Science Centre is an underground light rail transit (LRT) station and mobility hub under construction on Line 5 Eglinton, a new line that is part of the Toronto subway system.[1] It will be located in the Flemingdon Park neighbourhood at the intersection of Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue. It is scheduled to open in 2024.[2]
Science Centre  | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Main entrance under construction in January 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | Eglinton Avenue East & Don Mills Road Toronto, Ontario Canada | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 43°43′14″N 79°20′20″W / 43.72056°N 79.33889°W | |||||||||||||||
| Platforms | Centre platform | |||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Connections |  TTC buses | |||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | Underground | |||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Indoor bike parking[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||
| Status | Under construction | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| Opening | 2024[2] | |||||||||||||||
| Future services | ||||||||||||||||
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On April 10, 2019, the Ontario government announced that Science Centre station would be the northern terminus for the proposed Ontario Line,[3] construction of which began in March 2022.[4]
Description
editThis station's main entrance is located at the southwest corner of the intersection with Don Mills Road.[5] A secondary entrance is on the opposite northeast corner, with a new bus terminal stretching beyond that to Gervais Drive. The TTC bus terminal will have seven bus bays as well as on-street bus connections. An underground, accessible passage will link the bus terminal to the LRT concourse level, which will have retail spaces. The station will provide 30 outdoor and 30 indoor bicycle parking spaces.[1]
The underground Science Centre station was built using cut-and-cover method. The station is between two surface sections of the line. To travel under Don Mills Road, the line dips underground, passes through the station under the middle of Eglinton Avenue and re-emerges to the surface at the other side.[6] To the west of Science Centre station, there is a facing-point crossover just beyond the ramp descending to the station's west portal. To the east of the station, there is a double crossover on the ramp descending to the station's east portal.[7]
As part of a program to install artworks at major interchange stations along Line 5 Eglinton, Science Centre Station will feature an artwork titled Total Lunar Eclipse by British-American artist Sarah Morris. The artwork is a mural consisting of porcelain tiles that were silkscreened by hand. According to the artist, the artwork is a "wall painting" that "invites reflection on concepts of light, scale and motion through space".[8]
The station's main entrance has louvres in the glass panels above the doors. Metrolinx predicts that the louvres "will be a well-known and a distinctive part of the transit destination's look".[9]
Name
editDuring the planning stages for Line 5 Eglinton, the station was given the working name "Don Mills". On November 23, 2015, a report to the TTC Board recommended giving a unique name to each station in the subway system (including Line 5 Eglinton).[10] Thus, the station was given its current name to reflect its proximity to the nearby Ontario Science Centre (similar to Museum station), and to avoid confusion with the existing Don Mills station on Line 4 Sheppard.
On April 18, 2023, the Ontario provincial government announced plans to move the Science Centre to Ontario Place (near the other terminus of the Ontario Line). When asked about what this would mean for Science Centre station, government House leader Paul Calandra said the station would be renamed but did not comment on what the new name might be.[11]
Nearby landmarks
editNearby landmarks include the Ontario Science Centre, the Celestica headquarters, the Foresters building, a Real Canadian Superstore, and a Latter-day Saints meetinghouse.
Science Centre is one of the Line 5 stations that was reported to have most excited developers.[12] On April 3, 2017, Urban Toronto reported that the City's planning department's initiative for the intersection had been named Don Mills Crossing, while it would be accompanied by a plan for nearby properties, in 2018.
Surface connections
editAs of November 2023[update], the following are the proposed connecting routes that would serve this station when Line 5 Eglinton opens:[13]
| Route | Name | Additional information |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Don Mills | Northbound to Steeles Avenue East via Don Mills station and southbound to Pape station |
| 34 | Eglinton | Westbound to Mount Dennis station and eastbound to Kennedy station |
| 54A | Lawrence East | Eastbound to Starspray Boulevard via Lawrence East station |
| 54B | Eastbound to Orton Park Road via Lawrence East station | |
| 81 | Thorncliffe Park | Southbound to Pape station |
| 100A | Flemingdon Park | Southbound to Broadview station via Grenoble Drive |
| 100B | Southbound to Broadview station via Linkwood Lane | |
| 162 | Lawrence/Donway | Northbound and then westbound to Lawrence station |
| 191 | Underhill | Northbound to York Mills Road |
| 925 | Don Mills Express | Northbound to Steeles Avenue East via Don Mills station and southbound to Pape station |
| 954 | Lawrence East Express | Eastbound to Starspray Boulevard via Lawrence East station |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Science Centre (formerly Don Mills) Station". Eglinton Crosstown. October 12, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
- ^ a b Spurr, Ben (February 17, 2020). "Eglinton Crosstown faces another setback, delayed until 2022". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ Jackson-Kelso, Rhianna; Bensadoun, Emerald (April 10, 2019). "How Doug Ford's $28.5-billion transit overhaul compares with Toronto's existing plans". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
stretching from Ontario Place to the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto.
- ^ "'Game changer': Ford, Tory break ground on Ontario line, vow to protect local businesses - Toronto | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
- ^ Bateman, Chris (August 6, 2014). "Crosstown LRT spurs massive redevelopment proposal". blogTO. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
An underground stop on the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT is due to be built on the southwest corner of Eglinton and Don Mills
- ^ "Crosstown LRT Science Centre (open house) June 15, 2017" (PDF). Metrolinx. June 15, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017. Slides 19, 23, 24
- ^ "Eglinton Crosstown Surface Flyover - July 2020". Metrolinx. July 15, 2020. p. 01:00, 01:48. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Spurr, Ben (January 15, 2018). "Art installations will enliven Eglinton Crosstown LRT". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "Crosstown LRT projects sees significant concrete milestones as well as main entrance features at Science Centre Station". Metrolinx. April 21, 2021. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ^ "Line 5 Eglinton Station Names" (PDF). Board Presentation. Toronto Transit Commission. November 23, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
TTC staff evaluated the initial report and the proposed names and provided feedback and recommendations. A primary TTC concern was to avoid replication and redundancy with existing TTC station names. The proposed names are unique and are not likely to be confused with existing station names.
- ^ Colin, D'Mello (April 20, 2023). "Ford government to rename Science Centre subway station in Toronto". Global News. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^
Julian Mirabelli (April 3, 2017). "Big Plans in Store for the Transformation of Don Mills & Eglinton". Urban Toronto. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
First, City Planning is undertaking a comprehensive planning study of the area they have named Don Mills Crossing, encompassing the four corners of the intersection while considering the neighbourhoods beyond, for which a Secondary Plan will be introduced in 2018.
- ^ "2024 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. November 17, 2023. p. 106.
External links
edit- Don Mills Station project page at the Eglinton Crosstown website.
- Crosstown LRT Walk-through Don Mills on YouTube by Infrastructure Ontario. (The video shows the old station name (Don Mills) which has since been renamed Science Centre.)