Science Centre station

Science Centre is an underground light rail transit (LRT) station and mobility hub under construction on Line 5 Eglinton, a new line that is part of the Toronto subway system.[1] It will be located in the Flemingdon Park neighbourhood at the intersection of Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue. It is scheduled to open in 2024.[2]

Science Centre
Main entrance under construction in May 2022
General information
LocationEglinton Avenue East & Don Mills Road
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates43°43′14″N 79°20′20″W
PlatformsCentre platform
Tracks2
Connections TTC buses
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Bicycle facilitiesIndoor bike parking[1]
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusUnder construction
History
Opening2024 (2024)[2]
Future services
Preceding station Toronto Transit Commission Following station
Sunnybrook Park
towards Mount Dennis
 Eglinton
(opens 2024)
 Aga Khan Park & Museum
towards Kennedy
Flemingdon Park
towards Exhibition
 Ontario Line
(opens 2030)
 Terminus

During the planning stages for Line 5 Eglinton, the station was given the working name "Don Mills". On November 23, 2015, a report to the TTC Board recommended giving a unique name to each station in the subway system (including Line 5 Eglinton).[3] Thus, it was given its current name to both be more descriptive of the nearby Ontario Science Centre (in the same vein as Museum station), and to avoid confusion with the pre-existing Don Mills station on Line 4 Sheppard.

Photo of a glass panelled subway station and bus terminal behind protective fencing
Bus terminal of Science Centre Station under construction in May 2022

On April 10, 2019, the Ontario government announced that Science Centre station would be the northern terminus for the proposed Ontario Line,[4] construction of which began in March 2022.[5]

The station may be renamed, as on April 18, 2023, the Ontario provincial government announced plans to move its namesake to Ontario Place (near the other terminus of the Ontario Line).[6] The relocation plan aroused considerable opposition from the Toronto municipal government and the community, leaving future plans for the neighbourhood uncertain.[7][8][9]

Description

This station's main entrance will be built adjacent to the Ontario Science Centre at the southwest corner of the intersection with Don Mills Road.[10] A secondary entrance will be on the opposite northeast corner, with a new bus terminal stretching beyond that to Gervais Drive. The TTC bus terminal will have seven bus bays as well as on-street bus connections. An underground, accessible passage will link the bus terminal to the LRT concourse level, which will have retail spaces. The station will provide 30 outdoor and 30 indoor bicycle parking spaces.[1]

The underground Science Centre station was built using cut-and-cover methodology. The station is between two surface sections of the line. To travel under Don Mills Road, the line dips underground, passes through the station under the middle of Eglinton Avenue and re-emerges to the surface at the other side.[11] To the west of Science Centre station, there is a facing-point crossover just beyond the ramp descending to the station's west portal. To the east of the station, there is a double crossover on the ramp descending to the station's east portal.[12]

As part of a program to install artworks at major interchange stations along Line 5 Eglinton, Science Centre Station will feature an artwork titled Total Lunar Eclipse by British-American artist Sarah Morris. The artwork is a mural consisting of porcelain tiles that were silkscreened by hand. According to the artist, the artwork is a "wall painting" that "invites reflection on concepts of light, scale and motion through space".[13]

The station's main entrance has louvres in the glass panels above the doors. Metrolinx predicts that the louvres "will be a well-known and a distinctive part of the transit destination's look".[14]

Nearby landmarks

Destinations include the Ontario Science Centre, the Flemingdon Park neighbourhood, the Celestica headquarters, the Foresters building, Real Canadian Superstore, and a Latter-day Saints meetinghouse.

Science Centre is one of the Crosstown stations that has been reported to have most excited developers.[15] On April 3, 2017, Urban Toronto reported that the City's planning department's initiative for intersection had been named "Don Mills Crossing", while it would be accompanied by a plan for nearby properties, in 2018.

Surface connections
Main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes

As of February 2022, the following are the proposed connecting routes that would serve this station when Line 5 Eglinton opens:[16]

Route Name Additional information
25 Don Mills Northbound to Steeles Avenue East via Don Mills station and southbound to Pape station
34 Eglinton Westbound to Mount Dennis station and eastbound to Kennedy station
54A Lawrence East Eastbound to Starspray Boulevard via Lawrence East station
54B Eastbound to Orton Park Road via Lawrence East station
81 Thorncliffe Park Southbound to Pape station
100A Flemingdon Park Southbound to Broadview station via Grenoble Drive
100B Southbound to Broadview station via Linkwood Lane
162 Lawrence/Donway Northbound and then westbound to Lawrence station
925 Don Mills Express Northbound to Steeles Avenue East via Don Mills station and southbound to Pape station
954 Lawrence East Express Eastbound to Starspray Boulevard via Lawrence East station

References
  1. "Science Centre (formerly Don Mills) Station". Eglinton Crosstown. October 12, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  2. Spurr, Ben (February 17, 2020). "Eglinton Crosstown faces another setback, delayed until 2022". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  3. "Line 5 Eglinton Station Names" (PDF). Board Presentation. Toronto Transit Commission. November 23, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2017. TTC staff evaluated the initial report and the proposed names and provided feedback and recommendations. A primary TTC concern was to avoid replication and redundancy with existing TTC station names. The proposed names are unique and are not likely to be confused with existing station names.
  4. Jackson-Kelso, Rhianna; Bensadoun, Emerald (April 10, 2019). "How Doug Ford's $28.5-billion transit overhaul compares with Toronto's existing plans". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 28, 2019. stretching from Ontario Place to the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto.
  5. "'Game changer': Ford, Tory break ground on Ontario line, vow to protect local businesses - Toronto | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  6. Colin, D'Mello (April 20, 2023). "Ford government to rename Science Centre subway station in Toronto". Global News. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  7. Micallef, Shawn (April 23, 2023). "Doug Ford's party built the Ontario Science Centre. That makes his plan to demolish it even more puzzling". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  8. Jeffords, Shawn (July 23, 2023). "Toronto's looking at how to keep Ontario Science Centre where it is — and could run its own". CBC News. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  9. Morrell, Patrick (April 22, 2023). "Here's the latest on the province's plan to move the Science Centre to Ontario Place". CBC News. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  10. Bateman, Chris (August 6, 2014). "Crosstown LRT spurs massive redevelopment proposal". blogTO. Retrieved January 12, 2017. An underground stop on the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT is due to be built on the southwest corner of Eglinton and Don Mills
  11. "Crosstown LRT Science Centre (open house) June 15, 2017" (PDF). Metrolinx. June 15, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017. Slides 19, 23, 24
  12. "Eglinton Crosstown Surface Flyover - July 2020". Metrolinx. July 15, 2020. p. 01:00, 01:48. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  13. Spurr, Ben (January 15, 2018). "Art installations will enliven Eglinton Crosstown LRT". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  14. "Crosstown LRT projects sees significant concrete milestones as well as main entrance features at Science Centre Station". Metrolinx. April 21, 2021. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  15. Julian Mirabelli (April 3, 2017). "Big Plans in Store for the Transformation of Don Mills & Eglinton". Urban Toronto. Retrieved April 4, 2017. First, City Planning is undertaking a comprehensive planning study of the area they have named Don Mills Crossing, encompassing the four corners of the intersection while considering the neighbourhoods beyond, for which a Secondary Plan will be introduced in 2018.
  16. "2022 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. February 10, 2022. p. 37. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 8, 2022.
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