Chester station (Toronto)

Chester is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station is located on Chester Avenue just north of Danforth Avenue. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.[2] It opened in 1966 as one of the original stations of this subway line. There is currently one entrance to the station, though a second exit is under construction.

"Chester Station" redirects here. For the railway station in Chester, UK, see Chester railway station.

Chester
Location22 Chester Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates43°40′42″N 79°21′09″W
PlatformsSide platforms
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Bicycle facilitiesbike racks
Disabled accessNo
History
OpenedFebruary 26, 1966
Traffic
Passengers (2018[1])5,800
Rank68 of 75
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
toward Kipling
 Bloor–Danforth
toward Kennedy

Facilities

Following the design style set by the stations of the Bloor–Danforth line, Chester station uses a two-colour theme with the station's name in the Toronto Subway font.[3] In keeping with the style, Chester's colours match the "opposing" stations on the western half of the subway line: the trim tiles are blue and complement Lansdowne station, while the light green main tiles complement the original tile colour for Dufferin station.[4]

Chester station has one entrance, located on Chester Avenue just north of Danforth Avenue. A walkway leads to the station from a nearby street to allow access to the station from the west side.[5] The Toronto Parking Authority operates a public parking lot across Chester Avenue opposite the subway entrance.[6]

Second exit

Although the station's need for a second exit was rated as a high priority in 2004,[5] Chester was the last station left on the east end of Line 2 Bloor–Danforth where design work and consultation on the addition of a second exit had not started.[7] In May 2014, a list of 15 potential second exit sites was developed.[8] In June 2016, the location of the second exit was announced as the west side of the parking lot across the street from the main entrance. Two new elevators from platform level to street level will be located at the existing entrance.[9] The construction of the elevators and the second exit started in 2018, with the elevators expected to open in 2020 and the second exit expected to open in 2021.[6] As part of the accessibility upgrades, the station was closed for two weeks in June 2020.[10]

Communities served

The nearby communities that are served by this station include Greektown, Withrow Park, Riverdale, and Broadview North. In addition to serving these communities, Chester station is commonly used to access local street festivals such as the Taste of the Danforth.[11]

Platform tiles and name

History

Chester station was opened on February 26, 1966, along with the rest of the first phase of the Bloor–Danforth line which operated initially between Keele and Woodbine stations.[12]

The Gateway Newsstand kiosk at the station, which had been vacant for over six years, was reopened on May 8, 2015,[13] as "the Artist Newsstand" by a group of local artists led by Jess Dobkin.[14][15] Along with the usual offerings of newspapers, magazines and drinks, the Artist Newsstand is a performance and gallery space for artists[16] and was staffed by artists as a way of funding their work. A $4,000 Kickstarter campaign was launched to fund the renovation of the kiosk, with the campaign successfully raising $4,931.[17] The Artist Newsstand operated in the space for one year.[15]

As part of its public art program announced in June 2017, the TTC intended to install an artwork titled FLORAE by artist Katharine Harvey. The work is a series of wall mosaics and art glass elements inspired by native plants and flowers of the area.[18]

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

This is the only station in Toronto with no TTC bus service during the day. When the subway is closed, however, the following TTC routes connect with Chester station:[19]

Route Name Additional Information
300A Bloor–Danforth Eastbound to Warden, westbound to Pearson Airport
(On-street transfer)
300B Eastbound to Kennedy station, westbound to West Mall
(On-street transfer)

References
  1. "Subway ridership, 2018" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved February 5, 2019. This table shows the typical number of customer-trips made on each subway on an average weekday and the typical number of customers travelling to and from each station platform on an average weekday.
  2. "OUR STATIONS - TCONNECT.ca". TCONNECT.ca. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  3. Brader, Mark (January 10, 2008). "An Essay on Original Subway Station Design". Transit Toronto. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  4. Blackett, Matthew (March 25, 2008). "Ride the Rainbow of the Bloor–Danforth". Spacing Toronto. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  5. Richard C. Ducharme (April 14, 2004). "Fire Safety and Second Exits at Subway Stations". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  6. "Chester Station Second Exit & Easier Access" (PDF). ttc.ca. Toronto Transit Commission. June 5, 2018. p. 7, 16. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  7. Danielle Milley (July 20, 2010). "Chester station last one without emergency escape". InsideToronto. Archived from the original on July 31, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  8. Chester Station Local Working Group (May 15, 2014). "Potential Exit Locations" (PDF). ttc.ca. Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  9. Chester Station Local Working Group (June 1, 2016). "Chester Station Second Exit – Design Concept" (PDF). ttc.ca. Toronto Transit Commission. p. 12. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  10. Toronto Transit Commission (June 3, 2020). "TTC's Chester Station closing for two weeks to advance accessibility upgrades". The TTC is taking advantage of lighter customer loads to advance important accessibility work at Chester Station. As a result, the station will close for approximately two weeks beginning next Tuesday, June 9, reopening on Tuesday, June 23.
  11. "Map To Greektown With TTC and Parking Lots". Greektown on the Danforth BIA. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  12. Bow, James (November 29, 2009). "A History of Subways on Bloor and Queen Streets". Transit Toronto. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  13. "We open on Friday, May 8! Grand Opening celebration on Wednesday, May 13!". Kickstarter. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  14. Derek Flack (March 18, 2015). "Art kiosk and newsstand set to open at Chester Station". blogTO. Retrieved March 1, 2015. The kiosk opens on May 1st.
  15. Dupuis, Chris (April 29, 2015). "Artist Newsstand breathes new life into the TTC". Daily Xtra. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  16. "Toronto artists to transform Chester Station newsstand into performance space". MetroNews. March 18, 2015. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015. The plan is to re-open the kiosk as a newsstand, but also sell artists' works and schedule regular performances.
  17. The Artists Newsstand. "Extra! Extra! An Artists Newsstand is Coming to Toronto!". Kickstarter. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  18. "TTC Public Art Program". Toronto Transit Commission. June 5, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  19. "TTC System Map" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. February 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
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