The end of the line for the restored Northlander train
Timmins, a resource town of 40,000 in Northeastern Ontario, is known for a few things: gold mines, beer parlours, the birthplace of country musician Shania Twain, and the place where folk musician Stompin’ Tom Connors got his start. If Connors — a travelling musician who delighted small town crowds with songs about their communities (like the hard working and hard drinking times of a “Sudbury Saturday Night”) — was still around, he’d probably write and perform a new song about getting kicked off an overnight train in the sparse environs of Porcupine, Ontario. After all, the song would quickly rhyme itself.
Porcupine is a small community of about 1,000 on the far eastern edge of the populated area in the geographically gigantic City of Timmins. Before the wave of municipal amalgamations across Ontario in the 1990s and early 2000s, Timmins was the largest city or town in the province by geographic area; it was formed through the amalgamation of the smaller City of Timmins with adjoining Mountjoy and Tisdale Townships (along with the town of South Porcupine) in the 1970s.
Until 1990, when the devastating cuts to VIA Rail took place, there were two daily trains between Toronto, North Bay, and Northeastern Ontario. The Northlander, a daytime train operated by Ontario Northland Railway, terminated at a downtown station in Timmins. The Northland, a joint VIA/ONR train, ran overnight between Kapuskasing and Toronto, with a bus connection to downtown Timmins. Famously, for a short period the daytime Northlander operated using former Trans-Europ-Express (TEE) cars, purchased used from Dutch and Swiss rail operators.
After 1990, Timmins was only connected by bus, with one daily bus to North Bay (and onwards to Toronto), and one bus, six days a week, to Sudbury (with connections to Toronto). The new daily overnight train — discussed earlier on this site — promises to restore a new daily trip, along with a more comfortable journey, even if sleeping accommodations will not be provided.
The Timmins Station is now a bus terminal serving local transit and Ontario Northland intercity coaches
Unfortunately, the train will not be returning to Downtown Timmins. The end of rail is at Highway 101 at Porcupine, 13 kilometres to the east. Since abandonment of the passenger rail service, the railway was torn out west of South Porcupine; the railway overpass over Algonquin Boulevard (Highway 101) near the old Timmins Station was removed last year. Ore collected at the open-pit gold mines, previously loaded onto railcars, is now sent on massive dump trucks for processing at a plant at Hoyle, east of Porcupine.
The Northlander train departs Timmins on the now-demolished railway bridge over Algonquin Boulevard in the early 1980s
Happily, the Timmins station building remains in use as a transit terminal and Ontario Northland coach stop; it will likely serve a bus shuttle to the new Timmins-Porcupine Station now under construction.
The end of track at Highway 101 in Porcupine; construction has started on the new terminal station for the Northlander
Since I last wrote about the promised return of the Northlander, there have been a few updates. The new station building will be somewhat more substantial than first proposed; it will include washrooms, a waiting area, and a service counter for ticket sales and bus parcels. This is welcome, as there is very little around the Porcupine station site. Nearby, there are only a few dozen houses, a propane depot, a small park, and a gas station across the street.
Rendering of new Timmins-Porcupine Station
Most other stations will still just get enclosed shelters, though at Matheson, Swastika, New Liskeard, and Temagami, the construction of new platforms is well underway. Even though there are heritage passenger stations at Matheson (which just escaped demolition), Temagami, South River, Huntsville, and Gravenhurst, there will just be shelters for Northlander passengers at these stops. Shelters depicted on the Ontario Northland website resemble those at BRT stops or GO Transit station platforms, with lighting and overhead heat.
Fencing protects the construction of a new platform beside the handsome Temagami ONR Station. The station building will not be used for passenger services; it currently hosts a café and gift shop. Rendering of passenger shelter for Northlander stops
It will be nice to see the return of passenger rail to Northeastern Ontario when it launches in two years. Unfortunately, I remain unsure whether it will attract enough riders to be seen as viable after a year or two of service.
Timmins Transit bus headed west from downtown to Wal-Mart
Last month, I found myself intrigued by American transit consultant Jarrett Walker’s observations about the difficulties of getting to Walmart stores by public transit in US cities. On Bluesky, Walker examined the long walks through hostile environments between Walmart stores and the nearest bus stops, and it is an interesting thread.
In many US cities, Walmarts are often some of the busiest transit destinations.Here is the typical relationship between a Walmart (far right) and its nearest bus stop (far left).Note the details of the pedestrian experience between one and the other. 1/🧵
Jarrett Walker’s BlueSky thread on US Walmart locations
In response, I noted the more typical experience in midsized Ontario cities. Though American and Canadian land use policies are similar in many ways, complete with the post-1990s proliferation of “big box” retail developments, there are some significant differences. For example, local transit systems will often make an effort to serve big box retail clusters, particularly Walmart stores.
This is something we do a bit better here in Canada. Below are Google Map screenshots of four Walmarts in small Ontario cities.
BlueSky post that shows Walmart stores and bus stops in four small Ontario cities: Orillia, St. Thomas, Belleville, and Brockville
Walmart stores are important to transit riders, especially in smaller urban centres that have few or no other major shopping centres. Most Walmart stores now have an in-store pharmacy, carry a full selection of groceries, and have ancillary services, such as medical clinics, haircutters, and opticians. Walmart itself will typically anchor a larger commercial development with other big-box retailers such as Home Depot or Canadian Tire. These commercial developments and surrounding areas will have up to have several hundred employees, some of which may also rely on transit.
From the 1960s to the early 2000s, regional shopping malls were often major transit hubs in mid-sized cities and suburban municipalities in Canada, typically located in space set aside in the mall parking lot. For the most part, Canadian commercial landlords were willing to provide the space; in some cases, the terminal was even right outside one of the main entrances.
In my hometown of Brampton, for example, two of the three major transit terminals were Bramalea City Centre and Shoppers World. Mississauga’s main transit hub is at Square One mall; Hamilton has large bus loops at Limeridge and Eastgate malls, and London has transit hubs at Masonville Place and White Oaks Mall. Smaller cities and towns such as Belleville, Orillia, and Peterborough would also be sure to serve the local shopping mall with at least one route stopping on the mall property, typically in a space set aside on a mall driveway.
Sometimes, these mall terminals become too small or too difficult for buses to get in and out of. Brampton Transit grew, the Shoppers World and Bramalea City Centre terminals were moved to larger facilities off-site with better road access, but still close to the malls. In smaller cities, where the importance of enclosed shopping malls (anchored by traditional retailers such as Sears Canada, Zellers, and Hudson Bay) declined in favour of big-box retail, often located on the urban outskirts, the buses followed where their passengers needed to go.
St. Thomas (Railway City Transit) and Middlesex County Connect minibuses wait for passengers in front of Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore
In St. Thomas, a small city of about 45,000 people, the main transfer point is in front of the Walmart store parking lot, meaning that every bus rider gets a one-seat ride to the SmartCentres-managed property, which also includes a Loblaws grocery store, Canadian Tire, and over a dozen smaller stores, restaurants, and banks. The recent relocation of the transit hub from a struggling downtown to the big box centre to the west — which is actually closer to the city’s geographic centre — makes sense. It now also serves as the transfer point to the regional bus service to London.
In Brockville, another small city in Eastern Ontario, the two transfer points are in the downtown and at “Box Stores Transfer” in the northeastern corner of the municipality. The latter is also the transfer point to the inter-municipal River Route to Prescott and Cardinal. In other smaller Ontario cities, including Belleville, Chatham, Orillia, Sarnia, and Timmins, there is at least one bus route extending to the end of the urbanized area to serve the Walmart and/or other large big box retailers. Often the stop will simply be called “Walmart” or “SmartCentres.”
Sometimes, larger cities will have transit terminals in the middle of big box parking lots. On the south end of Sudbury, GOVA’s Route 1 Mainline terminates in front of a Walmart parking lot, with connections to three local feeder routes. A similar set up can be found in the north end of Guelph. In Waterloo, a large big box complex on the edge of the region’s urban boundary, Boardwalk, was designed with a central transit hub.
Though the examples here are all Ontario examples, the pattern generally holds across Canada, from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Nanaimo, British Columbia, though there are many exceptions. It also helps that many Canadian Walmart stores are located in shopping malls as they are in renovated and/or expanded former Woolco or Zellers stores.
Despite these attempts to provide transit services to retailers like Walmart, these are not ideal set ups. Shopping malls were designed as pedestrian environments within large parking lots. As long as there is a convenient, safe, and short walkway to the mall entrance, transit riders could be well-served. This is much harder with contemporary big box retail, as they are designed completely different. With malls, parking lots surround a cluster of stores. Most big box developments have the stores surround gigantic parking lots. Even if walkways and bus facilities were included in the site plan, there are still long, unsheltered walks between the bus stops and store entrances.
Trinity Common Shopping Centre at Highway 410 and Bovaird in Brampton. The red lines mark where the buses stop.
An early attempt to create a more transit and pedestrian site plan in a big box centre was Trinity Common in Brampton, which opened in stages in the early 2000s. There were distinct roadways, complete with sidewalks and street lighting; in the centre, surrounded by restaurant pads, were several bus bays and a transit terminal office. Several busy Brampton Transit bus routes converge here rather than simply stop on the adjoining multi-use roadways. Even so, the distances between retailers — which include Canadian Tire, a Metro supermarket, Home Depot and Brampton’s only multiplex cinema — make walking unpleasant.
But at least, unlike the American examples Jarrett Walker highlighted, there’s an attempt at doing better. Hopefully, the next generation of retail centres — mixed use developments with residential uses on upper levels — do better with incorporating the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users.
A dented light pole is the only indicator of a deadly collision in Mississauga City Centre
On Saturday, June 7, around 10:20 AM, the drivers of two vehicles collided in the intersection of Burnhamthorpe Road and Kariya Drive in central Mississauga. One of the two cars that collided, a Tesla sedan, slid onto the sidewalk on the southeast corner, hitting a traffic pole, and then colliding with two pedestrians waiting at the corner to cross the street. One of the two pedestrians, a man in his forties, was killed; the other was taken to hospital with serious injuries. CBC Toronto, CP24/CTV News and the Toronto Star covered the collision.
Unfortunately, there has been no follow-up reporting so far, and there is no press release or statement on the Peel Regional Police website.
Screenshot of CP24 news report showing the badly damaged Tesla that crashed into two pedestrians
A few days later, I visited the area to take note of the intersection and the surroundings.
The intersection of Burnhamthorpe and Kariya is within the busy, urbanizing Mississauga City Centre (MCC) neighbourhood. MCC, also known as Downtown Mississauga, is the political, commercial, and cultural centre of the sprawling suburb of 750,000. The area is centred around Square One Shopping Centre, which opened in 1973, expanding several times in the next four decades to become one of Canada’s largest malls. Immediately to the west of Square One is Mississauga’s post-modern city hall, which is one of the most interesting and walkable civic centres in Ontario. Nearby is a performing arts theatre, a Sheridan College campus, several office buildings, a YMCA, central library, parks, a transit hub, as well as many high-rise residential towers. Newer residential development includes streetfront retail, oriented to the community with local restaurants, cafes, pharmacies, and grocery stores. Despite its greenfield suburban origins, Mississauga City Centre has become a true 15-minute city.
Looking north on Confederation Parkway near Central Parkway, where MCC’s high-rise condominiums tower over older single-family homes
The problem, though, is despite its impressive growth, MCC’s built infrastructure still has the trappings of a suburban speedway. Though some collector streets and minor arterials, like Living Arts Drive and Confederation Boulevard, are more human-scaled, with bicycle lanes, wider sidewalks, benches, and street trees, other streets have not been updated to suit the emerging urban environment. Burnhamthorpe Road is the best example of this.
Looking east on Burnhampthorpe Road from Kariya Drive, towards Hurontario Street and the landmark Absolute condo towers
Burnhamthorpe Road is six lanes wide, with an additional left turn lane at every intersection. Though there is a sidewalk on the south side and a designated multiuse path (MUP) on the north side, it is not a pleasant place to walk.
Looking west on Burnhamthorpe Road, towards newly built and under-construction high-rise residential towers
While I visited The MUP on the north side of Burnhamthorpe west of Kariya Drive was also closed off for the convenience of the builders of the Exchange District Condos development, one of many new mixed-use projects in the area. This forces pedestrians to cross the intersection to continue west, and no thought was made to closing one of the three westbound traffic lanes to provide a continuous path.
Multiple “sidewalk closed” bike lane detour, and “dismount and walk” signs blocking the asphalt MUP on the north side of Burnhamthorpe Road. Note that no traffic lanes were blocked to provide a continuous route for vulnerable road users.
The intersection of Kariya and Burnhamthorpe is quite busy; at every light cycle, there were multiple pedestrians crossing here on mid Tuesday afternoon, including students walking to the mall or to home from nearby schools, couples and young families out for a stroll. (Kariya Park, named for a Japanese city that was twinned with Mississauga in 1981, is a lovely oasis.) Burnhamthorpe has a 60 km/h speed limit, though Kariya has a 40 km/h limit.
Five pedestrians, standing where a man was struck and killed last Saturday, about to cross Burnhamthorpe Road on a Tuesday afternoon
The corner is also a busy transfer point. Miway route 26 Burnhamthorpe is a major east-west bus corridor that connects with the TTC subway at Kipling Station; Kariya Drive is the best stop to get to Square One as Route 26 doesn’t serve the main terminal. Routes 3 Bloor and 8 Cawthra, which do continue to the City Centre Terminal, stop here as well.
Route 26 Burnhamthorpe is one of MiWay’s busiest
Also worth noting is that Kariya Drive is a signed school route. MCC itself does not have any elementary or secondary schools, but there are several schools within a short walk to the south of Burnhamthorpe, including Fairview Public School, Elm Drive Public School, St. Giovanni Scalabrini Catholic School, and Fr. Michael Goetz Catholic High School. The more people move into MCC, the more necessary safe walking routes will be.
A school route sign with walking paths to three nearby elementary schools at Kariya Drive and Fairview Boulevard
There is nothing particularly remarkable about the intersection of Burnhamthorpe Road and Kariya Drive itself that makes it deadly, but that is the problem here. To make walking safer and more attractive, there is much that should be done. Reducing Burnhamthorpe to four lanes in each direction, along with more street trees, could help to reduce speeds (the speed limit should also be dropped to at least 50 km/h), and with several nearby schools, parks, and YMCA, there’s a case for Burnhamthorpe to be designated a community safety zone, with increased enforcement, along with automated traffic cameras. Perhaps dedicated bus lanes could supplant the third traffic lane in each direction, as the nearby Hurontario LRT nears completion.
Right now, drivers race through the intersection, making left turns against oncoming traffic and crossing pedestrians after the advance arrow signal disappears, as seen in the video below. Wide lanes and a 60 km/h speed limit encourage unsafe driving.
Three motorists continue to make left turns from Kariya to Burnhamthorpe (behind the FedEx truck) after the advance turn arrow disappears and the green light for opposing traffic and walk signal turn on. Note several pedestrians waiting to cross as drivers rush through.
To make Mississauga City Centre a complete urban hub, it needs to be safe for pedestrians and cyclists of all ages and abilities to get around. Six-lane arterials like Burnhamthorpe have no place in a dense, multi-use neighbourhood, especially when nearby Highway 403 can handle goods movement and through traffic. One death is too many.
Walking towards the CBC Broadcasting Centre at 6:00 am
Yesterday, on Wednesday, May 7, I had the privilege of appearing on the long-running CBC Radio program Metro Morning. Though I have been interviewed on the radio a few times before – generally about pedestrian safety or transit issues – this was the first time I was asked to come into the studio.
I spoke about the new permanent barriers that have gone up around Union Station in the last few weeks, seven years after temporary Jersey barriers were installed. I take exception to the size and placement of new barriers – which needlessly restrict pedestrian flow around the busy transport hub – as well as their unappealing appearance.
The new barriers are already scuffed up and are not appealing to sit on
I arrived around 6:10 for a short interview at 6:40. After checking in with security, I was let up to the CBC Toronto newsroom, which has a radio studio for local programs including Metro Morning and the afternoon drive time show Here And Now. I met with one of the producers and with host David Common before the segment. They were all great. David is a great interviewer, and it was nice to go see where the magic of radio happens.
BRT median under construction on Wellington Street at South Street, London
The City of London, Ontario has been quietly constructing a new bus rapid transit (BRT) system over the last few years, which will extend south and east of the downtown core. By the end of April 2025, the first major section of this network will begin operation.
The Wellington Road and Fanshawe College segments are two of the four rapid transit routes originally proposed under London’s SHIFT. At first, a north-to-east line, connecting Masonville Place Mall, Western University, Downtown London, and Fanshawe College, was to be a light rail corridor, featuring a short tunnel under Richmond Street to avoid a busy freight railway crossing. A BRT line would have connected the west end of London, at Oxford Street and Wonderland Road, continued downtown, and head south towards the Victoria Hospital campus and White Oaks Mall near Highway 401. The map below shows the initial proposal.
The original rapid transit proposal called for a light rail (orange route) connecting Western University, downtown, and Fanshawe College and a BRT (blue) corridor to the west and south of downtown
Due to budget constraints, the project was revised to a BRT-only scheme. The Richmond Street leg, leading north to Western University, was cut when the bus tunnel under the CPKC railway and the Oxford Street intersection was deemed to cost $220 million in 2017. Business owners along Richmond Street, a busy restaurant, nightlife, and shopping district known as Richmond Row, were also opposed to the reduction in traffic lanes that the transit tunnel would have required.
This section of Richmond Street — used by eight London Transit routes — is a severe bottleneck as it is not only a busy traffic corridor, it crosses CPKC’s mainline connecting Toronto, Windsor, and the US Midwest.
Several buses cross the CPKC tracks on Richmond Street north of Downtown London
The pared-down BRT project consists of a curbside bus-only lane encircling the downtown core, following King Street, Wellington Street, Queen’s Avenue, and Ridout Street. At each turn, buses must wait for a dedicated signal to make the left turn to continue on the loop. Right now, buses do not have any signal priority, and can wait a full light cycle (up to two minutes) to get the dedicated left turn signal.
Example of a left turn from the right curb lane in London. The dedicated transit signals allow left-turning buses to remain in the right lane without traffic conflicts.
New enlarged shelters and long platforms allow multiple buses to pick up and drop off at each stop; most routes heading through downtown will serve at least one of these new bus stops on their routes. All buses were removed from Dundas Street, which has been re-landscaped to create a more pedestrian-friendly commercial environment called Dundas Place.
New enlarged bus shelters along the BRT corridors; this is at Wellington and King Streets
On April 28, Route 94, a weekday express route between Argyle Mall in London’s east end, Downtown London, and Western University, will begin operating in both directions on King Street, and will be the first route using the bus infrastructure outside the downtown loop. King Street was originally a one-way, two-lane-wide roadway east of Downtown London, but was recently widened to allow for painted bus lanes in both directions.
Contraflow bus lane on King Street, previously a two-lane, one-way street
Work is far from complete. Utility work and road reconstruction continues on Dundas east of Ontario Street (at the Western Fairgrounds) and on Highbury Avenue north to Oxford. Construction of the BRT median on Wellington Street/Wellington Road south is also ongoing.
Looking south on Wellington Street at the South Thames River bridge crossing, which is being widened as part of the BRT project
The cost of the BRT project has risen to at least $454 million, and that does not include the north or west segments. Service levels have yet to be determined, along with transit route restructuring once the east and south segments are complete. The new station shelters will not have off-board fare payment equipment, so unless policy changes, all transit riders will still have to enter the bus from the front door.
Concept rendering of Wellington Road with new BRT median lanes near White Oaks Mall
Entering and leaving downtown along Wellington Street, south BRT buses will still have to squeeze through an older four-lane railway underpass in mixed traffic, limiting bus throughput. The lack of a northern segment between Downtown, Western University, and Masonville Place Mall is another major downfall.
Bottlenecks, like Richmond Street North, will limit how fast and how attractive transit will be to prospective riders
Though it is hoped that London’s Rapid Transit project will help shape development — much in the same way Waterloo Region’s Ion LRT has — the cost-cutting will limit this potential. The Wellington Road BRT median might help improve bus reliability along a congested traffic corridor, but the lack of signal priority — plus the railway underpass bottleneck — will not help. Western University students will still have to endure a slow ride north from downtown, reducing the attractiveness of Wellington Street, currently littered with big-box stores and strip plazas, as a place to build up with private mixed-use development. Perhaps the eastern segment on King and Dundas Streets, serving the regenerating Old East Village neighbourhood, will be more successful.
New blocks installed in front of Union Station at Front and York Streets
When I learned that Union Station was finally getting permanent bollards to replace the haphazardly-placed Jersey barriers that have sat in front of the transport hub since 2018, I was relieved. I wrote about these barriers several times on this website, criticizing their appearance and their placement, blocking the way for the thousands of people who cross Front Street every day. But when I went to see them in person, after seeing criticism online, I was dismayed.
The new permanent barriers might even be worse than the temporary obstructions they are meant to replace.
The Jersey barriers were hastily placed after a tragic attack on Yonge Street in North York, where a man intentionally drove a rented van on to the sidewalk, killing ten pedestrians and injuring and traumatizing many more.
Vehicular assaults on crowds of pedestrians are a major concern; tactics used at mass gatherings — such as the winter light show and New Years Eve events at Nathan Phillips Square and major concerts and playoff games at Skydome and Scotiabank Arena — now include blocking closed streets with heavy vehicles such as snow plows, dump trucks, and city buses. However, Union Station is the only place in the city where officials have decided that new permanent barriers were necessary.
Union Station is one of the busiest pedestrian areas in the city
The new permanent barriers are not the sturdy, yet narrow, bollards that are used elsewhere. Instead, they are large, undecorated concrete blocks anchored into the ground and are knee-high. The plain concrete colour does not match the stone sidewalks or plaza. They are placed very close together, impeding access for those using large carts, strollers, or wheeled mobility devices. Despite all the money spent renovating Union Station, these blocks look cheap.
Concrete blocks at the corner of York and Front Street at Union Station
The total cost of installing the “Custom Anti-Terror Concrete Barriers,” as the city described the bid, was $2,438,238, including HST. The lowest bid, by South Central Inc., came over a $1 million cheaper than the other two bids. It is worth noting that there are no public documents that describe the city’s specifications for the contract, nor was there any public consultation before the city solicited bids.
The result? An esthetic failure and an accessibility challenge.
Video showing pedestrians going around the concrete blocks in front of Union Station
I cannot understand the city’s decision to go with these blocks where more elegant and pedestrian-friendly alternatives are typically used elsewhere. For example, the Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna, which faces the famous and busy Ringstrasse, is protected by smaller concrete bollards, which are also more widely separated, making it much more pleasant for pedestrians to get by. In Great Britain, metal bollards are common on busy commercial streets and in front of important buildings, but they are easy for pedestrians to pass, and generally blend in.
Thick concrete bollards in front of the Austrian Parliament Building, 2023Metal bollards in front of the Royal Courts of Justice in London
In the United States, government buildings are also protected by heavy anti-vehicular barricades (especially since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing), but they are generally more permeable for pedestrians.
Metal bollards protect the federal courthouse in Downtown Manhattan (Google Streetview)
It is also worth noting that other popular pedestrian areas, such as the Yonge-Dundas intersection, are not protected from a potential vehicular attack — or an unintentional collision. It is beyond comprehension why the city only focused on protecting one pedestrian area, using such a poorly thought-out design. Toronto can — and should — do better.
VIA Train #1 at Hornepayne, Ontario. Normally this stop would be made overnight.
In late January, I went on a short vacation. Many people, given the short days and cold weather, opt for warmer climes. I, on the other hand, decided to travel to the infamously cold city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Back in November, VIA Rail offered great deals on winter travel as part of its “Black Friday” sale; a berth in a sleeping car from Toronto to Winnipeg cost $271, with meals included. Winter travel by train can be beautiful, and I had fond memories of my February 2014 trip aboard the Algoma Central Railway between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst.
I planned to spend two nights in Winnipeg, including taking in my first NHL game since the pandemic. The Jets were playing on Friday night against the original Winnipeg Jets, the Utah Hockey Club (which moved to Salt Lake City from Phoenix in 2024). I would then travel back east by bus, with a stopover in Kenora, flying home from Thunder Bay.
Unfortunately, my train from Toronto was delayed by eleven hours, a new record in my rail travel setbacks. The train from Vancouver faced several setbacks due to extreme cold conditions in the Prairies and Northern Ontario, arriving in Toronto over 15 hours late, around 8AM on Wednesday morning. (VIA Rail’s communications were subpar, and though I got two emails advising of a 5:00 PM departure on Wednesday, we did not actually leave until 8:00 PM, about 10 hours late from Toronto.)
Despite the delays, it was a very pleasant train ride across Northern Ontario in the snow. The cooked-to-order meals served aboard the Canadian, as always, were very good, and service was friendly. The lights in the dome car for our section were turned off, allowing passengers to gaze into the wilderness, even at night.
As it turned out, I was able to cancel my first night’s stay in Winnipeg without penalty, which was fortunate as the train arrived at 7AM Friday, nearly 12 hours late. But for me, it was fortunate, as by then, coffee shops were opening up in Downtown Winnipeg. An earlier arrival, had the train made up time, would have forced me to find a 24-hour restaurant to wait at, and there aren’t any in the downtown area.
The monument to the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike; a Corten steel replica of a toppled streetcar across the street from Winnipeg City Hall. It was especially compelling partially buried in snow.
Though I have been to Winnipeg several times before, this was my first time visiting the city in winter. I was pleased to see how the city embraced the short, dark, cold days. Out at The Forks, where the Assiniboine River joins the Red River, there is a lively marketplace located in former railway maintenance and freight buildings behind Union Station. The complex includes a branch of the local McNally-Robinson bookstore chain, restaurants, cafes, art shops, and other local businesses. There are plenty of tables and seating, with water dispensers and plenty of public washrooms. It is one of Canada’s great public spaces.
Inside one of the market buildings in the Forks, a former railway maintenance building
Outside, there were Warming Huts art stations, many of which were very compelling. Ice skaters have a choice of an artificial ice rink, covered by a tent-like canopy, or getting out on to a cleared natural path along the Assiniboine River.
Skaters on the Assiniboine River; warming huts along the ice give skaters a place to sitOne of the Warming Huts, titled “Wrong Turn,” representing a car sinking into an icy river
After 24 hours in Winnipeg, capped by a great hockey game in a lively arena, I made my way west towards Kenora and Thunder Bay. Kasper, which I last rode in 2019, has an early morning departure from Downtown Winnipeg, at the Balmoral bus terminal, stopping at Kenora, Dryden, and Sioux Lookout. Among the six passengers were a First Nations woman and her companion, returning home from a medical visit. Intercity buses are a lifeline. The Kasper bus was a 12-passenger van, and despite the poor winter weather conditions, it was a safe, comfortable, and friendly service.
Snowy conditions on the Trans-Canada Highway headed east from Winnipeg
Taking the morning Kasper trip allowed me to spend a few hours in Kenora, population 15,000. The community on the Lake of the Woods is a popular summer vacation spot; this was my first time visiting Ontario’s most westerly city. Kasper’s Kenora stop is at a McDonalds just east of downtown; this gives passengers a chance to stretch, use the washroom, and grab food.
Kasper Minibus at the Kenora McDonald’s
The walk from the McDonald’s back towards downtown was pleasant. I was greeted by several deer, in their winter coats, comfortable wandering in a residential neighbourhood.
Northern white-tailed deer in their heavy winter coats
Kenora’s downtown is small, but blessed with a solid collection of historic buildings, including the old post office (now city hall), the district courthouse, a two-storey Canadian Pacific railway station (which served VIA until 1990), and the five-story Kenrica Hotel. The hotel has seen better days — the ground floor defaced by an unfortunate 1950s-era streetfront — but it still has good bones.
Kenrica Hotel, on the main corner in Downtown Kenora
South of Downtown Kenora, on the lakefront, a cylindrical hotel, ten storeys high, overlooks Lake of the Woods, with a marina at its base. The hotel’s mid-century modernist form is unusual for Ontario, which makes it stand out even more.
The Clarion Inn on Lake of the Woods
Many towns and cities in Northern Ontario feature a roadside attraction. Sudbury has the Big Nickel, Wawa has a giant goose, and White River has Winnie-the-Pooh. Kenora’s is a giant sculpture of a muskie fish, called “Husky.”
“Husky the Muskie” – Kenora’s roadside attraction
Ontario Northland operates a bus six days a week between Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, and Sudbury, with operator changes at Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie. Between Kenora and Thunder Bay, the route alternates, with service to Fort Frances and Atikokan three days a week and to Dryden and Ignace the other three days. Passing through Fort Frances (where the bus stopped at a McDonald’s there for a rest break), I finally visited every county, district, and region in Ontario, with Rainy River District being the final one.
Ontario Northland bus in a snow-covered McDonald’s in Fort Frances, Ontario
The Ontario Northland bus driver that day was exceptional; because of a winter storm, Highway 17 was closed near Batchewana Bay; as such, the bus would not continue past Thunder Bay. Though we were nearly an hour late arriving into Thunder Bay due to road conditions, the operator was willing to continue past the Thunder Bay Ontario Northland depot to drop anyone off continuing to the hospital campus. I was also able to get off the bus by my hotel.
The Ontario Northland depot at Thunder Bay is not in a very good location, in an industrial area off Highway 61 near the Thunder Bay airport, without direct local transit connections or adjacent amenities. At least a stop at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (which has local transit and is near Lakehead University) is also provided.
Ontario Northland Thunder Bay depot, located in an industrial area on a road without sidewalks(Google Streetview)
Difficult winter road conditions make travel across the North a challenge; this is why professional and safe bus and train operators are so important for getting around.
Last month, I wrote about the challenges getting around Toronto’s Union Station, Canada’s busiest transportation hub, particularly for passengers using mobility devices or carrying luggage. Only one poorly-marked elevator directly links the Great Hall and the UP Express platform with the subway station/PATH level, which is located two floors down.
I returned to Union Station on Tuesday, January 7, to see if any improvements were made since I wrote my initial post. Somewhat surprisingly, new signs were installed beside the elevators, indicating which floor goes where.
Elevator signage at B2 level (subway concourse/PATH level by Bay Street) that indicates where the other floors lead to: Level B1 for VIA trains, shops and restaurants, and exit to Front Street, and Level 00 for VIA ticketing, UP Express trains, and access to the Skywalk to Rogers Centre, CN Tower et al.In the GO York Concourse, the elevator leads to Level 00 (The Great Hall) only.
These signs are a notable improvement, but there is still no signage inside the elevator cars themselves, so the traveler must note the directory signage before entering the elevator. Furthermore, the Great Hall, the historic centrepiece of the Union Station complex, is not noted, even though it is a logical meeting place from where access to all GO, VIA, and UP Express train services can be made, or where taxis can be found right outside.
Unfortunately, the elevators themselves are still difficult to locate, and the decision to have just one slow elevator connect the Great Hall/UP Express floor with the subway station entrance remains unfortunate. There is still so much more to be done.
In the Great Hall, there are clear signs directing passengers towards the subway, but there are no indications on where a barrier-free passage can be found. A supplementary sign pointing towards the one elevator, located at the far end of the Great Hall, could be useful here.
Previously on this website, I discussed the problems with the unsightly, intrusive, and poorly thought-out mess of Jersey barriers plopped in front of Union Station along Front Street. They have not only been an eyesore unbefitting a signature heritage structure, but they have also been difficult for pedestrians to navigate around, especially at the corners of Front and Bay and Front and York.
Inside Union Station, however, a lot has changed in the last few years. In general, pedestrian flow within the station building has improved, especially with the opening of the GO Transit York Concourse, which provides a second access point for regional trains. Flow between subway, train, and shops is considerably improved; there are also a lot more food and retail options befitting a central transport hub.
Despite new escalators and elevators, accessibility in Union Station remains poor. Though technically, the station is fully accessible to anyone using a wheelchair or other mobility device, the wayfinding is absent in key areas. There is only one small elevator that directly connects the subway level with the Great Hall, UP Express trains, and Front Street. An accessible route is also difficult to find.
The view after entering the Union Station complex from the TTC subway. The overhead sign shows the way to GO trains, the bus terminal, the Union Market shopping area, Scotiabank Arena, CIBC Square (an office building), York Street, more shops and restaurants, and VIA and UP Express trains.
Imagine entering Union Station from the adjacent TTC subway station with a wheeled device or a mobility aid. There is a large concourse with signs leading forward towards the GO Transit York Concourse along with Scotiabank Arena, the bus terminal, and Union Station shops and food kiosks. To the left is Bay Street, and to the right are a set of escalators and stairs leading up towards VIA Rail and UP Express trains. Behind the stairs and escalators is a single elevator, hidden away.
To the right is a set of escalators, stairs, and hidden behind, a poorly marked single elevator.These lead towards UP Express and VIA trains, York Street, and attractions such as the CN Tower, the Convention Centre, and Rogers Centre.
The elevator provides no information other than a sign that indicates that this is, in fact, an elevator, and this is the B2 level. This is a single, small elevator, which operates slowly.
The elevator at the B2 (subway) level
Once inside the elevator, there is no information other than buttons marked “G”, “B1”, and “B2”. There is nothing to tell the elevator user what is accessible from each floor.
Confusingly, the official Union Station map directory calls the three levels “Street Level” (G, the Heritage structure including the Great Hall, West and East Wings, along with the path towards UP Express and the Skywalk), “Lower Level” (B1, the GO York and Bay Concourses, the concourse beneath the Great Hall, and the VIA departure area) and “Retail Level” (B2, including the food court, food hall, and connections to the subway). In the elevators, the audio prompts only mention the three level names.
Inside the elevators, there is no indication what each level is, or where they lead to — the buttons and empty spaces beside them just show G, B1, and B2 levels
At G level, which includes the Great Hall, VIA Rail departures and business class lounge, and the passage west towards UP Express trains and the Skywalk to the CN Tower and Rogers Centre, the elevator is also hidden behind a wall.
The only elevator connecting the Great Hall, the lower concourse, and the subway level is hidden, with tiny signage directing travelers to it
On the west side of The Great Hall, there is also an elevator, beside the stairway down to the GO Transit York Concourse. This elevator does not serve level B2.
York Concourse elevator, on the west side of Union Station’s Great Hall
If the traveler was only connecting from subway to UP Express with a heavy bag, and not using a mobility device, they might decide to take an escalator from the subway B2 level to the B1 level, the lower Union Station concourse originally intended as an arrivals area for intercity trains. However, there is no elevator or upwards escalator to be seen.
Looking west in the lower concourse, towards York Street and UP Express trains
If one knew Union Station well, they could make a lengthy detour through the ramps in the VIA Rail area to get to the Great Hall or go around through the GO York Concourse to reach the elevator or up escalator to the Great Hall. But these routes are not marked from the lower concourse area.
To show how difficult it can be to navigate the station while using a wheeled device (be it a wheelchair, stroller, or wheeled luggage), I shot this video showing how a first-time visitor getting off an UP Express train from Union Station would try to find the TTC subway entrance.
Video depicting 9-minute trip at a normal walking speed between the UP Express area and TTC subway station entrance, using first available elevators each time.
At no point was there any visible signage showing the most direct route for someone requiring a barrier-free path from UP Express to the subway. The maps below show the route I took:
Route from UP Express to the Great Hall and York Concourse Elevator (Street Level, or G). Arrows are added to mark the route I took in the video.Path through York Concourse, lower Union Station concourse (Front St. Promenade) – the B1 Level, and to the second elevator to the Bay St. Promenade (subway level). Arrows are added to mark the route I took in the video.Last part of the trip on the Retail Level (B2) to the subway station entrance. Arrows are added to mark the route I took in the video.
Whenever I travel through an international airport — Toronto Pearson is a good example — I never have to think too hard about where the accessible routes are. Escalators are easy to find. There are banks of two or three large elevators in strategic locations on the ground side of airports, connecting departure and arrival areas, as well as ground transportation facilities. As Canada’s busiest transport hub — busier than Toronto Pearson Airport even — Union Station’s elevators and escalators should be plentiful and easy to find.
I am aware that there are particular challenges at Toronto Union Station — the City of Toronto controls only the common areas, such as the Great Hall, the retail areas, and the main entrances. Metrolinx, the agency responsible for GO Transit and UP Express, controls the York and Bay Concourses, as well as the UP Express station area. VIA Rail maintains its departures area. There are also heritage elements that need to remain intact, such as the Great Hall. But these issues of ownership and heritage preservation do not excuse the difficulty of getting around with a mobility device or even a wheeled bag.
Why weren’t multiple elevators installed connecting all three levels, to improve capacity, speed, and provide redundancy in the case of an elevator outage? Why are there not easy-to-find elevators in the West Wing near the UP Express area?
Judging by the condition of the signature Great Hall itself, there is work yet to be done before Union Station is fully restored to its 1920s grandeur. It should not be too hard to improve accessibility and wayfinding as well. Not just for Torontonians, but for international travelers too.
The Great Hall floor is still cracked and patched, with electrical tape covering some of the damaged sections
In mid-November, I found myself in Washington DC, accompanying my spouse as she had multiple days of work-related meetings. While I spent part of my time visiting cities in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, I also visited several neighbourhoods in Washington itself. Among the things I wanted to see for the first time was the D.C. Streetcar, one of nearly a dozen systems built across the United States in the last two decades. I had already taken rides on modern streetcars in Atlanta, Detroit, Kansas City, Cincinnati, as well as Portland and Seattle, coming away mostly unimpressed — though Portland, Detroit, and Kansas City show some promise. Washington’s small implementation didn’t win me over either.
I grew up in Brampton, a suburb of a city that maintained a large legacy streetcar fleet. Growing up, I thought streetcars were the greatest thing: big, smooth, quiet, gliding through some of Toronto’s most interesting neighbourhoods. I watched as the city expanded its street railway network along the waterfront and up Spadina Avenue before I had the opportunity to move to the big city.
Living in Toronto, and reliant on the streetcars, I got to experience the highs and the lows of street railway operation: traffic congestion, bunching, diversions, bustitutions, but also the sweet late-night rides when the streetcar really felt like the king of the road. The new low-floor Flexity streetcars brought even larger vehicles, but they were subject to the same constraints as the smaller CLRVs.
The TTC’s indifference to line management and the insistence on slow operation in the name of safety (without actually addressing problems like obsolete switches) made streetcar travel less magical with every passing year. But in Toronto, streetcars are still a workhorse, and there is still no easy way for buses to permanently substitute for the demand on routes like King Street.
Visiting cities elsewhere in the world, like Viennaor Hiroshima, makes me realize that trams can and should work, something that Toronto has largely forgotten. Or something that American cities rediscovering the streetcar haven’t even figured out.
Former D.C. Transit streetcar in the distinctive 1956-1962 Trans Caribbean Airlines colour scheme, at Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine
Like all large American cities, Washington once had a robust streetcar network, with several private operators that consolidated into Capital Transit in 1933. Streetcars extended throughout the District and into Maryland suburbs, with separate companies providing service into Virginia’s sprawling suburbs until 1941.
Within central Washington, streetcars were required by law to draw electric power from an underground conduit for aesthetic reasons, though outlying areas did not have this this obligation. Therefore, many streetcars in DC, including the modern PCC streetcars acquired in the 1930s and 1940s, had both overhead trolley poles and underbody current collectors.
The last streetcar line in DC was abandoned in January 1962. Fourteen years later, the first section of the Washington Metro opened for service. Unlike the streetcars, the new Metro system was more of a regional service, reaching far out into the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. (Famously, the affluent and congested Georgetown area of Washington is not served by Metro, which was designed mainly as a commuter service.) Though bus service was consolidated throughout the region, there were parts of Washington left underserved by Metro and local bus. The District government began operating its own bus service, DC Connector, and began planning new streetcar services to serve traditionally underserved and rejuvenating neighbourhoods.
Map of the proposed Phase I streetcar network. Only the thick red line was completed.
The first planned route would have connected Anacostia, a historic neighbourhood with a majority Black population, with the Metro and with the gentrifying Navy Yards district on the north side of the Anacostia River. At first, the new light rail would have followed a disused CSX freight spur line, but disagreements with the railroad and land title issues changed the route to a shorter, on-street alignment. After several false starts, work started in 2009 on a “demonstration line” between Anacostia Metro Station and Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling, a major military installation, with an extension to Minnesota Metro Station to follow.
Looking east on Firth Sterling Ave SE with the tracks suddenly ending before Suitland Parkway. The abandoned CSX spur line right-of-way is on the right.
Work was suspended indefinitely in 2010. Today, less than a mile of track remains abandoned in place.
Looking west on Firth Sterling Ave SE toward Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling, where curb-side streetcar tracks installed in 2009-2010 are left abandoned
An abbreviated 2.4 mile (3.9 km) H Street-Benning Road Line did open, however, in 2016, several years late. The route, which begins on the H Street overpass north of Union Station, extends east to Oklahoma Avenue, at a public park and sports complex north of the abandoned RFK Stadium. Service, which is currently fare-free, operates every 12 minutes during daytime hours. A parallel bus route, the X2 Benning Road–H Street Line, operates as frequently, but has a much longer route and is considerably faster.
H Street, in the city’s east side, has long been a lower-income, majority Black neighbourhood, hit hard by disinvestment, civil unrest (especially after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968), crime, and depressed property values. But its proximity to the governmental, cultural, and commercial centres of the city made it an attractive corridor for redevelopment.
A westbound streetcar shifts into the median on H Street on the way to Union Station
Though Union Station is the western terminus of the short streetcar line, the connection to the Metro Red Line, Amtrak, MARC, and VRE trains is awkward. H Street is to the north of Union Station, crossing over the multitude of tracks leading into the station platforms on a long overpass. The streetcar stops halfway across, in the median. Passengers getting off the streetcar must walk further west on the median, then cross the eastbound lanes of H Street at a traffic signal controlling a driveway exit from the Union Station parking garage. A poorly marked sidewalk provides the connection into the parking garage (which also houses the Union Station intercity bus terminal) and down towards the main station building.
The path from DC Streetcar, through a parking garage, towards Union Station
Like most modern streetcar lines in the United States, the DC Streetcar runs in mixed traffic, in the outer driving lane. This allows for platform level boarding from the sidewalk at each stop, but it also leaves the streetcar susceptible to traffic delays due to congestion and from stopped cars and trucks. Though there are parking and layby spaces to the right of the streetcar track, a wide or improperly stopped vehicle can easily disrupt service. Streetcars regularly squeeze past properly parked delivery vans, as in the photo below.
A streetcar squeezes past a stopped Amazon delivery van on H Street
But new streetcar lines in North America are typically less about moving people than it is about sparking new urban development. On H Street, this has definitely happened. New mid-rise rental and condominium residential buildings line the western end, towards Union Station. A Whole Foods grocery store is at the base of one of those buildings, where previously, there was a parking lot and local grocery store.
Streetcar passes a Whole Foods grocery store at the base of a mew seven-storey rental apartment building, northeast corner of H Street and 6th Street NEThe same corner in 2008, with a neighbourhood grocery store on the northeast corner of H Street and 6th Street NE(Google Streetview)
Still, I wonder how much the streetcar itself contributed to the gentrification of H Street. The streetscape is greatly improved, but streetcar ridership is low, despite the free fare. The close proximity to Union Station, government offices, and commercial areas, along with rezoning of vacant lots would have made a bigger impact. However, government investment on the corridor made it attractive for speculators and developers to assemble land and build.
In the meantime, as rents skyrocket, crime remains a concern. New stores such as Whole Foods do not serve long-term residents and local businesses have been displaced. Like Whole Foods, the streetcar was designed to support the new community, while others continue to take the bus and shop at the Safeway on Benning Road.
Looking east at H Street and 3rd Street, 2008 (Google Streetview)Looking east towards 3rd Street, November 2024
If the H Street-Benning Road Streetcar was extended in both directions based on the original plans, it could prove to be a useful, albeit slow, transit service filling in one of the gaps left by the Washington Metro system. But as Washington struggles with its city budget, this is very unlikely. By the end of the year, the DC Circulator bus system will disappear for good, further orphaning the single short streetcar line operated by the District.
Sean Marshall 