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TORONTO-YORK SPADINA SUBWAY EXTENSION - STATION NAMES IN TORONTO

PDF: http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Comm...rk_Spadina.pdf

It is recommended that the Commission:

• Approve the station names DOWNSVIEW PARK, FINCH WEST, YORK UNIVERSITY, and STEELES WEST for intermediate stations on the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension, noting that these names were the ones most preferred -- in most cases by a wide margin -- by people who participated in the TTC’s public consultation;

• Approve renaming the existing DOWNSVIEW station to SHEPPARD WEST, as described in this report, in order to provide more-effective and useful travel information to passengers, noting that this name change was supported by 71% of the people who participated in the public consultation;

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Station Identification:

• Each rapid transit station will be identified by a name. Normally the station name will incorporate the name of the major cross-street at which it is located, so that the location of the station is clearly identified to customers as they travel through the system.

• All of the TTC's present 69 rapid transit stations have a name related to the geographic location of the station. Of these, 58 are named for an intersecting or nearby street, six are named for a nearby major destination or landmark, and five are named for the district in which they are located. TTC staff have consistently applied the Commission-approved station-naming policy because it is intended to provide the best-possible travel information to customers.

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DOWNSVIEW PARK

This station is located within Downsview Park, and will be the station that best serves customers travelling to the park, and to the developments planned for the area. The station is not located directly on any main road, but will be served by future unnamed local roads that will be established as part of planned developments. The TTC subway station will include an excellent connection to a future GO Transit station on the Barrie Line, and Metrolinx should be encouraged to use the same “Downsview Park” name for the GO station, so that the connection at both stations is easily recognised by customers. The “Downsview Park” name provides useful geographic information for customers.

Other Options Considered:

• “Sheppard West” – The station is located some distance south of Sheppard Avenue. The more prominent intersection of the Spadina Subway with Sheppard Avenue occurs one station to the east, at Sheppard Avenue and Allen Road, and that location is better suited to a “Sheppard West” name.

• “G0/Sheppard” – Including “GO” in a station name is not done at any of the other TTC stations with nearby GO connections. A hyphenated name is more subject to mis-spelling or mis-pronouncing.

• “Chesswood” or “Bakersfield” or “Carl Hall” – These nearby street names are not well known, nor easily recognisable to customers throughout the Toronto area.

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FINCH WEST

Finch Avenue West is the main east-west intersecting street at this station site on a north-south subway line. As such, use of “Finch” in the station name is consistent with the majority of existing TTC stations and with the Commission-approved policy on station names. The use of “West” in the station name is required to avoid confusion with the existing Finch Station, and is consistent with other station names on the Spadina Subway, which have “West” as part of the station name. The “Finch West” name provides useful geographic information for customers.

Other Options Considered:

• “Finch” – This name is already in use for the station at Finch Avenue and Yonge Street on the Yonge Subway. Use of this name would be inconsistent with other stations on the Spadina Subway that are named after major east-west roads and which have “West” as a part of their name.

• “Keele” – This name is already in use for the station at Keele Street and Bloor Street on the Bloor-Danforth Subway. Keele Street is a north-south street, and so, logically, it does not describe the location of this north-south subway line as well as the name of an intersecting east-west street.

• “Keele North” – Keele Street is a north-south street, and so, logically, it does not describe the location of this north-south subway line as well as the name of an intersecting east-west street.

• “Finch-Keele” or “Keele-Finch” – A hyphenated name is subject to mis-spelling or mis-pronouncing. Keele Street is a north-south street, and so, logically, it does not describe the location of this north-south subway line as well as the name of an intersecting east-west street.

• “Four Winds” or “Sentinel” – These nearby street names are not as well known, or recognisable to customers throughout the Toronto area as Finch Street.

• “University Heights” – This neighbourhood name is not as well known, or recognisable to customers throughout the Toronto area as a station name that includes “Finch”, for Finch Street.

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