Toronto’s saddest subway stop

Islington Station, opened in 1968 as part of a major expansion of the Toronto subway system into Etobicoke and Scarborough, is now literally falling apart.

At platform level, Islington looks little different than most stations on the Bloor-Danforth Line with the faded wall tile, coated with a layer of brake dust. Upstairs, on the concourse level and the old bus terminal, the station is in far worse shape. Wear and tear from hundreds of buses entering and exiting the station every day, along with water seepage from an underground stream, has caused the station to look much older than it actually is.

From 1968 to 1980, Islington Station was the Bloor-Danforth Line’s western terminus, with buses branching out to points all over Etobicoke. The bus terminal boasted six bus bays, each with its own driveway. One of the six platforms was dedicated for Gray Coach services, which included an express bus to Pearson Airport.

An arriving bus would first pull into the east side of the terminal, with all passengers descending a set of stairs to the subway concourse, either to transfer to the subway, exit the station, or transfer to another bus route. The bus, once the operator took their break, would then pull forward to the boarding area, where a second set of stairs emerged from a waiting area. Below, on the concourse level, a flashing light would alert waiting passengers that their bus was boarding. The terminal design was similar to the original bus terminal at Eglinton Station; at Warden Station, the levels are reversed, with the bus bays below the passenger concourse.

In 1980, the subway was extended one stop westward to Kipling. The extension allowed the TTC to reroute most of its Etobicoke routes from Islington, which provided new space for Mississauga Transit, whose buses now loaded inside the bus terminal. (As the bus bays are inside the station’s fare-paid area, Mississauga Transit buses off-loaded passengers outside the station’s main entrance on Islington Avenue.) A seventh bay, located to the south of the original structure, was added to provide additional capacity for Mississauga Transit, however, only simple bus shelters provided protection from the rain and snow.

But by 2016, the bus terminal area was starting to crumble, and bus bays 1 and 2 (the bus bays closest to the subway platforms) were closed permanently to prevent further structural damage. Mississauga and GO Transit planned for a new terminal adjacent to Kipling Station, but it was delayed by several years. Part of the delay was caused by Hydro One — owner of the transmission lines that parallel the subway and adjacent Canadian Pacific Railway corridor — who refused to allow a terminal building under its wires.

The opening of the new Kipling terminal for GO and Mississauga Transit buses in May 2021 (repositioned to avoid the hydro corridor) allowed the TTC to permanently close the crumbling bus terminal bays. All remaining buses — 37/937 Islington, 50 Burnhamthorpe, and 110 Islington South — began only using the outer bus loading area in late 2021.

With little room remaining for buses to load, offload, and layover, passengers on TTC buses arriving at Islington are now let off on the street and must walk to the main entrance and show their transfer or tap their Presto card to enter the subway or transfer to another bus. Though Route 37/937 and 50 buses stop right in front of the station entrance on Islington Avenue, Route 110 buses off load on Bloor Street, a two-minute walk to the subway entrance.

Since the bus terminal closure, the decay at Islington Station has extended beyond the bus area. On the mezzanine level, ceiling tiles were removed, while black netting catches chunks of broken concrete. Removed wall tiles reveal crumbling concrete and exposed rebar. Water leaks cover the mezzanine floor. There are no signs advising passengers of work underway or future construction, though there have been several plans to rebuild the station and promote new development on the site.

Not only is reconstruction needed to rectify the deteriorating state of the station, Islington is also one of 15 subway stations that still do not have barrier-free access for passengers using wheelchairs or other mobility devices. Islington and Warden were left at the bottom of the list for station retrofits largely due to the difficulty of providing barrier-free access. The outdated bus terminal layouts at those stations require complete redesigns, and both stations are good candidates for urban development.

There have been several proposals for redevelopment at Islington, taking advantage of its large bus terminal area and parking lot. The city first looked at redevelopment in 2006. At that time, there was a proposal from engineering firm SNC-Lavalin for a new office building that would incorporate a rebuilt station. However, that proposal deal fell through.

In 2021, a new plan to rebuild the station was presented to the public. It would include a new six-bay bus terminal in the commuter parking lot north of the existing terminal. Upon completion, the old bus area would be redeveloped under the city’s CreateTO housing program. Aberfoyle Crescent, which connects Islington Avenue and Bloor Street, would be extended through the station property to provide bus access and allow for development of the rest of the station property. The site is constrained by the same Hydro One corridor that stymied construction of the new Kipling terminal (much of the parking lot is under hydro wires), but this is a much smaller bus terminal, and hopefully lessons were learned this time.

Work on station construction was scheduled to begin in Spring 2023.

It is now mid-June 2023, and for now, there is no sign of work. Inside the station, there are no signs informing customers of impending construction, even if only to reassure passengers that the decrepit conditions are being addressed.

The many delays at Islington Station are also indictive of the difficulties of redeveloping even city-owned properties for new, much needed housing. It won’t be until 2026 — at the earliest — that new development can take place.

Until then, TTC customers must put up with a rapidly deteriorating station.