Downsview Park station

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.[3] 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.

For the subway station formerly known as Downsview, see Sheppard West station.

Downsview Park
General information
Location1212 Sheppard Ave West,
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates43°45′14″N 79°28′42″W
Operated byToronto Transit Commission
PlatformsCentre platform
Tracks2
Bus routes
  •  84  Sheppard West
  •  101  Downsview Park
  •  106  Sentinel
  •  107  York University Heights
  •  108  Driftwood
  •  384   Sheppard West
  •  984A  Sheppard West Express
Construction
ParkingNone
AccessibleYes
ArchitectAedas
Architectural stylePostmodern architecture
Other information
Station codeGO Transit: DW
WebsiteOfficial station page
History
OpenedDecember 17, 2017 (2017-12-17)[1]
Passengers
2019[2]3,090
Rank73 of 75
Services
Preceding station Toronto Transit Commission Following station
Finch West
towards Vaughan
 Yonge–University Sheppard West
towards Finch
Location

TTC ridership statistics for 2018 showed that Downsview Park was the least used station on the heavy-rail subway system, displacing Bessarion on Line 4 Sheppard.

Services

TTC Line 1 operates every 5 minutes or better all day, every day.[4]

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.[5]

Subway station

Name

The station had been expected to be named "Sheppard West"[6] and was officially referred to by that name during construction.[7]

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".[8]

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

The subway platform is underground on an east–west orientation 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. A new roadway named Vitti Street on the west side of the station provides vehicle access and passenger pick-up/drop-off.[9] To the east and west of the station, the line swings broadly at a 90-degree 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.[10]

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 Canadian artist Panya Clark Espinal spans the interior's walls, floors, and ceilings. Clark Espinal also created the artwork for Bayview station.[10] 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.[11]

GO station
Downsview Park
General information
Operated byGO Transit
Platforms1[9] (2nd roughed-in)
Tracks1 (2nd planned)
Connections
Construction
AccessibleYes
ArchitectAedas
Architectural stylePostmodern architecture
Other information
Station codeGO Transit: DW
Fare zone19
History
OpenedDecember 30, 2017 (2017-12-30)[12]
Passengers
Apr-Dec 2019451 daily[13]
Services
Preceding station GO Transit Following station
Rutherford
towards Allandale Waterfront
 Barrie Union Station
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.[14] The platform is located on the far side of the track near a separate surface station building accessed via the concourse, while the future second platform will be connected to the main building.

Upon its opening, York University GO Station, located a short distance to the north, experienced a service reduction; only weekday peak-period trains serviced that station, while all trains serviced Downsview Park GO. On March 18, 2020, York University GO Station ceased operation temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic but in 2021, the closure was confirmed to be permanent due to low ridership.[15][16]

History

The official ground breaking ceremony for the Toronto–York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE) was held on November 27, 2009;[17] with tunnelling operations beginning in June 2011.[18] The station opened on December 17, 2017, along with the rest of the extension.[19] 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.[3]

This station, along with the five other TYSSE stations, were the first to be opened without collectors, although collector booths were installed as per original station plans.[20] It was also among the first eight stations to discontinue sales of legacy TTC fare media (tokens and senior/youth tickets). Presto vending machines were available at its opening to sell Presto cards and to load funds or monthly passes onto them.[21] On May 3, 2019, this station became one of the first ten stations to sell Presto tickets via the Presto vending machines.[22]

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 the 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
Main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes

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. Buses stop on Sheppard Avenue and Vitti Street, about 140 metres from the west station building entrance.[23]

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 Westbound to Stanley Greene Boulevard
106 Sentinel Eastbound to Sheppard West station and westbound to Pioneer Village station
107A York University Heights Northbound to Steeles Avenue West via Keele Street
107B Southbound to Sheppard West station via Keele Street
107C Northbound to Steeles Avenue West via Keele Street and Supertest Road
(Rush hour service)
107D Northbound to Steeles Avenue West via Alness Street and Supertest Road
(Rush hour service)
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
984A Sheppard West Express Eastbound to Sheppard–Yonge station and westbound to Weston Road
(Rush hour service)
384 Sheppard West Blue Night service; westbound to Weston Road and eastbound to Sheppard–Yonge station.

References
  1. Beattie, Samantha; Spurr, Ben (December 16, 2017). "After delays, cost overruns, and tragedy, a subway to Vaughan is complete". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on December 17, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  2. "Subway ridership, 2019" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2023. 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. "More Barrie GO Trains". GO Transit. Archived from the original on December 13, 2017.
  4. "TTC Downsview Park". ttc.ca. Toronto Transit Commission. n.d. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  5. "Barrie Line - table 65" (PDF). gotransit.com. GO Transit. January 5, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  6. Kalinowski, Tess (November 27, 2009). "TTC breaks ground on subway extension". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  7. "TTC Sheppard West Station". ttc.ca. Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  8. "Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension, Station Names" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. September 30, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  9. "Sheppard West Subway Station Open House" (PDF). Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension. Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  10. Spurr, Ben (January 23, 2017). "TTC's newest subway extension taking shape". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  11. "Sheppard West Station, Approval Of Conceptual Design" (PDF). Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension Project. Toronto Transit Commission. September 24, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  12. "First GO train rolls through new Downsview Park station". CityNews Toronto. December 30, 2017. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  13. "GO Transit Ridership Map (April-December 2019)" (PDF). Metrolinx. February 13, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  14. "Notice of Commencement and Public Engagement Barrie Rail Corridor Expansion Transit Project Assessment Process" (PDF). Metrolinx. May 11, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  15. "GO Train Shuttle Service". York University. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  16. "York University GO Station closes to make way for Barrie Line expansion". Metrolinx. July 19, 2021. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  17. "Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension breaks ground". Railway Gazette. November 30, 2009. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  18. "Tunnel boring for Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension begins". Toronto Transit Commission. June 17, 2011. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  19. Westoll, Nick (September 5, 2017). "Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension scheduled to open in mid-December". Global News. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  20. "York University station – Site plan (P. 19)" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  21. "New Customer Service Agents at TTC stations". Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  22. "TTC extends sales of Presto Tickets to 10 stations". Toronto Transit Commission. May 6, 2019. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  23. "Bus Route Changes". Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2019.

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