[taal]

It looks great ! This should be a model for all the other reno's

 

[nfitz]

It looks great ! This should be a model for all the other reno's

Really? I think it's a disaster.

1) The new exit doesn't allow people to enter.

2) The worst bottleneck was the narrow stairwell at the front entrance, from the faregates to the mezzanine. There was no attempt to widen it. The other stairwell to the mezzanine remained in place, but no one would ever walk that far out of ones way to get from the faregates to either track.

3) The second worst bottleneck are the narrow staircases from the mezzanine to the tracks. Nothing was done to widen this, and the new staircases to the tracks aren't of any use, as they are only accessible from the new exit that you can't enter.

4) There was a significant reduction in the space for buses, with the elimination of the second platform. This despite TTC plans for a Don Mills express bus that now has no place to stop in Pape station.

The cosmetic look might be good, but surely the key issue is the design of the station - not the clothing.

 

[junctionist]

I think they should go further with the aesthetic upgrades, with more interesting interior finishes like natural stone, terracotta, precast concrete and mosaic floors. The art could be bolder and bigger, though I like how they put in different pieces in different areas in the station. The pavilions themselves could be more interesting with new facades. Perhaps this station will be fully rebuilt anyway when it becomes a DRL interchange station.

 

[nfitz]

The pavilions themselves could be more interesting with new facades. Perhaps this station will be fully rebuilt anyway when it becomes a DRL interchange station.

If it becomes.

Remember, it's Donlands station that upgrade works have been suspended at, until they figure out the DRL alignment.

 

[salsa]

The new tiles don't look very high end with it's non-glossy finish. But at least the new ceiling looks nice unlike most other stations.

 

[khris]

Ugly ugly station. The public art is boring and uninteresting.

 

[nfitz]

It turns out that Pape station is going to get further renovations, as part of an early works contract for the future Ontario line extension. The details are up on the city's planning application website.

Other than typical utility relocations, the bigger issues are moving the tunnel vent shaft and altering the bus loop.

Almost all of the documents pertain to the early works, though there are some little tidbits. And a 3-D view of the final station. If I'm counting right, that's 3 escalators to the Ontario Line from ground surface. The design is far from final though.

 

[nfitz]

Hang on ... what's that new structure to the left (west), on Line 2, between Pape and Chester?. At first glance, I took that to be the newish Second Exit/Entrance they'd added. But it isn't, of course - it's the wrong direction and not connected to the platform.

It looks like an emergency exit. But why would that be part of Metrolinx's plans? And why would you need one in the short distance to Chester station? And why would you need stairs on both sides of the tracks for an emergency exit?

It's too far west of the platform to be another exit from the station. (it looks to be about where the laneway is, halfway between Pape and Gough, just east of that vent at the northeast corner of that magnificent Catholic church.

 

[Northern Light]

Hang on ... what's that new structure to the left (west), on Line 2, between Pape and Chester?. At first glance, I took that to be the newish Second Exit/Entrance they'd added. But it isn't, of course - it's the wrong direction and not connected to the platform.

It looks like an emergency exit. But why would that be part of Metrolinx's plans? And why would you need one in the short distance to Chester station? And why would you need stairs on both sides of the tracks for an emergency exit?

It's too far west of the platform to be another exit from the station. (it looks to be about where the laneway is, halfway between Pape and Gough, just east of that vent at the northeast corner of that magnificent Catholic church.

That is a second/third exit and it is attached to the Line 2 Platform.

This vent:

Is immediately west of of the western extent of the Line 2 Platforms.

***

I think its a requirement because the current second exit path (fire code requirement) will be subsumed into the concourse area of the new Ontario Line; so a replacement exit is required (the second exit path must be completely independent of the other, not sharing a concourse. )