I am not a daily commuter, but as a documentary photographer of Toronto’s urban fabric, I depend on the TTC to get me to far-flung areas of the city where I carry out various projects. Thus, like so many transit riders, I had been waiting impatiently for the opening of the new light rapid transit lines on Eglinton Avenue and Finch Avenue West, assuming they would provide faster service and greater comfort than the buses they would replace.
Hearing the announcement in early December that Line 6 on Finch West had opened, I couldn’t wait to take an exploratory trip on it. In mid-December I set out from my home at Queen and Spadina to ride “the Six” and survey the landscape between Finch West station and the end of the line at Humber College Drive.
One doesn’t often get the chance to experience a rapid transit line devoid of commercial advertising and public artworks, let alone graffiti, blobs of gum stuck to platforms and service adjustment notices carelessly taped to walls. The lack of clutter allowed me to appreciate the terminal stations’ architecture, which although conventional, adequately serves its purpose of defining these movement-oriented spaces.
Unlike the low-ceilinged corridor stretching between the Line the 1 and Line 2 platforms at Spadina Station, the subterranean hall that connects Line 1 to Line 6 at Finch West is airy and welcoming. The Alstom Citadis LRT trains are quite comfortable and seem to be much quieter than our newest generation of blustering, screeching subway trains.
Much has already been said about how slowly these LRT trains are being driven at the moment. For the record, it took me 50 minutes to travel to the end of the line, and just as long to come back, for an overall average speed of about 12 kilometres per hour. We won’t know how much service can be improved until the trial period is over and transit priority at stoplights is implemented.
Unlike the TTC’s streetcars and buses, the LRT cars don’t have Presto Card scanners on board. These are located on the outdoor platforms, exposed to the elements. Three TTC Provincial Offence Officers were on board, but they spent most of their time explaining the new system to befuddled passengers who had expected to find onboard scanners, rather than issuing tickets.
I found the names and locations of the LRT stops mysterious until I returned home and consulted a detailed street guide to the whole area. Surprisingly, the maps reveal that there is no secondary residential street grid connected to Finch. Those side streets that merit an LRT stop lead to shapeless low-density clusters of crescents and culs-de-sac.
The discontinued express bus service on Finch West had delivered passengers directly to the Humber College North Campus, and I quite expected the new LRT to do the same. Emerging from the Humber College terminal station, I mistook a gigantic Purolator dispatch hub for one of the main college buildings. The college campus is actually located out of sight, a couple of blocks south of the station.
As a photographer, I was most interested in what could be seen outside the train window. Major topographical features along the route included the valleys of Black Creek and the Humber River, a wide hydro corridor, shopping malls at main intersections and scattered residential towers in parklike settings.
The intensification of residential development that is now supposed to accompany transit improvements on main streets could face obstacles along Finch West due to earlier planning decisions. Apart from several hyperactive strip malls, most buildings along the LRT route address the main street obliquely, or not at all. Earlier planned subdivisions of single family homes feature “reverse frontage.” That is, they face side streets and offer their back yards to Finch.
The weather was dreary and cold on the day of my visit, so I had to be content to take crude snapshots through the train window. How I might approach this type of suburban development as subject requires further consideration, but I do look forward to returning Finch West on the LRT when the weather improves.
