Platforms side platforms Disabled access Yes Address Toronto, ON, Canada Province Ontario Architect Arthur Erickson | Structure type underground/at grade Passengers (2014) 19,000 Opened 28 January 1978 Tracks 2 | |
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Location 1300 Eglinton Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario
Canada Connections TTC buses
32 Eglinton West
63 Ossington
109 Ranee
332 Eglinton West
363 Ossington Similar Glencairn, Lawrence West, St Clair West, Eglinton, Yorkdale | ||
Eglinton West is a subway station on the Yonge–University line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the median of William R. Allen Road on the north side of Eglinton Avenue West.
Contents
- History
- Architecture and art
- Nearby landmarks
- Subway infrastructure in the vicinity
- Surface connections
- References
The station will be renamed Cedarvale after the opening of Line 5 Eglinton, on which it will be an interchange station.
History
The station opened in 1978, as part of the subway line extension from St. George to Wilson Station.
Eglinton West Station had been planned to be an interchange station as part of the proposed Eglinton West line (not to be confused with the Eglinton Crosstown line). This was one of the three proposed subway lines in the Network 2011 Plan created in 1985 by the Toronto Transit Commission. The project was cancelled in 1995 after the election of a Progressive Conservative government led by Mike Harris. Afterwards, the small amount of tunnel that had been dug under the station was refilled. Had the project gone ahead, this station would likely have been renamed "Eglinton West-Allen".
As of October 2005, the station is wheelchair-accessible.
Metrolinx is building the new Eglinton Crosstown line, running along Eglinton Avenue from Mount Dennis to Kennedy Station, passing through Eglinton Station and Eglinton West Station on the way.
The commuter parking lots, formerly located east and west of the station building on the north side of Eglinton Avenue, were taken out of service in December 2012, leaving no immediately adjacent parking. The lots are being used as staging areas for the tunneling machines during the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown line.
Architecture and art
The station was designed by Arthur Erickson and Clifford & Lawrie. The main ticketing and concourse area at surface level is sheltered by an exposed concrete space frame supported by eight circular columns. The concrete ceiling is, in effect, a large slab, and overhangs the entrance. With a glass curtain wall, it appears to float. Inside, it is coffered throughout the station, with skylights in certain areas, allowing for increased penetration of natural light. Eglinton West makes use of sandblasted concrete and brick wall finishes extensively, distinguishing it from most stations on the Yonge and Bloor-Danforth sections of the subway system, where tiles are predominant.
As the north end of the station is in Allen Road's median, the subway platform level is partly built at surface level. Designers took advantage of this and added windows at platform level. The northbound platform has regular windows, allowing for a view onto Allen Road, while windows on the opposite platform are frosted, creating the impression of fog. This combination of windows allows transit riders to view cars speeding onto Allen Road's northbound expressway lanes, while blocking views of cars stuck in traffic at Eglinton, where the road originally planned and constructed as an expressway ends.
The station's artwork, on two enamel murals facing each other, is Summertime Streetcar by Gerald Zeldin, which depicts the exterior of a PCC streetcar from differing distances and perspectives. The artwork is two storeys high and is located in the appropriately high ceiling section of the platform level. The depicted streetcar models have never served this station.
The south end of the station is underground as Allen Road ends here.
During July 2009, the TTC installed an $850,000 green roof over the northern end of the station to reduce maintenance costs, increase the lifespan to 40–50 years, reduce the heat island effect by lowering the temperature of the surrounding area by a few degrees, and to reduce runoff. The TTC had to repair the roof anyway, since it had been leaking since 2000. The plants atop the 835-square-metre roof are low-maintenance sedums. Victoria Park and Dufferin stations are slated to have green roofs as well.
Nearby landmarks
Nearby landmarks include the York-Eglinton BIA, Little Jamaica, and the Oakwood-Vaughan and Humewood-Cedarvale neighbourhoods.
Subway infrastructure in the vicinity
South of the station, the line continues underground below Everden Road to reach the Cedarvale Ravine, then continues southeast below the ravine. Moving northward, tracks continue on the surface, in the median of Allen Road.