Subway extension lacking in loos
Riders wonder why only one of the fancy stations on new line is equipped with public washrooms
Why aren’t there more places on Line 1 to go number one?
The eye-catching stations on the newly minted Toronto-York Spadina subway extension come fully loaded with wireless service, accessible elevators, a state-of-the-art signalling system and impressive public art.
They have everything a transit rider could want, or almost everything. Most of them lack public washrooms. Just one of the six new stops, the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, is equipped with a loo. Some riders aren’t holding in their frustration. Tim Wong, a 45-year-old transit buff from Etobicoke, said he was surprised during the open house at Finch West station on Saturday when he was told there were no bathrooms on site.
“I was just very puzzled,” he said. “It just makes sense to have a washroom, not necessarily at every station, but at least more than one on a brand new (extension).”
Wong said the lack of lavatories on the extension of Line 1 (Yonge-University-Spadina) is particularly confusing because in other ways it appears little expense was spared in building the stations, which are among the largest on the TTC network. Finch West alone had a budget of $125.6 million.
So why are WCs M.I.A. on the TTC? Transit agency spokesperson Stuart Green said it’s a “long-standing TTC policy” to install washrooms only at terminal stations at the end of subway lines, with the exception of the busy transfer point at BloorYonge station.
However, as the TTC has built new extensions over the years, some of the washrooms have ended up in the middle of lines.
Eleven of the network’s 75 subway and Scarborough RT stations now have the facilities.
“Any reconsideration of the policy would have to come from the board, at which time we could cost out retrofits,” Green said, noting that “maintenance and upkeep would be expensive” and “cost is certainly a consideration.”
Green stated the agency’s priority for now is retrofitting stations to make them fully accessible by the end of 2025.
The agency spends $2.1 million a year on contracted services to maintain washrooms at its stations.
Although for most riders the issue may be a minor one, for some passengers, access to washrooms is an important health concern.
Rasheed Clarke, marketing and communications co-ordinator for Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, said people with chronic gastrointestinal conditions need to use the bathroom more often and with greater urgency than the average person.
He said the dearth of facilities on the subway line, coupled with the ever-present risk of a service delay, “makes it that much harder for someone to have that piece of mind that they can get to a washroom in case they need it.”
He described the absence of washrooms on the Line 1 extension as “a missed opportunity.”
“If the stations were being built from the ground up, you would have thought there would have been an opportunity to put in washrooms,” he said.
Chris Robinson is a professor of finance and the union steward for the faculty disability caucus at York University, which is served by two stops on the new extension.
He had prostate surgery a few years ago, which he said will likely leave him permanently somewhat incontinent, adding that because of the city’s aging population, more people now need frequent access to washrooms.
He argued that the design of the new stations represents “a failure to respond to the way the world has changed.”
He described the new York University station, which was budgeted at $118 million, as “palatial.”
“I would have been happy if they made it more functional and less architecturally brilliant, by making sure they had washrooms in stations. That, (it) seems to me, would have been a reasonable use of public money.”
Since opening Sunday, the subway extension has been mostly troublefree, with only minor adjustments needed, the TTC said Tuesday.
At the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station, two elevators meant to take passengers to a bus platform were out of service, as was an escalator to the top of the station.
In both cases, TTC spokesperson Brad Ross said it was a normal part of the break-in process.
“For safety, these modern units have multiple sensors and alarm functions that need adjusting as user thresholds become evident through everyday use. Sensors have to be adjusted to the ideal threshold, where they are sensitive enough to detect a problem but forgiving enough to not trip through robust use,” he said.
For example, escalator sensors will shut down a unit if they detect tugging on the handrail or something binding in the steps. With files from Jaren Kerr