Wilson station (Toronto)

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Wilson
TTC - Line 1 - Yonge-University-Spadina line.svg
Wilson platform 01.jpg
Location570 Wilson Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates43°44′03″N 79°27′00″W / 43.73417°N 79.45000°W / 43.73417; -79.45000Coordinates: 43°44′03″N 79°27′00″W / 43.73417°N 79.45000°W / 43.73417; -79.45000
PlatformsCentre platform
Tracks2
Connections
  •  29  Dufferin
  •  96  Wilson
  •  104  Faywood
  •  118  Thistle Down
  •  119  Torbarrie
  •  120  Calvington
  •  160  Bathurst North
  •  165  Weston Rd North
  •  329 Symbol ksiezyc.svg  Dufferin
  •  396 Symbol ksiezyc.svg  Wilson
  •  929  Dufferin Express
  •  996  Wilson Express
Construction
Structure typeAt grade
Parking1498 spaces[2]
Disabled accessYes
ArchitectTTC in-house architects[1]
History
Opened28 January 1978; 44 years ago (1978-01-28)
Passengers
2018[3]29,260
Rank29 of 75
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
toward Vaughan
TTC - Line 1 - Yonge-University-Spadina line.svg Yonge–University
toward Finch

Wilson is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the median of Allen Road at Wilson Avenue. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.[4]

History[]

Wilson Station was opened in what was then the Borough of North York as the last station in the 1978 subway line extension north from St. George Station. According to historian Mike Filey, Wilson Avenue is a misspelling of Arthur L. Willson, who was a clerk and treasurer of York Township for over twelve years around 1875. Among Arthur Willson's accomplishments were writing a "municipal manual", "which has been found of practical value as a guide to those requiring a knowledge of municipal law", according to a history of the County of York.[5]

Wilson was the northwestern terminus of the Yonge–University line for eighteen years and a major hub for TTC bus service, but with the extension to Sheppard West (then named Downsview) in 1996, many of the bus routes serving areas to the north were moved to the new station.[6]

Concurrent with the opening of the Toronto–York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE) on 17 December 2017, this station became one of the first eight stations to discontinue sales of legacy TTC fare media (tokens and tickets), previously available at a fare collector booth. Presto vending machines were available to sell Presto cards and to load funds onto them.[7] On 3 May 2019, this station became one of the first ten stations to sell Presto tickets via Presto vending machines.[8]

In November 2018, construction began on three new elevators, automatic sliding doors, and a new accessible washroom, to make the station wheelchair accessible.[9] It was completed on 18 December 2020.[10]

Architecture and art[]

Canyons sculpture by Ted Bieler

Wilson is one of two Yonge–University line stations on the west side of the line, along with St. Clair West, that were designed by the TTC's in-house architects.[11]

The subway station building is a simple enclosed concrete structure built within the median of Allen Road where it crosses over Wilson Avenue. The mezzanine level connects by a maze of tunnels to the bus terminal, a kiss-and-ride facility and four commuter parking lots with a total of 2257 spaces.[2] An additional island bus platform, no longer needed for the reduced number of connecting buses after the line was extended to Sheppard West Station,[6] was mothballed and now serves as a storage area.

A wall sculpture by Ted Bieler entitled Canyons[12] is located at the mezzanine level.

Subway infrastructure in the vicinity[]

The crossover at Wilson station

Northwest of the station is the Wilson Yard, opened in 1977, which houses the system's largest subway marshalling yard having taken over Yonge-University line operations from Davisville Yard in 1993 and a large bus garage servicing most of the bus routes in north Toronto. The original yard access tracks form part of the mainline north to Sheppard West station, crossing under the southbound lanes of Allen Road and descending, as does the road itself, down to ground level. There is a diamond crossover south of the station, widely used to reverse trains when the station was a terminus, and still frequently used for short turning.

Nearby landmarks[]

Nearby landmarks include a Costco and the southern end of Downsview Park. Large events at the park, such as World Youth Day 2002 and Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto in 2003, have resulted in heavy use of Wilson station.

Tenants[]

Surface connections[]

Wilson station bus terminal
Main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes

TTC routes serving the station include:

Route Name Additional Information
29A Dufferin Southbound to Exhibition Place (Dufferin Gate)
29C Southbound to Exhibition Place (Princes' Gates)
96A/B/D Wilson Eastbound to York Mills station
96A Westbound to Carrier Drive via Kipling Avenue and John Garland Boulevard
96B Westbound to Humberline Drive and Albion Road via Westhumber Boulevard and Martin Grove Road
96D Westbound to Carrier Drive and Westmore Drive
104 Faywood Northbound to Sheppard West station via Wilson Heights Boulevard
118 Thistle Down Westbound to Thistle Down Boulevard via Tandridge Crescent
119 Torbarrie Westbound to Torbarrie Road and Clayson Road
120 Calvington Westbound to Sheppard Avenue West and Jane Street via De Havilland
160 Bathurst North Northbound to Centre Street
(Extra fare required north of Steeles Avenue)
165 Weston Rd North Eastbound to York Mills station and westbound to Steeles Avenue West
929 Dufferin Express Southbound to Exhibition Place (Dufferin Gate)
996 Wilson Express Eastbound to York Mills station and westbound to Humber College
(Weekday service)
329 Dufferin Blue Night service; Northbound to Steeles Avenue West and southbound to Exhibition Loop. Overnight service stops on Transit Road and does not enter the station.
396 Wilson Blue Night service; Eastbound to York Mills station and westbound to Martin Grove Road and Steeles Avenue West. Overnight service stops on Wilson Avenue and does not enter the station.
108C Driftwood bus at Wilson Station

During the early morning, the following routes from Sheppard West station also operate to/from Wilson station.

Route Name Additional Information
105A Dufferin North To Steeles
107A/B York University Heights To Steeles via Keele or Alness[13]
108C Driftwood To Pioneer Village station via Arleta[14]

References[]

  1. ^ http://archindont.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ArchindontWeb/buildingType.do?type=Subway+Stations&typeID=112[dead link]
  2. ^ a b "Parking". Wilson Station. Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Subway ridership, 2018" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 5 February 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.
  4. ^ "There's now free WiFi at over 40 TTC subway stations". blogTO. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  5. ^ Bow, James. "Wilson Station". Transit Toronto. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  6. ^ a b Bow, James. "Downsview Station". Transit Toronto. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  7. ^ "New Customer Service Agents at TTC stations". Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  8. ^ "TTC extends sales of Presto Tickets to 10 stations". Toronto Transit Commission. 6 May 2019. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Wilson Station – elevator construction". TTC. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Wilson Station – elevator construction". TTC. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  11. ^ Robert Moffatt (28 October 2010). "Art and architecture on the Spadina subway". Toronto Modern. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  12. ^ "Canyons". Ted Bieler. Dittwald Toronto Sculpture. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  13. ^ "107 York University Heights - Transit Toronto - Surface Route Histories". transittoronto.ca. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  14. ^ "108 Driftwood - Transit Toronto - Surface Route Histories". transittoronto.ca. Retrieved 9 May 2021.

External links[]

Media related to Wilson station at Wikimedia Commons

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