A TTC station that was set to be a jewel in the crown of both the Eglinton Crosstown LRT (whenever it actually gets up and running, which is likely this fall) and the Ontario Line subway is already experiencing an identity crisis before even opening its doors, with its namesake landmark, the Ontario Science Centre, now slated for demolition.
Flemingdon Park’s Science Centre Station at the corner of Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue has appeared virtually finished from the outside for some time now, complete with signage and gigantic glass panels bearing its name.
But, while it remains fenced off during work on both forthcoming transit routes, all mention of the stop has been quietly removed from much of Metrolinx’s promotional materials (despite its indelible inclusion in new TTC network maps everywhere).
Residents started noticing the conspicuous absence of the Science Centre terminus in Ontario Line videos last summer, an early indication of the obvious: that the stop will have to be renamed in light of the Science Centre’s needless shutdown and relocation to the Ontario Place grounds.
Metrolinx has finally just validated the news that it is, in fact, granting the hub a new moniker, which was revealed Friday.
A TTC station might have to change its name before even opening https://t.co/BDDxGnQy9N #TTC #Toronto
— blogTO (@blogTO) April 20, 2023
Per Global News, the northernmost stop on the Ontario Line, which will also link to the Crosstown, will now be dubbed Don Valley Station, reflecting its “proximity to the Don Valley Parkway, Don River, and the Don Valley itself.”
It was a title that was previously considered by the regional transit agency, and even included on a shortlist when staff were deciding on what to call it.
It is unclear at this point what the name change will cost — the same update to Dundas Station is set to cost some $1.5 million, to give some idea — though it will apparently be folded into the budget for Line 5 Eglinton.
Bob Hilscher/Shutterstock.com
