Allandale25 said:
Anyone know what the future plan is for these spaces in the VIA concourse? View attachment 376331

View attachment 376334

View attachment 376335
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I do not know how true this is, but many years ago I was told that these units do not meet the fire code and can only be used as displays. Hopefully this isn’t true, leaving them empty just makes this part of Union look more run down, ghetto and like a dying suburban mall.

With all the money being tossed at Union Station one would think they should at least be able to approach the environment found at NYC Grand Central. But no. It feels like a bank/mezzanine of a corporate tower in the GO sections with a dying 90s suburban mall in the middle.

Addedum: Union is still confusing as heck with the somewhat dead-end like passages that wrap wound the waiting area for national trains. The wayfinders are ABSOLUTELY garbage, every time I get lost trying to either find the connections to other places or for my GO train.
 
yrt+viva=1system said:
I do not know how true this is, but many years ago I was told that these units do not meet the fire code and can only be used as displays. Hopefully this isn’t true, leaving them empty just makes this part of Union look more run down, ghetto and like a dying suburban mall.

With all the money being tossed at Union Station one would think they should at least be able to approach the environment found at NYC Grand Central. But no. It feels like a bank/mezzanine of a corporate tower in the GO sections with a dying 90s suburban mall in the middle.

Addedum: Union is still confusing as heck with the somewhat dead-end like passages that wrap wound the waiting area for national trains. The wayfinders are ABSOLUTELY garbage, every time I get lost trying to either find the connections to other places or for my GO train.
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Once the passage underneath VIA opens, I see very little reason to go through VIA (unless you’re taking a VIA train of course), but the majority of traffic is probably downtown into Union (entering from TTC north side) or subway to/from GO. Most people will probably take the underpass if they need to go to the York concourse food court.

Does anyone know if there are plans for anything more than the Tim Hortons kiosk on main level of Bay? The concourse feels very empty, compared to York with McCafe, Starbucks, etc.
 
% Arabica posted in one of their IG captions back in October 2021 that they are aiming to open the Union Station location around June 2022. Hopefully that timeline still stands.

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tecturemuse said:
% Arabica posted in one of their IG captions back in October 2021 that they are aiming to open the Union Station location around June 2022. Hopefully that timeline still stands.

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Is the Yorkdale one actually going to make Jan 2022? I don’t see any info on their social media.
 
nfitz said:
Makes me wonder what you'd say about what Metrolinx corridors below tracks look like! This is one of the few that they don't manage/build.
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What Mx does below the tracks at their typical station is indeed gracless and charmless far more than it need be.

The way in which they design and implement the tunnels at most stations is fine; it's really a question of fit and finish.
Tile or otherwise adorn the walls, install lighting with a measure of aesthetic value and a bright, warm glow.

***

Union Station, however, is our City's signature train station.

It's a key face to tourists. It can and should look better than most or all the rest.
This is not the break room, or back-of-house, it's a customer-facing area, the principle one really for the national passenger rail service.

We can, we should, we really must do better.

That this area was always something of an afterthought is unfortunate; but the mistakes of the past are no excuse for inaction in the present to build a better future.
 
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Northern Light said:
Union Station, however, is our City's signature train station.

It's a key face to tourists. It can and should look better than most or all the rest.
This is not the break room, or back-of-house, it's a customer-facing area, the principle one really for the national passenger rail service.

We can, we should, we really must do better.

That this area was always something of an afterthought is unfortunate; but the mistakes of the past are no excuse for inaction in the present to build a better future.
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They really have done very little work here, especially with the connections to the tracks. Presumably stuff is going to have to shift somewhat with the platforms above moving. Perhaps they are are planning more later, when that work is done. The issues with this corridor are a century old.
 
The VIA Concourse was restored to look “original”. To me it looks dated; and I think it should’ve been fully renovated but with historical elements added in here and there.
 
Willybru21 said:
The VIA Concourse was restored to look “original”. To me it looks dated; and I think it should’ve been fully renovated but with historical elements added in here and there.
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I'd have been quite happy to remove every ounce of material south of the original building. There seems to have been a very different level of care and design for the great hall and everything north of the tracks that was designed pre-world-war I and constructed through 1920, than the trainshed and VIA concourse which didn't start construction until after the 1923 GTR bankruptcy, and wasn't completed until 1930.
 
Willybru21 said:
The VIA Concourse was restored to look “original”. To me it looks dated; and I think it should’ve been fully renovated but with historical elements added in here and there.
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I think, for the most part, the white tile is fine, IF it were properly and full restored, or replaced with like.

The lighting is certainly not 'original' looking; and to the extent it were, to hell with history, LOL.

Given the constraints involved (ceiling height), simple, elegant, recessed LED lighting in a nice temperature setting would be fine.

But it is a bit bland.

Carefully curating the display windows, using bright, but suitably coloured seating and some well placed art would do wonders.

****

Now, if I had Tabula Rasa and we started over........I'd think about much bigger changes.
 
nfitz said:
I'd have been quite happy to remove every ounce of material south of the original building. There seems to have been a very different level of care and design for the great hall and everything north of the tracks that was designed pre-world-war I and constructed through 1920, than the trainshed and VIA concourse which didn't start construction until after the 1923 GTR bankruptcy, and wasn't completed until 1930.
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The south part was never a graceful space. The heritage touches that have been restored are historically accurate but don’t contribute to interpretation of the heritage look and feel, let alone create much of a pleasant experience, I agree. And too much of the original material was just worn out, so refurbing it had little potential to impress.
Frankly, it’s not even a functional layout, it was ok when passenger volumes fell, but with GO expanding and VIA hoping to grow market share, it’s simply too small. I hope that when the platforms are modified some of the disfunction can be designed out.

- Paul
 
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