Yesterday, I wrote about a poorly designed pedestrian connection between the YRT/Viva bus terminal and the Langstaff GO Station.
But there are examples of how a very suburban GO station can be designed to coexist with big-boxes and connections with local transit. Milton demonstrates a very pragmatic (though still far from an urban TOD ideal) way to do this.
The GO Station in Milton, once located at the far end of town (where I am sure, land for parking was essential), now finds itself in the centre of what in 2006 was Canada’s fastest growing municipality (53,000, up 71.4% from 2001). Milton held that distinction because in the decade before that, the town had zero growth. The construction of water mains from Lake Ontario has allowed the quick growth.
There are three big-box complexes in Milton, two next to the 401 near Steeles and James Snow Parkway, and one next to the station, whose primary tenants are a LCBO and a Loblaws Superstore. The new commercial complex was built in a field next to the GO station, with a new circular road providing local access to both. Two sets of traffic lights provide safe pedestrian crossings between the two (with very short waits for a walk signal). A new bus loop connects the recently improved local transit system and the GO Transit 401 and “Train-Bus” routes, with a minimal walk between train and bus. Here, there’s a potential to minimize unnecessary trips. One actually could walk over, grab some groceries or booze, and go back to the parked car (having waited out the mad rush out of the lot) or ride Milton Transit (whose hub is the GO station) home.
Train platform right next to bus platforms and bike shelter.
Here’s what GO Transit could do with its huge, suburban parking lots: as it builds parking garages, replace surface parking with complementary retail, like grocery stores, a Tim Horton’s, a dry cleaners (the kiosk in Brampton’s station is an example) even provide space for a daycare that busy commuters could drop their children off and pick them up without an extra car trip. It would make transit more convenient and reduce extra car trips, a practical and pragmatic solution. There’s some lots, like Guildwood, that would also be suited to high density housing, perhaps even affordable homes.
I explored Milton a bit, the sprawl, and the charming downtown. While the Milton Mall (since semi-converted to big boxes) and other “power centres” have become the places for most local retail, there are some smaller, independent stores and restaurants that appear to be healthy. The presence of a cluster of mid and high-rise apartments adjacent may also help. The ride from the station was 50 cents on Milton Transit, and all GO buses loop around the downtown core at the start of the route, rather than force riders to the station.
Downtown Milton
On the other hand, the new sprawl , mostly to the east of the older parts of town, is incredible. With some distant family in town, remembering what Derry Road was like a mere five years ago, and what it looks like now still comes as a shock, and I come from Brampton. Though one can see the changes in suburbs that have come — 30 and 36-foot lots (the house I grew up in was a 50-foot lot), lots of townhouses, and street patterns that at least no longer line the arterial roads with backyard fences, but with side streets and houses facing the road.
Derry Road at Thompson, all farmland less than a decade before.
13 comments
Thanks for this report.
I have never been to this town myself, but from the 4th photo, I can see that suburban design has improved much since the 1990s. That plaza under construction even has street-facing windows.
I’m wondering whether there was some kind of Loblaw involvement in the “enlightened” GO-zone planning, given how said Superstore was meant as a new-model prototype (and the beginning of the bagless Loblaws to boot)
GO stations could be perfect places for shops and services business opportunities. At Oakville, Bronte, Appleby, and most other stations there is virtually nothing within a 15 minute walk. Oakville does have quite a bit once the parking lot, busy roads, and more parking lots are crossed. A grand example is in Japan where, in 2001 or so, I observed entire Eaton Centre type developments adjacent to or right on top of train stations. They were complete with parking garages, department stores, supermarkets, and offices. Also present right outside were pedestrian-friendly squares where one could continue to work, shop, or grab a taxi. I realize our population density is nowhere near Japan’s, but let’s move beyond Union Station. Even at smaller scales this idea improves the convenience of transit without actually investing in transit improvements. This is the type of capitalism that would really help everyone! No wonder we’re not doing it..
Somewhat closer to home is the ‘Vancouver-model’ of urban development: a smallish mall surrounding the train station is topped with four higher towers – typically two for apartments and two for office space. The site provides retail+entertainment space, health/educational services, office space and housing all at the same location! Plus, these activities do not necessarily occur all at the same time, so the train service is more evenly distributed throughout the day.
If I am not mistaken, one of the more distant park&ride lots of the sky-train (in Burnaby?) was retro-fitted with this kind of development.
It’s interesting to read about these GO Stations from a New York perspective. The commuter rail network here is 150 years old and the suburban villages are up to twice as old as that, so there were plenty of developed nodes before the trains came through and plenty of time since to fill in around the stations. The tracks were, for the most part, created for passenger service and therefore ran to and not around settled points, further increasing the options within walking distance of each station.
As a result, many of the stations are incredibly charming and inspiring, with the (sometimes historic) train station platforms located right downtown next to shops and residences. (Scarsdale/MetroNorth) Other stations are of the nothing-but-a-parking-lot variety (Princeton Junction/NJT), but these tend to be the exception. Many stations that were formerly parking lots now have multilevel garages and close-in retail and residential development. (Ronkonkoma/LIRR) Some stations simply arrived after the land was already fully developed and have absolutely no parking whatsoever – people just hop off the train and head straight to adjacent houses or apartment buildings (Marble Hill/Metro North).
GO was developed postwar, from freight lines, with more riders per train and a mandate for automobile diversion, so it is understandable that many of the stations are such wastelands designed to process riders into and out of their cars quickly. However, I do wish the agency and the province were more aggressive in making the spaces around the platforms more productive, more attractive, and more beneficial to their neighbourhoods.
Milton seems to be a start but I think that there are other, better role models. Given the hundreds of successful commuter rail station developments in North America (or even better, Europe) there must be some good examples that Spacing readers can identify to serve as case studies for future GO improvements…
I was looking at the google map link you supplied, and I noticed that there is a typical sprawl-type subdivision to the east from the GO station across Thompson Road S. To walk to the GO station from that subdivision, one has to go south to use the McCuaig Dr. access to Thompson Road S. Typical suburban sprawl road design.
uSky: Of course there are better models around here. Some AMT stations in Montreal are set up nicely (Mont-Royal immediately comes to mind, but that was an electric commuter service from the late 1910s onwards). Brampton has been talking about making Mount Pleasant station (still on the suburban frontier) a TOD station, but of course the best examples are places like Port Credit, Downtown Brampton, Downtown Hamilton, where a downtown already exists and there are some new condo developments there using GO as a selling point.
The station to watch might be Unionville. Last year I wrote about “Downtown Markham”, which will be on one side of the station, which is still in a field in the middle of nowhere. Markham has been relatively serious about urbanizing the Highway 7 Corridor from the 404 to Cornell, so we can see what happens there.
Another positive development is that GO’s plan to extend service to Guelph and Kitchener (via Brampton) includes two stations at the current VIA stops in each downtown, with a suburban parking lot station east of Kitchener.
http://www.urbantoronto.ca/showpost.php?p=294388&postcount=1150
Still, there’s lots of ways that GO can improve, and I hope to write about these over the next few weeks.
Milton is actually considering eliminating local transit due to low ridership.
http://www.miltoncanadianchampion.com/news/article/251306
@uSky: Excellent points. I believe that GO needs to plan for more new urban stations, as they are starting to see the limits to auto-centric stations, in the gridlock that happens after the afternoon train arrives & the commuters jump in their cars, the high price of multi-level parking garages etc.
Car access is strangling GO train ridership, and building parking lots is a huge drain on money and land.
GO to their credit are reinstating the downtown Barrie train station (Allandale) due to city dweller demand.
I’m not sure if it’s Via Rail or GO that’s planning a new station on the CN line north of downtown on James Street, near the old station & current LIUNA Station. This station’ll be a short walk or very quick bus ride from King & James downtown and the apartments & condos nearby. Certainly much more accessible to city dwellers than Aldersnot Station in the middle of nowhwere off the 403.
Ideally GO will have stations in downtown Oshawa, Milton, and other city downtowns, though this may require them to build (expensive) new track.
As stevemunro.ca states on his blog, Metrolink needs to be actively involved in promoting and encouraging local transit to serve GO train stations, and to reverse cities like Milton “eliminating local transit due to low ridership.”
The real problem to this, however, is the low density sprawl zoning that exists around every city, that continues to be very inefficient and costly for transit to serve.
GO and Metrolink can lead the revival of existing, decaying downtowns (already transit oriented development TOD) into transit hubs and livable places, by changing their focus from exclusively serving car commuters (that encourage sprawl) to serving existing cities.
How much is GO paying Milton per rider? It seems strange that they want to improve their income by expanding the 50 cent service, and cutting the $2.75 service, so I assume they are getting a pretty good cut from GO.
“The real problem to this, however, is the low density sprawl zoning that exists around every city, that continues to be very inefficient and costly for transit to serve.”
There it is. And some of these towns aren’t really big enough to warrant public transit per se. They should be built densely enough “villagey” if you will, so that people could walk and bike to the train station.
Erindale station on the Milton line makes the best with what’s available at hand.
http://maps.google.ca/local?f=q&h1=en&q=43.569,+-79.6689+(Erindale+GO+Station)
or
http://www.bing.com/maps/?FORM=Z9LH4#JndoZXJlMT1taXNzaXNzYXVnYSZiYj01OC44MTM3NDE3MTU3MDc4JTdlLTM1Ljk0NzI2NTYyNSU3ZTIzLjQ4MzQwMDY1NDMyNTYlN2UtMTIyLjg3MTA5Mzc1
Next to the station is the Deer Run Shopping Centre with a No Frills, Guardian Drug Store, several restaurants/take out options and several other services. Across the street south of Burnhamthorpe (accessible to the station by a footbridge) are 3 office towers with medical offices. There is some traffic disembarking at Erindale probably working in these towers or possibly getting to UTM.
At the corner of Rathburn and Creditview is a mid-rise apartment building, while your typical suburban development surrounds it. There is a vacant lot of land between the station itself and the residential area to the north. Townhouses have been planned for the site but nothing has ever been done with the site in the nearly 20 years I’ve lived in the area. Something a little more TOD should be done with the site.
The station itself is slated for a parking structure as it has one of the smallest lots on the line. I’m hoping after the parking lot is redesigned (again) that they’ll consider a bus only loop into the station for Mississauga Transit to use – one of the reasons why they don’t provide direct service into the station.
Riverwood Park neighbours the station to the west. The park is one of the largest tracts of undeveloped land in the city. I’ve seen deer in the woods while waiting for the train. It certainly makes for a scenic start to your day.
@Gil: Funny you mention that. I commute from Milton to Erindale via GO, and it’s actually a pleasant experience on both ends – bike to Milton, GO to Erindale, Mississauga Transit to work. I can, and do, shop at both Erindale and Milton stations, saving me an extra trip. There’s usually 2-5 people who do a similar journey on most trains – nothing compared to the Union Station crowd, but it feels like it’s growing. Metrolinx needs to market this use of the GO Train more…