Pioneer Village station

Pioneer Village is a subway station on the Line 1 Yonge–University of the Toronto subway. It is located under the intersection of Northwest Gate and Steeles Avenue, at the city boundaries of Toronto and Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. A Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) bus terminal is connected to the southern portion of the station, and there is a regional bus terminal, the Pioneer Village Terminal, for connecting to York Region Transit (YRT) buses on the north side of Steeles Avenue. Pioneer Village, Highway 407 and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre stations are the first Toronto subway stations fully or partially located outside the Toronto city limits since its last amalgamation in 1998.

Pioneer Village
Location185 Northwest Gate, Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates43°46′37″N 79°30′34″W
PlatformsCentre platform
Tracks2
Connections Pioneer Village Terminal
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Parking1850 spaces
Disabled accessYes
ArchitectSpadina Group Associates
Architectural stylePostmodern architecture
History
OpenedDecember 17, 2017 (2017-12-17)[1]
Passengers
2018[2]17,320
Rank50 of 75
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
toward Vaughan
 Yonge–University
toward Finch

Station name

The station was initially expected to be named Steeles West. This followed the usual convention of TTC stations being named after cross streets, with West appended to station names on the northern section of the western branch of the line having counterparts along the eastern 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]

Description
North entrance to station

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 (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. 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.

TTC bus terminal

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 Spadina Group Associates designed the station, which 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.

Artwork
Ground level
Part of the LightSpell installation in the south mezzanine level
LightSpell at intermediate level

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.[8][9] 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".[10] The TTC is negotiating a compromise solution with the artists, raising questions of how a compromise of this nature undermines the fundamentals of the artwork.[11][12] The cost of the artwork was $500,000.[13]

History

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 the autumn of 2016,[14] but was delayed for two years. The extension and station opened on December 17, 2017.[15]

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. 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 collector booths. It was also among the first eight stations to discontinue sales of legacy TTC fare media (tokens and tickets). Presto vending machines were available to sell Presto cards and to load funds onto them.[16] On May 3, 2019, this station became one of the first ten stations to sell Presto tickets via Presto vending machines.[17]

Nearby landmarks
The Aviva Centre is southwest of the station on York University campus.

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

Surface connections
Main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes

The following routes serve this station.[18]

Route Name Additional Information
35A Jane Southbound to Jane station
35B Southbound to Jane station via Hullmar Drive
(Rush hour service)
41 Keele Southbound to Keele station
60A/B/D Steeles West Eastbound to Finch station
60B Westbound to Martin Grove Road
60D Westbound to Highway 27
84D Sheppard West Eastbound to Sheppard–Yonge station
(Rush hour service)
106 Sentinel Southbound to Sheppard West station
107 St. Regis Southbound to Sheppard West station
108A Driftwood Southbound to Sheppard West station via Grandravine Drive
108B Southbound to Sheppard West station via Arleta Avenue
935 Jane Express Southbound to Jane station
960 Steeles West Express Eastbound to Finch station
(Rush hour service)
335 Jane Blue Night service; Northbound to York University and southbound to Jane station
353 Steeles Blue Night service; Westbound to York University and eastbound to Staines

Pioneer Village Terminal
Pioneer Village Terminal
Location2800 Steeles Avenue West,
Vaughan, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates43°46′41″N 79°30′43″W
Owned byRegional Municipality of York
Operated byYork Region Transit
Bus routes
Bus stands5
Connections
Construction
Disabled accessYes
History
OpenedDecember 17, 2017 (2017-12-17)

A York Region Transit bus terminal[19] is located outside the station's fare-paid area on the north side of Steeles Avenue on the west side of Northwest Gate.[20][21] It lies adjacent to the commuter parking lot and has an outdoor walkway linking it with the station. There are no free transfers between these routes and the subway.

The following YRT routes serve the terminal:

Route Name Additional Information
3 Thornhill Eastbound to Steeles Avenue and Don Mills Road via Promenade Terminal
20 Jane Northbound to Teston Road via Highway 407 & Vaughan Metropolitan Centre stations, and Vaughan Mills Terminal
96 Keele–Yonge Northbound to Newmarket Bus Terminal via King Road

(Monday to Saturday service)

107 Keele Northbound to Teston Road
107B Northbound to Rutherford GO Station
(Weekday service)
165 Weston Northbound to Major Mackenzie Drive
165F Northbound to Canada Drive
(Rush hour service)

References
  1. Beattie, Samantha; Spurr, Ben (December 16, 2017). "After delays, cost overruns, and tragedy, a subway to Vaughan is complete". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  2. "Subway ridership, 2018" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved February 5, 2019. This table shows the typical number of customer-trips made on each subway on an average weekday and the typical number of customers travelling to and from each station platform on an average weekday.
  3. Kalinowski, Tess (September 28, 2012). "TTC names new subway station for Black Creek Pioneer Village". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  4. TTC renames new subway stop Pioneer Village station, Toronto Sun, July 24, 2013
  5. "Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension Project Steeles West Station : Approval Of Conceptual Design" (PDF). www3.ttc.ca. Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  6. "Pioneer Village Station". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  7. Moore, Oliver; Gray, Jeff (December 14, 2017). "Next stop, Vaughan: Inside the Toronto subway's big move beyond the city limits". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  8. Dixon, Guy (September 29, 2017). "A subway station worth lingering in". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  9. "TYSSE: Pioneer Village Station". UrbanToronto. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  10. "TTC By-law No. 1". www.ttc.ca. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  11. GmbH, BauNetz Media (January 29, 2018). "Dunkelheit statt freier Meinung - Zensierte Lichtinstallation von realities:united in Toronto". baunetz.de. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  12. "Can the Public Be Trusted to Make Public Art?". canadianart.ca. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  13. Cruickshank, Ainslie (December 22, 2017). "TTC backtracks on $500,000 station art installation". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  14. "Schedule Status Update" (PDF). Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension Project. Toronto Transit Commission. October 24, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  15. Miriam Katawazi (December 17, 2017). "Toronto-York subway extension is now officially open". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  16. "New Customer Service Agents at TTC stations". Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  17. "TTC extends sales of Presto Tickets to 10 stations". Toronto Transit Commission. May 6, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  18. "TTC Service Changes Effective Sunday, December 17, 2017". Stevemnro.ca. October 25, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  19. "Pioneer Village Terminal" (PDF). yrt.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  20. "Spadina Subway Transit Strategy" (PDF). 2015 Annual Service Plan. York Region Transit. 2015. p. 145. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  21. "YRT/Viva Spadina Subway Transit Strategy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2014.
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