An important objective of the revitalization of Union Station is to ensure that pedestrian activity occurs in a safe, functional, convenient manner, and is also well planned in terms of its facilities and space requirements to minimize pedestrian delay and congestion.
As a result, Transportation Planning initiated a pedestrian movement study and commissioned ArupNAPA to undertake a Union Station pedestrian planning area study (Phase One and Two).
Phase One
This phase consists of two parts. Part 1 was a study of current and forecast pedestrian flows to and from Union Station and residential and employment blocks bound by the study area (Dundas Street/ Church Street/ Lake Ontario/ Spadina Avenue).
Click on map to see larger version
Click on map to see larger version
Click on map to see larger version
Union Station Pedestrian Tunnel Options
Part 2 of the study was a preliminary examination of constraints and opportunities for three below-grade PATH pedestrian route alignments.
The potential PATH link would extend north from the northwest corner of Union Station to connect with the existing PATH system in the vicinity of the intersection of York and Wellington Street. This PATH link would improve pedestrian circulation within and around Union Station and also act as a relieve value for the estimated 27,000 pedestrians exiting Union Station in the future 2021 AM commuter peak 15 minutes.
Phase Two
Phase Two of the pedestrian study expands upon the documented (Phase One) pedestrian assumptions, through the refinement of pedestrian volumes at the micro and macro level. Pedestrian (AM commuter peak) volumes were broken into 1 minute segments to reflect existing and future train arrival and departure schedules.
A 3D pedestrian environment was created and embedded with commuter ebbs and flows to mimic real life pedestrian surges throughout Union Station. Outputs generated by the 3D simulation were used to identify potential bottlenecks or constraints at critical locations such as at doorways, corridors, staircases and sidewalks.
The 3D movie clip below illustrates the peak AM 2021 pedestrian conditions from a northeast bird's-eye view above the future TTC Union Subway Station concourse towards to the intersection of Front and Bay Street.
Each simulated pedestrian is colour coded based on their origin. RED represents outbound TTC subway and streetcar users; GREEN represents outbound GO Transit train users; and BLUE represents inbound transit users.
Click on image to go to movie clip
