smuncky said:
Awful decision. I remember the market filled with sunshine almost all day. Now it'll be tucked up off the ground, between a bunch of towers. Definitely not as enjoyable.

And outside of the normal workday, there'll be much less foot traffic there, especially since it'll be elevated up above where people actually walk.
Click to expand...

Indeed, it's a terrible move - if congestion is a problem, they can spread the market out a bit and not restrict themselves to the space in front of the head of house/Great Hall. Use the rest of the Front Street, which is taken up more often than not by vagrants and preachers more than anything else.

Beyond that, the market services an important interim function - the lack of food options at Union. Move it to Adelaide? Who comes up with these asinine ideas?

AoD
 
gregv said:
Someone from Eva's Original Chimneys commented on the blog TO article indicating there would be a market at Union this summer. So maybe just a new operator? I really enjoyed the market last year and am hoping something as good will replace it.
Click to expand...

Another comment on blogTO says the market at Union will run June 27 to September 5 and you can follow @torontounion on Twitter for updates.
 
MetroMan said:
I have to say that I'm kind of glad. The Union Station plaza was built the way it was to support large volumes of travellers and commuters. The market took up 2/3rds of that space, leaving a strip of sidewalk similar to the one that was there before. One offs that last a week or so are fine. Permanent summer long fixtures are not.
Click to expand...


I agree with the assessment here. When I made my way through Union last summer I had to contend with an overwhelming wall of people. I couldn't move out there.

All the people having lunch and loitering around the market made me want to avoid the mess altogether.

Honestly, once more food options come online in Union I think the market will see a drop in business.
 
Richard White said:
I agree with the assessment here. When I made my way through Union last summer I had to contend with an overwhelming wall of people. I couldn't move out there.
Click to expand...

How much of this had to do with the fact that there was ongoing construction? How different would it bee if both wings, both levels and the moat in Union were open?
 
DonValleyRainbow said:
How much of this had to do with the fact that there was ongoing construction? How different would it bee if both wings, both levels and the moat in Union were open?
Click to expand...

Front street and the plaza were open at that point. The facade construction was winding down if not completed in that area.

As for the moat it was open at the time. Only the western section was somewhat closed. The west wing was open and the east wing won't be open for a couple more years.

That said conditions are hardly any different now. The only difference is the Great Hall construction which impedes traffic somewhat. All the construction at the exterior ramp to arrivals, in the great hall etc will only make things worse with the market there. There is limited access via front and the station cannot handle the crowds via front.
 
Richard White said:
Front street and the plaza were open at that point. The facade construction was winding down if not completed in that area.

As for the moat it was open at the time. Only the western section was somewhat closed. The west wing was open and the east wing won't be open for a couple more years.

That said conditions are hardly any different now. The only difference is the Great Hall construction which impedes traffic somewhat. All the construction at the exterior ramp to arrivals, in the great hall etc will only make things worse with the market there. There is limited access via front and the station cannot handle the crowds via front.
Click to expand...

Optimizing traffic flow is an issue, but I don't feel that the entrance to the Great Hall is the one that used most frequently. Having said that a move towards using the plaza for cafe/sitting might be better once the in station retail space opens.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Optimizing traffic flow is an issue, but I don't feel that the entrance to the Great Hall is the one that used most frequently. Having said that a move towards using the plaza for cafe/sitting might be better once the in station retail space opens.

AoD
Click to expand...


Fair enough. I use the front street entrance to the great hall often and the one thing I noticed recently is the scaffolding right in front of the doors.

Anyone coming in has to make their way around it. It creates a bottleneck.
 
Richard White said:
Fair enough. I use the front street entrance to the great hall often and the one thing I noticed recently is the scaffolding right in front of the doors.

Anyone coming in has to make their way around it. It creates a bottleneck.
Click to expand...

The main issue for me is visual clutter - not being able to get a clear sight-line to the Great Hall entrance as a result of how the market is positioned and the height of the structures in it.

AoD
 
Sorry folks, off topic for a second. A few months ago I thought I heard mention of US Customs preclearance becoming available at Union station. As preclearance requires a sterile area apart from the general public would we see the VIA departures hall eventually closed off from the general public once the renovation is complete?
 
Woodbridge_Heights said:
Sorry folks, off topic for a second. A few months ago I thought I heard mention of US Customs preclearance becoming available at Union station.
Click to expand...
Yes, an agreement was signed relating to Toronto Union for preclearance. However, it's happening for Montreal first.

Curiousity: It's a little more complicated for Toronto than for Montreal/Vancouver as their international trains do not have any stops before the border. Currently, the Amtrak trains stop at Aldershot (And perhaps eventually Hamilton, as well). How will preclearance at Union accomodate this, or will Amtrak trains cease to stop before the border crossing?
 
mdrejhon said:
Yes, an agreement was signed relating to Toronto Union for preclearance. However, it's happening for Montreal first.

Curiousity: It's a little more complicated for Toronto than for Montreal/Vancouver as their international trains do not have any stops before the border. Currently, the Amtrak trains stop at Aldershot (And perhaps eventually Hamilton, as well). How will preclearance at Union accomodate this, or will Amtrak trains cease to stop before the border crossing?
Click to expand...
They'll have to go non-stop to the border as the train will essentially be sterile US land.
 
Woodbridge_Heights said:
Sorry folks, off topic for a second. A few months ago I thought I heard mention of US Customs preclearance becoming available at Union station. As preclearance requires a sterile area apart from the general public would we see the VIA departures hall eventually closed off from the general public once the renovation is complete?
Click to expand...

I'd say that the best place to do that would be the track that's shared with UP. The main entrance to that track is off of the west hall...I bet you could reconfigure the space between the hall and the track to add that functionality.
 
mdrejhon said:
Yes, an agreement was signed relating to Toronto Union for preclearance. However, it's happening for Montreal first.

Curiousity: It's a little more complicated for Toronto than for Montreal/Vancouver as their international trains do not have any stops before the border. Currently, the Amtrak trains stop at Aldershot (And perhaps eventually Hamilton, as well). How will preclearance at Union accomodate this, or will Amtrak trains cease to stop before the border crossing?
Click to expand...

Amtrak trains stop in St-Lambert QC, but I suspect that will come to an end.
 
Ironically, it will now be faster for me to go to Union by GOtrain, then catch the Amtrak, as the train will now be able to skip the 2-hour hold at the border...

...Until Hamilton grows enough to have customs preclearance too at West Harbour in 2041!

By the time it happens, they're probably Acela Express high speed trains
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top