Yorkdale’s filthy TTC entrance no place to go
The entrance to the Yorkdale subway station makes it look like the TTC is oblivious to what customers see when they get there.
With a portable toilet right outside the front doors, a lineup of trash and recycling bins next to stairs leading to them and pigeon poop coating the sidewalk, it is a thoroughly dispiriting point of entry to the transit system.
It has been under construction since early 2018, which is wearing thin with people who use the station and even those who just walk past it, like Stephen Bloom, who sent me a note about it.
“There are literally piles of bird droppings in some places. It hasn’t been cleaned in years,” said Bloom, adding he’s contacted his city councillor about it twice, but nothing has changed.
“Also, inside the north part of the station, the escalators have been removed for construction and the staircase that has replaced them is so narrow that one brushes shoulders with someone coming in the opposite direction.
“This cannot be safe, give the pandemic. Again, this has been going on for years. How long does it take to replace escalators and build an elevator?”
I went there and found that it was every bit as bad as described. If anything, Bloom understated it, particularly the double-whammy of bird poop and a johnny-on-the-spot for construction workers at the main entrance.
Imagine doing business in that outhouse, as we country bumpkins used to call them, while passengers are streaming in and out of the station, within earshot of the grunts. Status: Stuart Green, who’s in charge of communications for the TTC, emailed to say “your reader was absolutely correct.”
“The appearance at this station has deteriorated, thanks in no small part to the pigeon population, to a point where it needs to be addressed. It should have been done sooner and we have let our contractor know that we have an expectation of better upkeep. We powerwashed the area (Tuesday) night and it’s in better shape today. In terms of work being done, this is a major project that is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year,” he said, adding that more information is available on the TTC website.