{"id":29512,"date":"2025-03-13T15:39:05","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T22:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/dysfunction-junction-permanent-obstructions-at-union-station\/"},"modified":"2025-03-13T15:39:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T22:39:05","slug":"dysfunction-junction-permanent-obstructions-at-union-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/dysfunction-junction-permanent-obstructions-at-union-station\/","title":{"rendered":"Dysfunction Junction: Permanent Obstructions at Union Station"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Toronto can, and should, do better than the ugly and intrusive new barriers that are being installed around Union Station.<\/strong><\/p>\n

New blocks installed in front of Union Station at Front and York streets, image by Sean Marshall<\/span><\/p>\n

When it was learned that Union Station was finally getting permanent bollards to replace the haphazardly-placed Jersey barriers\u00a0that have sat in front of the transport hub since 2018, I was relieved. I wrote about these barriers several times on my own website<\/a>, criticizing their appearance and their placement, blocking the way for the thousands of people who cross Front Street every day. But when I went to see them in person, after seeing criticism online<\/a>, I was dismayed.<\/p>\n

The new permanent barriers might even be worse than the temporary obstructions they are meant to replace.<\/p>\n

The Jersey barriers were hastily placed after a\u00a0tragic attack on Yonge Street in North York<\/a>, where a man intentionally drove a rented van on to the sidewalk, killing ten pedestrians and injuring and traumatizing many more.<\/p>\n

Vehicular assaults on crowds of pedestrians are a major concern; tactics used at mass gatherings \u2014 such as the winter light show and New Years Eve events at Nathan Phillips Square and major concerts and playoff games at the Rogers Centre and Scotiabank Arena \u2014 now include blocking closed streets with heavy vehicles such as snow plows, dump trucks, and city buses. However, Union Station is the only place in the city where officials have decided that new permanent barriers were necessary.<\/p>\n

Union Station is one of the busiest pedestrian areas in the city, image by Sean Marshall<\/span><\/p>\n

The new permanent barriers are not the sturdy, yet narrow bollards that are used elsewhere. Instead, they are large, undecorated concrete blocks anchored into the ground and are knee-high. The plain concrete colour does not match the stone sidewalks or plaza. They are placed very close together, impeding access for those using large carts, strollers, or wheeled mobility devices. Despite all the money spent renovating Union Station, these blocks look cheap.<\/p>\n

Concrete blocks at the corner of York and Front Street at Union Station, image by Sean Marshall<\/span><\/p>\n

The total cost of installing the\u00a0\u201cCustom Anti-Terror Concrete Barriers,\u201d as the city described the bid<\/a>, was $2,438,238, including HST. The lowest bid, by South Central Inc., came over a $1 million cheaper than the other two bids. It is worth noting that there are no public documents that describe the city\u2019s specifications for the contract, nor was there any public consultation before the city solicited bids.<\/p>\n

The result? An aesthetic failure and an accessibility challenge.<\/p>\n

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