Islington (TTC)

History

Islington station opened in 1968 in what was then the Borough of Etobicoke as the western terminus of the Bloor-Danforth Line, and became a through station in 1980 when the line was extended to Kipling.

Until 1973, TTC buses and subway trains serving the station were in separate fare zones and so turnstiles and collector booths were placed between bus bays and subway platforms. The fare barrier was reconfigured after the zones were abolished to put the bus bays inside the fare-paid zone, and its layout was simplified in a later renovation.

However, the bus bays have also been used by non-TTC buses. In the early years some Gray Coach long-distance services called at Islington, and the Airport Express, also then operated by Gray Coach, had an Islington station route. Mississauga Transit (now MiWay) buses, which at first stopped outside the station, began using several of the bus bays after they were no longer needed for TTC buses once Kipling station opened. Since all these buses have had separate fares from the TTC, since the bus bays were put inside the fare barrier the buses have had to unload on the street outside the station entrance; they can use the bus bays only for boarding.

Station description

The station is located on the northwest side of Bloor Street West and Islington Avenue, and is built on three levels. Street level is where all three parking lots, all three entrances, as well as where the bus platform is located. The entrances to the station can be found at the main parking, and at the east and west sides of Islington Avenue respectively.

Below street level is the concourse and collector, which provides stair access to the bus platforms above it. The subway platforms are underneath the concourse and collector level. There are no elevators in this station, which it is not accessible for persons with physical disabilities.

Parking

Four parking lots serve Islington station, providing a total of 1,569 spaces: The main lot beside the station northwest of Bloor Street at Islington has 543 spaces; north of the railway tracks at Cordova Avenue there are 473 spaces; at the north end of Lomond Drive there are 283 spaces; and the newest lot beside the railway tracks on the south side of Bloor Street off Fieldway Road has 270 spaces.

Subway infrastructure in the vicinity

Between this station and Royal York station to the east, the line exits the tunnel at the Montgomery Portal to cross Mimico Creek by bridge, and then returns underground at the Aberfoyle Portal.

This is one of only three stations in the subway system where a track signal is publicly accessible (the others being Union and Davisville). The signal is at the east end of the platform and guards the switches for trains turning back eastbound from the westbound platform.

Nearby landmarks

Sun Life Financial Centre, at 3300 Bloor St. West, has direct access to the station on the east side of Islington Avenue and Islington Village is short distance north of the station at Dundas Street West.

Toronto Transit Commission

MiWay

All routes are wheelchair-accessible (). While Islington station is the property of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), it connects to more MiWay bus routes than TTC bus routes. It is the second busiest terminal for MiWay, and the largest and busiest outside of Mississauga.

Station modernization

The TTC had plans to renovate this station, as part of their station improvement project in 2008. The key improvements listed as part of the project included the demolition of the current bus terminal and construction of a new, wheelchair-accessible one on the north side of the station, easier access plans, a new entrance with public art, a new passenger pick up and drop off area, and overall modernization. An open house was held on 22 April 2008, and the scheduled completion time was in 2011-2012, but work is still far from finished. A completion date has not been released, and is being pushed further into the future as time goes by.