While Montreal was celebrating the opening of another portion of its REM automated light metro system between Gare Centrale and Deux-Montagnes on the region’s north shore, Torontonians had to settle for the partial opening of two light rail stations on the delayed Line 5 Eglinton line: Mount Dennis and Cedarvale.
While the opening of Cedarvale (apart from the light rail platforms) slightly improved circulation at the existing Eglinton West Station, Mount Dennis Station provides for a new GO Transit and UP Express stop, a large TTC bus terminal, and access to a historic Kodak building. It’s an interesting structure that facilitates new intermodal connections, but could definitely benefit from a few minor improvements.
The Mount Dennis and Weston neighbourhoods were established around major industries, including CCM, Moffat Stoves, Willys-Overland, Dominion Bridge, Kodak, with even more employment at the nearby stockyards and slaughterhouses at St. Clair Avenue. The CN and CP railways passing through brought materials in and finished goods out. Today, only the Facelle tissue plant — now owned by Irving — remains in operation from that industrial past. The Dominion Bridge property later became the home of a TTC bus garage, while the Kodak plant became the site of the Eglinton Crosstown light rail storage and maintenance facility.
One building from the massive Kodak complex was preserved: Building 9, the employee recreation centre. The rear section of the main floor contains a public entrance to the station from the passenger pick-up and drop-off area, accessible washrooms, and access to the rest of the building (which is currently vacant). A bright mural, which once graced Building 9, can be found near the GO/UPX platform accesses. A heritage plaque tells the story of the building.
As UP Express and most GO Kitchener Line trains now stop at Mount Dennis, approximately three extra minutes is added to train trips. UP Express, which took 25 minutes between Pearson Airport Terminal 1 and Union Station, now takes 28 minutes. On the first day of stopping service last Sunday, very few passengers got on or off UP or GO trains (of the few that did, most appeared to be transit enthusiasts), but with more TTC bus connections and the Line 5 service hopefully coming soon, the station should become much busier.
Mount Dennis will be served by 13 different bus routes when the station is fully open, including a new route 901 express between Mount Dennis and Pearson Airport, via Dixon Road. Though most of the changes are simple route extensions to the new terminal (like the 161 and 168), the 35 Jane will be split into two (while the 935 express stays on Jane, bypassing Mount Dennis), and daytime surface service on Eglinton between Mount Dennis and Kennedy Stations will be limited to an infrequent Route 34 bus.
Despite some long corridors (particularly between the escalators up to the bus terminal and down to the closed-off LRT platforms), the station is well designed for the complexity of the site. The bus terminal and LRT platforms are both within the fare-paid area, eliminating one barrier between buses and rail.
Three of four UP/GO platforms are in service (the fourth track, which would allow for more frequent GO Kitchener Line service is under construction). I was impressed to see two elevators to each platform, providing essential redundancy for improved accessibility and reliability. However, the GO/UPX platform access points are not easy to spot from this long corridor, which also leads to the Eglinton Avenue and Weston Road intersection.
There is no visible wayfinding signage in this long tunnel. Only when one reaches the escalators at the other end are directions apparent, as the overhead signs are affixed to sloped ceilings. This should be a relatively easy fix, but an important one.
Furthermore, an opportunity to provide a useful link to the Mount Dennis neighbourhood from GO/UPX Platform 4 (the west-most platform) has not been exploited. An undeveloped road allowance from the corner of Barr Avenue and Brownsville Road, used for station construction, is fenced off and barricaded. This would provide an alternate route to the station from Weston Road, particularly to the nearby Toronto Public Library branch, and would only need a few Presto tap readers and perhaps a fare vending machine. Perhaps it will take private highrise development to make this happen.
Finally, it was frustrating to see so little wayfinding signage in the TTC bus terminal. Though the TTC has numbered each of the bus bays from 1 to 15, these numbers do not appear inside the waiting area or over the doors. Digital screens over each bay display very small text with next bus information.
The wayfinding signage needs to be corrected, but at least these are simple fixes. Otherwise, it was a treat visiting a new transit hub on a sunny (though cold) November afternoon. The heritage preservation was a nice touch; hopefully, new use is found for Building 9’s upper floors. Furthermore, one hopes the rest of the Line 5 Crosstown stations open soon.
Sean Marshall 