As more and more TTC riders flock to use Line 5 Eglinton, some are raising serious accessibility concerns at multiple stations along the Eglinton Crosstown LRT corridor.
Since Line 5 Eglinton began the “introductory” phase of service on Sunday after nearly 15 years of construction, testing and commissioning, many people have praised the new line and service.
However, CityNews heard from viewers and readers who raised concerns about reduced accessibility at certain stations.
Em Daigle is a decades-long advocate for persons with disabilities who lives near Mount Dennis station, and the prospect of travelling easier along the Eglinton Crosstown corridor and elsewhere in Toronto has been welcomed for some time.
“It’s a game-changer for people like me. It means less transferring, less using local buses. It means freedom. It means far less use of Wheel-Trans,” Daigle said.
However, Daigle took CityNews on a tour of Mount Dennis station to look at various issues. The biggest concern involved the temporary loss of an elevator connecting the bus terminal with the GO and UP Express platforms as well as Line 5 Eglinton trains.
“Brand new elevator, it’s been a week … and even the workaround is dangerous,” Daigle said in front of the out-of-service elevator.
The impromptu workaround that followed was a lengthy back-track to the main concourse and up to the former Kodak Building 9, which partially acts as a pick-up and drop-off point for vehicles. During our tour, one of the few ramps onto the building’s access roads was temporarily obstructed by a snow-clearing crew.
Daigle, while using a wheelchair, went between the equipment and onto Photography Drive (which acts as the main connecting road with Eglinton Avenue West) before using a bus entry point to go toward the terminal.
“I had to fight buses and I’m legally deaf-blind … I’m risking my life just to get on a bus,” Daigle said while also praising many TTC bus operators for generally trying to assist in extenuating circumstances.
Various other issues were raised such as questionable elevator designs, a lack of signage and easy-to-read maps, not much public seating, malfunctioning accessible Presto fare gates, poorly marked areas with stairs and glass, and Presto fare machines.
Daigle had some praise for electronic signs at a GO Transit and UP Express waiting area in the former Kodak Building 9 because of the clearer and larger print, arguing similar signs should be deployed elsewhere in the vast station.
“Stop passing the buck. Get it fixed, get it done. It affects people’s daily lives. It puts people’s lives in danger,” Daigle said.
CityNews contacted Metrolinx and the TTC to ask about the issues Daigle brought up, including the bus terminal platform elevator outage as well as the out-of-service elevators at Avenue and Eglinton stations. As of Tuesday evening, most of those questions weren’t answered by Metrolinx personnel and a response wasn’t received from the TTC.
“All of Line 5 stations and stops incorporate provincial legislation and principles of universal design to maximize accessibility for users with a disability,” a brief statement from the Metrolinx media relations office said.
Metrolinx owns Mount Dennis station and all Line 5 infrastructure, the private-sector consortium Crosslinx Transit Solutions maintains the infrastructure, and the TTC operates Line 5 vehicles and provides front-facing customer service. Responses to media inquiries have bounced between Metrolinx and the TTC at different times.
Over at Don Valley station, the only elevator connecting the bus terminal with Line 5 Eglinton trains has been blocked off since it opened.
“I was shocked on opening day. Don Valley station is a major terminal … there are 14 TTC bus routes coming into the station. The website doesn’t advertise the elevator is out of service … and I think people have a right to know. It’s very inconvenient,” Jason Ash told CityNews.
“The diversion, even for an able-bodied person like myself, we’re not going to do it. It’s going to drive riders away from the system. This should be a barrier-free system, especially for the people who actually need the elevator.”
A review of the TTC website Tuesday evening didn’t show an elevator outage at Don Valley station.
Ash questioned the indefinite closure, especially since the elevator is in a building already approved for use.
Hoarding erected on the west side of the bus terminal blocks off access to Don Mills Road and the elevator. Signage posted in the bus platform said people need to walk out the east side to Gervais Drive, south to Eglinton Avenue East, west along Eglinton Avenue East, across Don Mills to an entry building at the southwest corner of the intersection and then down to the main concourse.
Signs also said TTC riders can wait for a 72 Pape bus, which would take them closer to the southwest entry building. During a visit to the Don Valley station area, snow and ice, along with multiple buses stopping, caused difficulties for some riders trying to board and exit along Don Mills Road.
When asked about the elevator outage, Metrolinx officials didn’t provide an estimated timeframe for introducing a barrier-free connection in the bus terminal. A response wasn’t received from the TTC as of Tuesday evening.
“We’re building a new Ontario Line connection at Don Valley Station directly above Line 5 Eglinton to deliver fast, seamless transfers between the two lines. While this is underway, we’re working closely with the TTC to ensure customers continue to have safe, convenient, and accessible access at the station,” the Metrolinx media relations office statement said.
Ash implored Metrolinx staff to take another look at the issue to make it much easier for riders.
“Please have a heart, go back to your design plans for the Ontario Line construction and find a way to accommodate the opening of this elevator,” he said.
“My experience is it’s a great line … but we have to make sure that it’s available for everybody, regardless of their circumstances, as advertised and as paid for by taxpayers.”
Meanwhile, Daigle said continually having to push to rectify accessibility challenges in Toronto is frustrating.
“We keep fighting that fight. I admit there [are] days where I’m just so exhausted I don’t know if I can do it anymore, but then I think about those that have emailed me and texted me … and said, ‘Hey, thank you,’ and this is why I keep it up,” Daigle said.
“Accessibility should never be an afterthought. People with disabilities are not an afterthought. Stop treating us as such.”
