Save Union Station

Bulletin

SAVE UNION STATION - Bulletin No. 26, September 20, 2004.

In this issue:

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1. Consultants retained to review Union Station Master Plan

2. Public meetings on consultants' draft report

3. Next steps

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1. Consultants retained to review Union Station Master Plan

As reported in Bulletin No.25, City Council decided in late May to enter into a 100-year contract with the Union Pearson Group, authorizing it to build according to the plan the Group had submitted. At the same time Council agreed to retain outside consultants to review the draft Master Plan that had been prepared by city staff.

In July the consultants were hired. The lead consultant is a new firm called Office for Urbanism, assisted by R.E. Millward & Associates (Bob Millward is a former chief planner of Toronto), and transportation consultants Poulos and Chung. The consultants have been asked to prepare their report for early October so it can go although a council process with meetings in early November.

During August and early September the consultants reviewed the issues. Members of the Save Union Station Steering Committee had two opportunities to meet with them, one in late July, the other in early September. At the meeting in early September we took the consultants for a tour of Union Station to point out our concerns first hands, and to voice the kinds of changes we think necessary. We stressed the importance of improving platforms for GO train riders including widening the platforms, putting in escalators and installing a new roof. We emphasized the importance of redesigning the interface between the Great Hall and the tracks so that many more passengers would have the opportunity of moving through the Great Hall on a daily basis. (That space is very uplifting and the experience of passing through it would be positive for office workers in the city.) We pointed out the problems with the proposed interface between the train station and the transit station if the TTC proceeds to cut off the current connection between the GO concourse and the Royal Bank Plaza.

Our discussions with the consultants attempted to stress that they should interpret their mandate to have a wide enough scope to consider these kinds of issues.

2. Public meetings on consultants' draft report

On September 13 the consultants held an open house at Metro Hall beginning at 4:30 p.m. with a brief presentation and meeting at 7:30 p.m. The open house exhibited a number of panels containing an extraordinary amount of information - so much information the panels were very hard to digest and understand. Half of one panel was devoted to presenting the points our group had made on the tour, and it reflected them very well. Members of the Save Union Station steering group who attended the presentation at 7:30 p.m. found a lack of focus in defining the key issues and were of the opinion that the arrangements for the session did not encourage feedback or public discussion.

The consultants have scheduled a second public form for Monday, September 27 at 4:30 p.m. in the rotunda of Metro Hall, 55 John Street. The open house is planned to last until 9:00 p.m. and we are hoping that the consultants will again hold a presentation at about 7:30 p.m. and that this time they will arrange for seating and encourage feedback and discussion among the members of the public present.

At the meeting on September 27 the consultants are expected to present the ideas that would be in their draft report. This will clearly be a critical session since it will reveal whether they are taking a broader interpretation of the terms of reference and will talk about the medium and long-term future of the station and show how improvements clearly required can be accomplished starting now. We believe the critical issue is whether the city will create a Master Plan that ensures that the experience of being in the station, using the concourses, getting from the concourses to the platforms,, being on the platforms, will be comfortable and efficient, and reflects good design principles in keeping with the overall Beaux-Art features of the Station. The experience of travel and/or commuting should take place in surroundings that are as beautiful and well designed for ease of movement as possible -- as opposed to the narrow, grotty platforms, long staircases, and confusing layout travellers they now have, and will have in the future if nothing changes in the current plans.

Surveys have shown that one of the top complaints of GO transit riders is their experience in Union Station. They complain about the narrowness of the platforms, about the grittiness of being on the platforms, and the number of steps between the concourse and the tracks. If GO Transit is serious about trying to double the number of daily commuters using Union Station, it is absolutely critical that these aspects be fixed. The current Union Pearson plan does not address these questions. If the consultants do not make these recommendations now, then it appears City Council will simply allow the Union Pearson group to proceed with its plan, and that will freeze the station for the best part of 100 yeas. That would be a totally sorry state of affairs. From comments they have made, we fear the consultants will not deal with these questions.

Thus it is absolutely critical that those interested in the future of Union Station, and realizing the important and central part it plays as a transportation hub in the Greater Toronto Area, come to the session on September 27 to ensure these larger issues are addressed. We believe the traveling public can have a positive influence on this situation.

3. Next steps

Following this meeting it is expected that the consultants, working within very tight deadlines imposed by the city, will finalize their report and submit it to City Hall for processing through the committee stage on its way to Council.

It is rumoured that the consultants will prepare a draft report for some committee meeting in early October. We have been told by a councillor that the city has scheduled a joint meeting on Monday, November 1 of the Planning and Transportation Committee and the Administration Committee, to consider the consultants' report on Union Station. Our expectation is that the consultants' final report will be available at least a week before this meeting. Please mark this in your diary and arrange to attend this important City Hall meeting.

Our group, Save Union Station, expects to call a public meeting some time in October so that we can publicly discuss the proposals that we expect the consultants to make.

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Our Email address is signup@saveunionstation.ca and please visit our website at http://www.saveunionstation.ca