Kipling station

Kipling
Location	950 Kipling Avenue Toronto, Ontario Canada
Coordinates	43°38′14″N 79°32′10″W / 43.63722°N 79.53611°W / 43.63722; -79.53611Coordinates: 43°38′14″N 79°32′10″W / 43.63722°N 79.53611°W / 43.63722; -79.53611
Platforms	Centre platform
Tracks	2
Connections	TTC buses  30  Lambton  44  Kipling South  45  Kipling  46  Martin Grove  49  Bloor West  111  East Mall  112  West Mall  123  Sherway  188  Kipling South Rocket  192  Airport Rocket  300   Bloor–Danforth  927  Highway 27 Express Kipling GO Station
Construction
Structure type	At grade
Parking	1465 spaces[1]
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	November 21, 1980[2]
Traffic
Passengers (2016[3])	49,870
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station Terminus Bloor–Danforth Islington toward Kennedy

Kipling is the western terminus of the Line 2 Bloor–Danforth of the Toronto subway system. The station is served by buses and subway trains operated by the Toronto Transit Commission and is adjacent to the Kipling GO Station on the Milton line of GO Transit. It is located in the Islington–City Centre West neighbourhood on St. Albans Road at Aukland Road, west of the overpass of Kipling Avenue, after which the station is named. The Toronto Parking Authority operates three commuter parking lots near the station.^[4] Notably, Kipling is the departing and arriving point for the 192 Airport Rocket bus route, which provides quick and frequent service between Toronto's subway system and Toronto Pearson International Airport.

History

Kipling station, in what was then the Borough of Etobicoke, officially opened on November 21, 1980,^[2] but not until the following day^[5] was it opened to the public, along with Kennedy station as part of east-west extensions to the Bloor–Danforth line. Kipling and Kennedy were designed similarly, with both stations having a centre platform allowing trains to stop at either side. The platform walls in Kipling are yellow with black stripes and show the station's name in Univers.^[6]

As a result of the initial lack of density near the station, and its location near a hydro substation, it was originally designed around commuter travel, with a large amount of parking space and a roughed-in platform for a future light rail or light metro line, like the Scarborough RT at Kennedy.^[7] Due to this design, the area around Kipling station is considered to be a travel hub and it is being further developed to contain a regional bus platform as well as improved access to the adjacent Kipling GO Station.^[8]

In 1999, this station became accessible with elevators.

Facilities

The main entrance is located at the west end of Kipling station, with access to the GO station, commuter parking lots, and a kiss and ride area for passenger drop-off. An entrance at the east end makes the bus platform level accessible by way of a ramp, with an elevator providing a connection with the train platform below.^[9] Fares can be paid for at this station by using tokens, tickets, passes, as well as the Presto smart card.^[10] Currently it serves the high density residential and commercial developments that are being built, while acting as a hub for commuter travel.

Above the subway tracks on the south side of the station, opposite the bus bays on the same level, is an unfinished platform for a proposed but unbuilt Etobicoke RT line similar to Line 3 Scarborough.^[7]

East of the station towards Islington, the line continues on the surface alongside the railway right-of-way which parallels Dundas Street at a distance. It crosses over Bloor Street to the north side alongside the railway tracks, then dives underground below the tracks and turns parallel to Bloor.

Construction on a new 14-bay inter-regional bus terminal is underway and is scheduled to be completed in 2019.^[11] Upon completion, GO Transit buses will use the facility, and Mississauga Transit buses terminate at Kipling station instead of Islington. The current parking facilities will be reconfigured to allow for the construction of the terminal. The modernization project will also include landscaping and revitalization of interior and exterior station finishes and lighting.^[12]

Surface connections

Bus bays are a level above the subway trains on the north side of the station.

The bus platform is in the fare-paid zone, allowing passengers to quickly transfer between the subway and the following bus routes:^[13]

TTC routes serving the station include:

• Some 300 Bloor–Danforth trips do not enter the bus terminal, but can be accessed at Aukland Road at Dundas Street.
• An IKEA Etobicoke customer courtesy shuttle (not a TTC route), departs from Subway Crescent^[14] north of the Kiss and ride area.
• MiWay bus routes do not directly connect to the station, unlike at Islington. Buses can be boarded and dropped off on Dundas Street at Aukland Road. It is considered an accessible connection between MiWay and the TTC.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kipling station.

• Kipling Station at the Toronto Transit Commission