Finch station

Finch is the northern terminus subway station of the eastern section of Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located under Yonge Street, north of Finch Avenue.[2]

This article is about the TTC subway station. For the regional transit terminal located north of the station, see Finch Bus Terminal.

Finch
Finch station entrance at North America Centre
Location5600 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates43°46′50″N 79°24′53″W
PlatformsCentre platform
Tracks2
Connections Finch Bus Terminal
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Parking3,251
Disabled accessYes
History
OpenedMarch 29, 1974 (1974-03-29)
Passengers
2018[1]99,350
Rank6 of 75
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
toward Vaughan
 Yonge–UniversityTerminus

Finch is the busiest TTC bus terminal and the sixth-busiest subway station, serving approximately 99,350 people per day. The station connects with other transit agencies at the adjoining Finch Bus Terminal.

History

The station was opened on March 29, 1974, in what was then the Borough of North York, by provincial premier Bill Davis and borough mayor Mel Lastman. It replaced York Mills as the northern terminus of the line. Houses which once fronted the station along Yonge Street were demolished. Finch was created using the cut-and-cover technique as a way to save money.[3]

In 1999, this station became accessible with elevators.

In April 2006, work began on creating a new exit from the bus station on the western stub of Pemberton Avenue. This new exit was created because of the passenger and vehicular congestion that was created during the rush hour periods.[4] In the morning rush hour, buses took an average of 1 minute and 58 seconds to travel the 40 metres from the station to Yonge Street, with some waiting up to 4 minutes.[4] The new exit was completed in January 2007.

Station description
A map of Finch station and surrounding area. The maroon exit indicates the Pemberton Exit

Station layout and features

Stairs, escalators, and elevators lead from the bus platform down three levels to the train platform. The upper concourse, one floor below the bus platform, is a corridor running the length of the bus platform. It collects the landings of all of the terminal's stairs and escalators and leads to another bank of stairs and escalators down to the lower concourse.[2]

The lower concourse level is the main concourse of the subway station. It is divided into the fare-paid and unpaid areas. The unpaid area is a long corridor, part of which runs alongside the fare-paid area lined with several automated Presto card fare gates and manned entrances. It contains connections to office towers (North American Life, Place Nouveau, and condominiums on Pemberton Avenue), the regional bus terminal, and the "Kiss-n-Ride" passenger drop-off facility; it also contains Presto card fare vending machines. The fare-paid area houses a few shops, including Gateway Newstands and Tim Hortons, florist, lottery booth, clothing shop, and stairs and escalators down to the subway platform.[2]

Entrances

Passengers can enter the station from eight different entrances located in the Finch Avenue and Yonge Street area. Accessible entrances can be found on Yonge Street at Hendon Avenue, by the Finch Bus Terminal, and at the North American Centre. Other non-accessible entrances can be found at 5775 and 5765 Yonge Street, Pemberton Avenue, and at the northeast corner of the Yonge Street and Finch Avenue intersection.[2]

There is an emergency exit between Finch and North York Centre stations at the northeast corner of Church Avenue and Yonge Street. The site was once the Willowdale United Church, demolished to make way for subway construction. Stairs from the subway tunnel surface into a brick building in the old cemetery.

Parking lots and passenger drop-off facility
"Kiss-n-Ride"

There are two major TTC parking lots (referred to as the car park in directional signage) at Finch Station for use by commuters. They are named the East Lot and the West Lot, and are located north of Bishop/Hendon, east and west of Yonge Street respectively. The lots have a combined capacity of 3251 parking spaces, the most of any TTC facility. As of January 1, 2012, parking costs $5 from 5:00am to 3:00pm on weekdays, $2 between 3:00pm and 2:00am, and free all-day on weekends and holidays.[5]

In addition to the parking lots, Finch station also features a relatively elaborate "kiss-n-ride" passenger drop-off/pick-up facility, which is connected to the lower concourse level of the station (outside the fare-paid area) by pedestrian tunnels. The area has a round, indoor waiting area for passengers, with about 20 temporary parking spaces circularly surrounding the structure. It is adjacent to the west parking lot.

On the north side of Bishop Avenue, slightly east of the station (along the southern edge of the GO bus terminal) is a parking lane for taxicabs. This is best accessed by exiting the subway station at the stairs/escalator to the north-east corner of Yonge and Bishop (the GO bus terminal).

Ridership
Finch station ridership
YearPop.±% p.a.
200792,610—    
200894,920+2.49%
200994,400−0.55%
201096,240+1.95%
2011101,940+5.92%
201297,460−4.39%
201397,460+0.00%
201490,910−6.72%
2015100,820+10.90%
201685,720−14.98%
201899,350+7.66%
[6]

The ridership at Finch station has been relatively stable since 2007, with a peak ridership of 101,940 in 2011 and the lowest ridership in 2016 with 85,720 riders.[6]

Architecture and art
The sculpture on the concourse level, Rhythm Of Exotic Plants, is "donated by Rio Algom Ltd. for the enjoyment of TTC riders"

Krystyna Sadowska's sculpture Rhythm of Exotic Plants (1965) is displayed on the lower concourse level, outside the fare-paid area; A stainless-steel plaque celebrating the station's opening is also located on the lower concourse. A smaller plaque is located at the south subway platform.

Subway infrastructure in the vicinity

North of the station, there are two tail tracks extending beyond the end of the platform, plus a third in between them, to store subway trains. South of the station, there is a diamond crossover for arriving trains to cross over to the southbound track, and for departing trains on the northbound track to depart via the southbound track.

Surface connections
Main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes
Finch Bus Terminal

When the subway is closed, buses do not enter the station, and an on-street transfer is required. TTC routes serving the station include:

Route Name Additional Information
36A Finch West Westbound to Finch West station
36B Westbound to Humberwood Boulevard via Finch West station
39A Finch East Eastbound to Neilson Road
39B Eastbound to Old Finch Avenue and Morningview Trail
39C Eastbound to Victoria Park Avenue and Gordon Baker Road
(Rush hour service)
42A Cummer Eastbound to Middlefield Road and Dynamic Drive
42C Eastbound to Victoria Park Avenue
(Rush hour service)
53A Steeles East Eastbound to Staines Road
53B Eastbound to Markham Road
60A Steeles West Westbound to Pioneer Village station
60B Westbound to Martin Grove Road via Pioneer Village station
60D Westbound to Highway 27 via Pioneer Village station
97F Yonge Northbound to Steeles Avenue and southbound to Davisville station
(Transfer to southbound buses at stops on the street outside the station)
125 Drewry Westbound to Bathurst Street (Torresdale)
939A Finch Express Eastbound to Scarborough Centre station
939B Westbound to Finch West station
939C Eastbound to Morningside Heights
(Rush hour service)
953A Steeles East Express Eastbound to Staines Road
(Rush hour service)
953B Eastbound to Markham Road
(Rush hour service)
960 Steeles West Express Westbound to Pioneer Village station
(Rush hour service)
320 Yonge Blue Night service; Northbound to Steeles Avenue and southbound to Queens Quay
(Transfer to buses at stops on the street outside the station)
336 Finch West Blue Night service; Westbound to Woodbine Race Track via Humber College
(Transfer to buses at stops on the street outside the station)
339 Finch East Blue Night service; Eastbound to Markham Road
(Transfer to buses at stops on the street outside the station)

Nearby landmarks
  • Plaque on the North American Life building commemorating the birthplace of former Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson
  • Newtonbrook Plaza
  • Finch's Hotel (historic landmark that no longer exists)

Expansion plans

On June 15, 2007, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a plan to extend the Yonge Subway from Finch station to Highway 7 in Richmond Hill by 2020 as part of the government's MoveOntario 2020 plan. As of 2008, the plans for a north Yonge extension have become less of a priority with focus shifting to the possibility of resurrecting plans for the Relief Line.[7]

In 2007, the Transit City proposal called for a new LRT line, known as the Etobicoke–Finch West LRT line, to run along Finch Avenue West from Humber College to Finch station. Phasing of the line would have resulted in the eastern section beyond Keele Street being built at a later date.

References
  1. "Subway ridership, 2018" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved February 5, 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.
  2. "TTC Finch Station". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  3. "The North Yonge Extensions". Transit Toronto. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  4. "TTC Report: Transit benefits of a new bus exit at Finch Station". Retrieved February 23, 2007.
  5. "TTC Finch Station Parking". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  6. https://transittoronto.ca/spare/0052.shtml
  7. Hertz, Barry (April 15, 2008). "TTC to seriously consider relief line by 2018, Giambrone says". National Post. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
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