Pioneer Village station

The station was initially expected to be named Steeles West. This followed the previous convention of TTC stations being named after cross streets, with West appended to station names on the northern section of the western (University) branch of the line having counterparts along the eastern (Yonge) branch. In this case, there was no "Steeles" station counterpart on the eastern branch, and instead the unbuilt station was named Black Creek Pioneer Village on September 28, 2012, after the nearby heritage museum.^[3] On July 24, 2013, the name was shortened to Pioneer Village.^[4] In 2024, the namesake museum was renamed the Village at Black Creek.

 

The station lies on a northwest–southeast axis, with the line approaching the station from York University station northwestward, directly under the university's main buildings. The northern portion of the station lies in the City of Vaughan in York Region and the southern portion in the City of Toronto. There are three station entrances, two being structures that are situated on both the north and south sides of Steeles Avenue. One of two south entrances (in Toronto) connects to the fare-paid TTC bus terminal.^[5][6] with 12 bays.^[7] The other is incorporated into the bus terminal itself and is accessed via a signalized crosswalk across the bus driveways from the university's sports facilities. The third—the north entrance in Vaughan—is adjacent to the York Region Transit bus terminal as well as an on-street passenger pick-up and drop-off area. A large commuter lot with a 1,881-vehicle capacity is situated in the hydro corridor to the north of the YRT terminal.^[8] Unusually, both street entrances lead to separate mezzanine levels, despite both serving as primary points of access (although many stations have secondary automatic entrances), and it is necessary for non-subway riders transferring between TTC and YRT buses to go down to and walk the length of the platform to connect between the two bus terminals.

 

The station has three levels: the entrances at street level, the two mezzanines just below them, and the train platform at the bottom. Enough space has been left between the surface and the platform to allow for the construction of an underground station for a future light rail transit line.^[5]

The station was designed by a consortium of architects and engineers, Spadina Group Associates – including All Design (headed by British architect Will Alsop) and IBI Group.^[9][10] Landscape design of the station was by Janet Rosenberg & Studio.^[11] The station features entrance structures on the southeast and northwest sides at a street intersection. The layout makes the entrances mirror each other, giving an overall symmetrical effect. The southwest corner of the intersection also includes an oculus for a light cone above the platform. Both entrance structures have cool roofs and green roofs.^[5][6] To the south of the station, there is a crossover to short turn trains.

 

 

 

Artists Tim Edler and Jan Edler of Berlin-based Realities-United provided interactive artwork, titled LightSpell, consisting of a row of 40 light fixtures suspended from the ceiling over the platform. These units can display text as well as illuminate the platform.^[12][13] The intent of the artists was that waiting passengers would key in text (maximum of 8 characters) using several touch screens for display on the lighting units. Other waiting passengers could change the text. However, when the Toronto–York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE) opened, the TTC decided not to activate this feature, despite previously agreeing to do so as shown by the installation of the commissioned piece, because of the potential for displaying offensive messages. Given that the 2009 revision of the TTC By-law No. 1 explicitly prohibits the use of such language, a question remains of how that by-law would apply to an artwork as it is not itself communicating "profane, insulting or obscene language or gestures".^[14] The TTC wanted to negotiate a compromise solution with the artists, raising questions of how a compromise of this nature undermines the fundamentals of the artwork.^[15][16] As of 2024^[update], the TTC has not activated the artwork.^[17] The cost of the artwork was $1.9 million.^[18]

On November 27, 2009, the official ground-breaking ceremony was held for the TYSSE project, which included the construction of Pioneer Village station. Tunnelling began in June 2011. The project was expected to be completed by December 2015, later revised to the fourth quarter of 2016.^[19] The extension and station ultimately opened on December 17, 2017.^[20]

Pioneer Village was originally planned to be a temporary terminus for the western arm of Line 1 Yonge–University, which would later be extended to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station. However, the entire extension, with its six new stations, was completed as one project.

This station, along with the five other TYSSE stations, were the first to be opened without collectors, although booths were installed as per original station plans.^[21] It was also among the first eight stations to discontinue sales of legacy TTC fare media (tokens and tickets). Presto vending machines were available at its opening to sell Presto cards and to load funds or monthly passes onto them.^[22] On May 3, 2019, this station became one of the first ten stations to sell Presto tickets via Presto vending machines.^[23]

In a 2024 court case, the TTC was ordered to pay an extra $57 million to Walsh Construction to compensate it for TTC design changes ordered while construction was in progress. Walsh claimed that the design changes resulted in inefficiencies and the rebuilding of completed tasks. The award included $412,000 related to the artwork, when the TTC and the artist decided a new rigging was required for aesthetic reasons. The TTC planned to appeal the ruling, conceding that it was responsible for 411 days of the delay; the judge found the TTC liable for 636 days of delay.^[17]

The major buildings of York University's main Keele Campus lie to the southeast. Canlan Ice Sports (home of York Lions hockey) and Sobeys Stadium (home of the Canadian Open tennis) are found to the southwest, the Toronto Track and Field Centre is to the east and York Lions Stadium (home of York United FC) is to the immediate south. The station's namesake, Black Creek Pioneer Village, lies less than one kilometre (0.62 mi) to the southwest.

The following routes serve this station.^[24]

After the opening of Line 6 Finch West, there will be one new rush hour bus route, replacing the 36D Finch West branch (proposed as of November 2023^[update]):^[25]

Pioneer Village Terminal
General information
Location	2800 Steeles Avenue West, Vaughan, Ontario Canada
Coordinates	43°46′41″N 79°30′43″W / 43.77806°N 79.51194°W / 43.77806; -79.51194
Owned by	Regional Municipality of York
Operated by	York Region Transit
Bus routes	YRT buses  3  Thornhill  20  Jane  96  Keele–Yonge  107  Keele  165  Weston
Bus stands	5
Connections
Construction
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Website	Official station page
History
Opened	December 17, 2017 (2017-12-17)

A York Region Transit bus terminal^[26] is located outside the station's fare-paid area on the north side of Steeles Avenue on the west side of Northwest Gate.^[27][28] It lies adjacent to the commuter parking lot and has an outdoor walkway linking it with the station.

The following YRT routes serve the terminal:

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pioneer Village station.

• Official station page
• Hate speech concerns stall Toronto subway art installation on YouTube Published by CBC News on December 28, 2017
• Lightspell at realities:united