced a service reduction; only weekday peak period trains service that station, while all trains service Downsview Park GO. A new roadway named Vitti Street on the west side of the station provides vehicle access and passenger pick-up/drop-off.[8] To the east and west of the station, the line swings broadly at a 90° angle northwest to Finch West station and southeast via a compound curve to Sheppard West station.

The station is located in a low density district; however, the TTC expects mixed use development on nearby land. The GO train connection is also expected to boost ridership.[9]

The station building is constructed of glass, stone, and aluminum blend and has a green roof. It is designed to allow sunlight to reach the subway platform. The artwork Spin by artist Panya Clark Espinal spans the interior's walls, floors, and ceilings. Artist Espinal also created the artwork for Bayview station.[9] The floor of the station at the platform level is constructed using striped terrazzo.

Architecture firm Aedas was commissioned to design the station; their initial plan provides twinned entrances on opposite sides of the rail corridor, each with green roofs that resemble landing strips or wings.[10]

TTC Fare collection

As with all stations from Wilson north to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, legacy TTC fare media (tokens, tickets and physical Metropasses) are accepted at this station pending elimination, but they cannot be purchased by passengers, who otherwise need to pay exact change for cash fares. Presto cards can be purchased and loaded with funds for single rides or with TTC Metropasses for unlimited travel, using various automated machines at the station.[11]

GO station

Downsview Park
Operated by GO Transit
Platforms 1 [8] (2nd roughed-in)
Tracks 1 (2nd planned)
Connections
Construction
Disabled access Yes
Architect Aedas
Architectural style Postmodern architecture
Other information
Station code GO Transit: DWPK
Fare zone 19
History
Opened December 30, 2017 (2017-12-30)[12]
Services
Preceding station   GO Transit   Following station
Barrie
Terminus

The GO Transit commuter rail station is at the surface on a north–south axis, perpendicular to the subway line. There is only one platform, but a second is roughed-in and will open after the ongoing construction to double-track the Barrie line is completed.[13] There are separate surface station buildings to serve both platforms after completion.

History

The official ground breaking ceremony for the Toronto–York Spadina Subway Extension was held on November 27, 2009,[14] however tunnelling operations did not commence until June 2011.[15] The station opened on December 17, 2017, along with the rest of the extension.[16] It opened to GO Transit service on December 30, 2017, on the same day that a major service increase was inaugurated on the Barrie line.[2]

Nearby landmarks

Nearby landmarks include Downsview Park, which is Canada's National Urban Park and played host to World Youth Day in 2002 and the SARSstock concert in 2003. The Park is site of an airstrip used by aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace and formerly used as Canadian Forces Base Downsview. Other points of interest include the Chesswood hockey arenas, Toronto FC's BMO training ground, Scotiabank Pond Hockey Arena, and "The Hangar" sports facility, as well as industrial lands north of Sheppard.

Surface connections

A transfer is required to connect between the subway and surface bus routes, as there is no attached bus terminal and connections are made on-street, outside the station. Passengers must enter/exit via the west station building, walk along the sidewalks on Vitti Street, and access bus services at the intersection of Vitti and Sheppard Avenue West, which features a newly installed crosswalk and new bus stops.[17]

Route Name Additional Information
84A/C/D Sheppard West Eastbound to Sheppard–Yonge station
84A Westbound to Weston Road
84C Westbound to Steeles Avenue West via Arrow Road
(Rush hour service)
84D Westbound to Pioneer Village station via Oakdale Road
(Rush hour service)
101 Downsview Park Eastbound to Sheppard West station and westbound to Downsview Park
106 Sentinel Eastbound to Sheppard West station and westbound to Pioneer Village station
107 St. Regis Southbound to Sheppard West station and northbound to Pioneer Village station via Petrolia Road
108A/B Driftwood Eastbound to Sheppard West station
108A Westbound to Pioneer Village station via Grandravine Drive
108B Westbound to Pioneer Village station via Arleta Avenue
984 Sheppard West Express Eastbound to Sheppard–Yonge station
984A Westbound to Weston Road
(Rush hour service)
384 Sheppard West Blue Night service; Westbound to Weston Road and eastbound to Sheppard–Yonge station. Overnight service stops on Sheppard Avenue West and does not enter the station.

References

  1. ↑ Beattie, Samantha; Spurr, Ben (December 16, 2017). "After delays, cost overruns, and tragedy, a subway to Vaughan is complete". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "More Barrie GO Trains". GO Transit. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  3. ↑ "TTC Downsview Park". ttc.ca. Toronto Transit Commission. n.d. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Barrie Line 2018" (PDF). gotransit.com. GO Transit. December 30, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  5. ↑ Tess Kalinowski (November 27, 2009). "TTC breaks ground on subway extension". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Sheppard West Station (TTC official site)". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension, Station Names" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. September 30, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Sheppard West Subway Station Open House" (PDF). Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension. Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  9. 1 2 Ben Spurr (January 23, 2017). "TTC's newest subway extension taking shape". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Sheppard West Station, Approval Of Conceptual Design" (PDF). Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension Project. Toronto Transit Commission. September 24, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  11. ↑ "New Customer Service Agents at TTC stations". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  12. ↑ "First GO train rolls through new Downsview Park station". CityNews Toronto. December 30, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Notice of Commencement and Public Engagement Barrie Rail Corridor Expansion Transit Project Assessment Process" (PDF). Metrolinx. May 11, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension breaks ground". Railway Gazette. November 30, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Tunnel boring for Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension begins". Toronto Transit Commission. June 17, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  16. ↑ Westoll, Nick (September 5, 2017). "Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension scheduled to open in mid-December". Global News. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  17. ↑ http://ttc.ca/TTC_Surveys/Subway_Access_Adjust.jsp

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