- Bloor–Danforth line
-
The Bloor–Danforth Line (officially Route 2 Bloor–Danforth Subway)[2] is a rapid transit line of the Toronto subway and RT, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. It has 31 stations and is 26.2 kilometres (16.3 mi) in length. It opened on February 25, 1966, and extensions at both ends were completed in 1968 and again in 1980. It is also numbered as Route 2 (formerly route 601),[3] but its route number is used primarily for internal purposes and is rarely shown on public maps or signs.
The line runs primarily along Bloor Street from its western terminus at Kipling Avenue to the Prince Edward Viaduct east of Castle Frank Road, after which the street continues as Danforth Avenue. Just east of Main Street, the line begins to deviate north from Danforth Road and runs grade-separated until its eastern terminus, slightly east of Kennedy Road on Eglinton Avenue.
The 300 Bloor–Danforth bus provides late-night service when the subway is not in operation. This service operates frequently along Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue between East/West Mall and Warden. Some trips extend to Pearson Airport, providing late-night service in the place of the 192 Airport Rocket. Service is provided east of Warden and Danforth via the 302 Danforth Rd-McCowan bus. On Sundays, these routes operate through the early morning hours, because the subway starts at 9:00 a.m. instead of the usual 6:00 a.m.
Contents
History
There was much debate in the 1950s over where the second Toronto subway line would run. There were many advocates for it to run under Queen Street West and Queen Street East, while others supported Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue. Due to the large amount of growth in that area, and the prophetically available rail deck under the Prince Edward Viaduct, the second option was constructed.
Before the subway was built, the TTC operated streetcars from Jane Street in the west to Luttrell Avenue (west of Victoria Park Avenue) in the east, using paired PCC streetcars or multiple units (MUs) from 1950 to the subway line opening in 1966.
The original Bloor–Danforth Line was opened in 1966, running alongside Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue from Keele station in the west to Woodbine station in the east. Construction was already in progress to extend the Bloor–Danforth Line in both directions, and these extensions opened simultaneously on May 11, 1968, to Islington Station in the west and Warden Station in the east.[4] Until its abolition in 1973, the five stations from Old Mill and Victoria Park outward formed an anomaly in the TTC's zone fare system, being treated as part of the central Zone 1.
In 1980, the line was extended once again, this time to the current termini of Kipling station in the west end and Kennedy station in the east.
The automated audible announcements for the Bloor–Danforth Line were installed in January 2008. However, while the automated announcements on TTC buses and streetcars are both audible and visible, The new subway trains, which entered service on July 21, 2011, provides audible and visible automated stop announcements, and are only found on TTC's Yonge–University–Spadina line.The TTC estimates that automatic train control on the Bloor–Danforth Line could be installed by 2020.[citation needed]
Stations
Further information: List of Toronto subway and RT stationsThe line has its western terminus near Kipling Avenue and Bloor Street West. Going east for twelve kilometres along Bloor, it meets the Yonge–University–Spadina line at Spadina, St. George, and Yonge stations. Two kilometres further on Bloor East, crossing the Prince Edward Viaduct, it continues just north of Danforth Avenue for six more kilometres before turning northeast for the final five kilometres, ending at Kennedy station (near Kennedy Road and Eglinton Avenue), which is also the southern terminus of the Scarborough RT.
Most of the line is underground, with exceptions noted below; most of the tunnel is cut-and-cover, but some is bored. The line generally does not run under Bloor Street or Danforth Avenue themselves, but is offset to the north: in some areas it runs under parks and parking lots behind the businesses on the north side of the street, while other sections run under side streets. All stations except Chester connect to surface TTC bus and/or streetcar routes either by transfer or fare-paid terminal. Other surface and train connections are noted below.
Sections of the line that are not underground are the track between Kipling station and just west of Islington station, a short section between Islington station and Royal York station crossing a bridge over Mimico Creek, from Old Mill station to west of Jane station (the portal at Old Mill station is located at roughly the middle of the platform: the western half of the station is underground, while the eastern half is on the Humber River viaduct), east of Runnymede station to west of High Park station, east of Keele station (the eastern half of the station is elevated above Keele Street) to west of Dundas West station, east of Sherbourne station to west of Castle Frank station (although the bridge is covered, and so appears to be a tunnel from the inside, merely with an unusual shape), east of Castle Frank station to west of Broadview station (spanning the Don Valley on the Prince Edward Viaduct), and east of Main Street station to east of Warden station (both Victoria Park and Warden stations are above ground, although they are enclosed).
Designs
Most of the stations have similar designs, which are mainly utilitarian (sometimes referred to as “bathroom modern”) and use the unique Toronto Subway Font on the stations' walls. This design consists of two colours for the tiles, one for main wall tiles and another for trim tiles near the ceiling of the stations. The station names on the main wall tiles uses the colour of the trim tiles and vice versa, except that some of the station names of the trim tiles are white instead of the main wall tile colour for readability. This is based on a similar design of stations along the University line. They follow a regular pattern with few exceptions. The exceptions include Christie station after the arson in 1976 that led to the replacement of the trim tiles with the wrong-coloured tiles in the middle of the station platform (due to the lack of extra green trim tiles, red was used instead), the old termini of Islington and Warden stations (1968–1980), which both have a tricolour design; and the current (since 1980) termini of Kipling and Kennedy stations, which resemble the second version of Union subway station (after the original yellow and red vitrolite) and until the second version's luxalon was removed from the trackside walls, and Kipling and Kennedy stations are the only Bloor–Danforth line stations not to use the Toronto Subway Font.
High Park station has its main entrance and bus bay at its uppermost level, but its secondary exit is at its lowermost level; it is the only subway station in Toronto with that distinction.
Station Modernization Program
As the stations on the line begin to show signs of aging the TTC has embarked on a "Station Modernization Program" aimed at improving accessibility and appearances at several subway stations. Pape and Dufferin stations are the first slated for modernization under this project, and Victoria Park and Islington stations are also being modernized under larger capital projects aimed at greater accessibility and reconstruction of bus loading platforms.[5][6][7]
Modernization projects are expected to include new and updated wall finishes, signage, lighting and public art, as well as the installation of elevators for accessibility needs.
Secondary exit program
The second exit program was created after a fire safety audit revealed several at-risk stations with only one means of access and egress from the subway platform level to the street.[8]
Some stations with only one entrance/exit are slated to receive a second means of access/egress during major overhauls such as the station modernization programs at Pape and Dufferin stations.
Other stations such as Donlands and Greenwood are scheduled to receive secondary exits for egress only. Due to the potential for land expropriation and construction of the exit structures in residential neighbourhoods, this portion of the program has become controversial, as some houses need to be removed to accommodate these secondary exits.[9] However, plans to add a second exit for Donlands, Greenwood, and Woodbine stations have been deferred since late February 2011, due to lack of funding.[10]
Construction of a second access route at Broadview station was completed in 2008, when the streetcar loop was rebuilt, and work continues on a second entrance at Castle Frank station.
Expansion plans
The following expansion plans were considered in the past, but later shelved due to other transit improvements being favoured instead of subway extension.
Kipling to Mississauga
The TTC's Rapid Transit Expansion Study[11] identified the extension of this line as a low priority. This was replaced by a planned Dundas LRT run by MiWay going from Kipling to Hurontario Street, linking to the planned Hurontario LRT as part of the MoveOntario 2020 transit plan.
Possible expansion plan
- Proposed Stations
- East Mall
- Sherway Gardens (or West Mall)
- Dixie GO Station (in Mississauga)
- Cawthra (in Mississauga)
- Cooksville GO Station (in Mississauga)
- Mississauga City Centre
Scarborough RT replacement
Scarborough RT alternative expansionIn October 2005, a number of Toronto politicians began a campaign to extend the line northeastward as an alternative for the Scarborough RT, which is heavily used and under frequent repair, and to study the viability of this alternative. In August 2006, this campaign was ended, when Scarborough councillors agreed to support plans to refurbish the existing RT and pursue other RT and LRT options for Scarborough. An independent Scarborough subway, connecting the civic centre with downtown Toronto, has yet to be examined.[12] Rob Ford, who became mayor on December 1, 2010, proposed in his mayoralty campaign to replace the Scarborough RT with an extension of the Bloor–Danforth line.[13] However, on March 31, 2011, Ford agreed with the provincial government that the province's Metrolinx agency would replace the Scarborough RT with an elevated LRT as part of the Eglinton–Scarborough Crosstown line instead.[14]
- Proposed Stations
- Lawrence East
- Ellesmere-Midland (at the intersection, rather than two separate stations; the two existing stations that would be replaced are among the least busy in Toronto)
- Scarborough Centre
- Markham (Sheppard Avenue East/Markham Road)
See also
References
- ^ Subway ridership 2009-2010
- ^ http://www3.ttc.ca/Subway/index.jsp
- ^ Toronto Transit Commission, Scheduled Service Summary, Board Period Commencing Sunday, July 21, 1991
- ^ "The Abandoned Streetcar Shuttle Connection Passages". Transit Toronto. 2006-11-10. http://transit.toronto.on.ca/subway/5118.shtml. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
- ^ http://www3.ttc.ca/Service_Advisories/Construction/Pape_Station.jsp
- ^ http://www3.ttc.ca/Service_Advisories/Construction/Dufferin_Station_Modernization.jsp
- ^ http://www3.ttc.ca/Service_Advisories/Construction/Victoria_Park_Station_Bus_Terminal_Replacement1.jsp
- ^ http://www.ttc.ca/postings/gso-comrpt/documents/report/f2037/_conv.htm
- ^ Vyhnak, Carola (June 29, 2010). "Residents protest demolishing homes for subway exits". The Star (Toronto). http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/ttc/article/830325--residents-protest-demolishing-homes-for-subway-exits.
- ^ Goddard, John (March 2, 2011). "TTC slams door on second exit at Donlands subway". The Star (Toronto). http://www.thestar.com/news/article/945553--ttc-slams-door-on-second-exit-at-donlands-subway.
- ^ TTC Rapid Transit Expansion Study
- ^ Kevin McGran (2006-08-28). "Scarborough's dream of new subway ends". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1156716608607&call_pageid=968350130169&col=969483202845. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
- ^ "Rob Ford: 'Transit City is over'". CBC News. December 1, 2010. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/12/01/toronto-ford.html.
- ^ Government of Ontario news release March 31, 2011
External links
- TTC web site
- TTC's 2007 Transit City LRT proposal
- TTC news, history and discussion
- Stand Up Scarborough - volunteer group petitioning for the subway expansion
Stations of the Toronto Transit Commission Yonge–University–Spadina line Finch
• North York Centre • Sheppard–Yonge ■ • York Mills • Lawrence • Eglinton • Davisville • St. Clair ■ • Summerhill • Rosedale • Bloor-Yonge ■ • Wellesley • College • Dundas • Queen • King • Union ■ • St. Andrew • Osgoode • St. Patrick • Queen's Park • Museum • St. George ■ • Spadina ■ ■ • Dupont • St. Clair West ■ • Eglinton West • Glencairn • Lawrence West • Yorkdale • Wilson • Downsview • Sheppard West • Finch West • York University • Steeles West • Highway 407 • Vaughan Corporate CentreBloor–Danforth line Kipling • Islington • Royal York • Old Mill • Jane • Runnymede • High Park • Keele • Dundas West ■ • Lansdowne • Dufferin • Ossington • Christie • Bathurst ■ • Spadina ■ ■ • St. George ■ • Bay • Bloor-Yonge ■ • Sherbourne • Castle Frank • Broadview ■ • Chester • Pape • Donlands • Greenwood • Coxwell • Woodbine • Main Street ■ • Victoria Park • Warden • Kennedy ■Scarborough RT Sheppard line Streetcar system Queens Quay • Exhibition LoopLegend: - wheelchair-accessible | washroom | ■ - connection | proposed stationToronto Transit Commission Buses Blue Night Network • Fleet • Routes • Wheel-Trans • York University Busway
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- Railway lines opened in 1966
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