Chester (TTC)

Chester
Location 22 Chester Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates 43°40′42″N 79°21′09″W / 43.67833°N 79.35250°W / 43.67833; -79.35250Coordinates: 43°40′42″N 79°21′09″W / 43.67833°N 79.35250°W / 43.67833; -79.35250
Platforms side platforms
Tracks 2
Connections
Construction
Structure type underground
Bicycle facilities bike racks
Disabled access No
History
Opened February 25, 1966
Traffic
Passengers (2014[1]) 6,540
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
toward Kipling
 Bloor–Danforth
toward Kennedy

Chester is a subway station on the Bloor–Danforth line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station is located on Chester Avenue just north of Danforth Avenue. It opened in 1966 as one of the original stations of this subway line. The Toronto Parking Authority operates a public parking lot across Chester Avenue opposite the subway entrance.

History

Chester station was opened on February 25, 1966, along with the rest of the first phase of the Bloor-Danforth line which operated between Keele and Woodbine stations.[2]

Platform tiles and name

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]

Facilities

Chester station has one entrance which is 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. The nearby communities that are served by this station are 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.[5]

Although the station is rated as high priority in the requirement for a second exit,[6] Chester is the only one left on the east end of the Bloor-Danforth line where design work and consultation has yet to be done.[7]

The Gateway Newsstand kiosk at the station, which had been vacant for over six years, was reopened on May 8, 2015[8] as "The Artist Newsstand" by a group of local artists led by Jess Dobkin.[9][10] Along with the usual offerings of newspapers, magazines and drinks, The Artist Newsstand is a performance and gallery space for artists[11] as well as being staffed by artists, as a way of funding their work. A $4000 Kickstarter campaign was launched to fund the renovation of the kiosk, with the campaign successfully raising $4,931.[12] The Artist Newsstand will operate in the space for one year.[10]

Service

Chester station is served by the Bloor-Danforth line which operates between Kennedy and Kipling stations. The station was designed to be serviced with side platforms as it mainly serves the surrounding neighbourhood. As it is the only station in the system that is not connected to a regular bus or streetcar route[13] it is one of the least used subway stations in Toronto. The 300 Bloor-Danforth Night Bus operates on Danforth from 1:30-5:30 a.m. after the line is shut down for nightly maintenance.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Subway ridership, 2014" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved September 12, 2015. 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. ↑ Bow, James (November 29, 2009). "A History of Subways on Bloor and Queen Streets". Transit Toronto. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  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. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Map To Greektown With TTC and Parking Lots". Greektown on the Danforth BIA. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  6. ↑ Richard C. Ducharme (April 14, 2004). "Fire Safety and Second Exits at Subway Stations". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved August 2011. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  7. ↑ Danielle Milley (July 20, 2010). "Chester station last one without emergency escape". InsideToronto. Retrieved January 2012. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  8. ↑ "We open on Friday, May 8! Grand Opening celebration on Wednesday, May 13!". Kickstarter. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  9. ↑ Derek Flack (18 March 2015). "Art kiosk and newsstand set to open at Chester Station". blogTO. Retrieved March 2015. The kiosk opens on May 1st. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  10. 1 2 Dupuis, Chris (29 April 2015). "Artist Newsstand breathes new life into the TTC". Daily Xtra. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  11. ↑ "Toronto artists to transform Chester Station newsstand into performance space". MetroNews. 18 March 2015. Retrieved March 2015. The plan is to re-open the kiosk as a newsstand, but also sell artists’ works and schedule regular performances. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  12. ↑ The Artists Newsstand. "Extra! Extra! An Artists Newsstand is Coming to Toronto!". Kickstarter. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "TTC Ride Guide Part 5" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  14. ↑ "TTC Blue Night Network" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
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