Summerhill station
Summerhill is a subway station on the Yonge–University line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Shaftesbury Avenue just east of Yonge Street, with the entrance being at the north end of the train platforms. The station opened in 1954 as part of the original Yonge line. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.[2]
Summerhill  | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||
| Location | 16 Shaftesbury Avenue Toronto, Ontario Canada | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 43°40′56″N 79°23′27″W | ||||||||||
| Platforms | Side platforms | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Connections |
| ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | Underground | ||||||||||
| Disabled access | No | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | March 30, 1954 | ||||||||||
| Traffic | |||||||||||
| Passengers (2018[1]) | 5,710 | ||||||||||
| Rank | 69 of 75 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Like Rosedale station, the next station to the south, it is currently among the least-used stations, with only 5,710 average weekday ridership. This is mainly due to having no surface transit connections except the parallel Yonge Street bus and no major local destinations. The station has to rely entirely on the immediate Summerhill residential neighbourhood for passengers.
In a February 2020 meeting of the TTC board, the TTC proposed a secondary exit for emergency use. The station entrance is at the north end of the station. The proposed exit would be at the south end of the station and emerge to the surface at Scivener Square. There would be underground corridors to connect the platforms to the new exit with one corridor running under the subway tracks from the northbound platform to the west side of the tracks.[3]
Subway infrastructure in the vicinity
The tunnel originally ended immediately north of the station at Summerhill Avenue and continued in open cut as far as Pleasant Boulevard, just before St. Clair, the next station. Various sections of this open cut were roofed over as the years passed, and since the early 1980s it has been entirely under cover, except when one block was opened to allow new construction above it. Passengers who look out from the train into the tunnel on this section can still see the sloping sides of the original cut, the stumps of lamp posts and trees, and the undersides of four bridges which still carry side streets over the line.
South of the station, the tunnel emerges to the surface at Rowanwood Drive. Originally the line surfaced at Price Portal, but a one-block section from Rowanwood Drive to Price Street was roofed over in 2002 for parking.
Nearby landmarks
- The Catholic Pastoral Centre, which includes the offices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, is on the NE corner of Yonge and Shaftesbury[4] beside the station entrance.
- Just south of Summerhill TTC station is the Canadian Pacific Railway’s former North Toronto station, now restored and repurposed as an LCBO liquor store. GO Transit’s Midtown line, proposed as recently as 2000 but not a current priority, would see that station reopened and served by commuter trains bypassing Toronto’s downtown Union Station, and turn Summerhill into a major interchange between local public transport and mainline railways.[5]
- The station is a meeting point for walking clubs heading east to the Rosedale Ravine via a staircase from Shaftesbury Avenue down to David A. Balfour Park.
- The Toronto Lawn Tennis Club is also nearby.[6]
Surface connections
All connecting bus routes require a transfer and can be boarded at curbside stops.
TTC routes serving the station include:
| Route | Name | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
| 97B | Yonge | Northbound to York Mills station and southbound to Queens Quay |
| 320 | Blue Night service; Northbound to Steeles Avenue and southbound to Queens Quay |
References
- "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.
- "There's now free WiFi at over 40 TTC subway stations". blogTO. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
- "Summerhill Station – Second Exit/Entrance – Authorization of Third Party Design/Construction Agreement and Property Acquisition" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. February 25, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
- Archdiocese of Toronto: Contact Us
- "GO Transit's Future Midtown Line". Transit Toronto. October 6, 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- Toronto Lawn Tennis Club is located between Summerhill and Rosedale subway stations, just east of Yonge
External links
- Summerhill station at the Toronto Transit Commission
- Toronto Subway (TTC) – Rosedale to Summerhill northbound on YouTube This shows the characteristics of the line north from Rosedale station. First the open cut, followed by the wider more recently covered section and finally the narrow original tunnel into Summerhill station and the arrival at the platform.
