***UPDATE UPDATED BELOW***
***UPDATED BELOW***
 

The Bloor-Danforth line just isn’t pretty enough to be preserved for its historical value, TTC commissioners decided yesterday. Councillors on the commission want pizzazz; they want subway stations to have “a relationship with the neighbourhood,” and, perhaps most of all, they want to get rid of the “public washroom” look our stations are often criticized for.

“You know, it’s interesting to listen to the public from time to time,” said Councillor Sandra Bussin, referring to those bloggers and city hall watchers who have been advocating to preserve the stations’ heritage. “[But] there comes a point where we have to be the visionaries here…. And I had to respond, because I come from an art background and I think, you know, those stations on the Bloor-Danforth line, they are boring!”

The commission, of which Bussin is a member, voted in favour of staff recommendations [PDF]  to approve “Station Modernization and Station Renaissance Programs.” According to activist Joe Clark,  this basically means that when stations are in need of an overhaul, the TTC will be able to “defenestrate, destroy, remodel, renovate, or rebuild 63 of its 69 stations in any manner TTC wishes.” (Wellesley and Rosedale Stations, which are already listed under the Ontario Heritage Act, and High Park, Keele, Coxwell and Woodbine, would maintain their original appearance.) Argues Clark, “TTC staff are asking for carte blanche to vandalize the subway’s heritage.”

And you can possibly even scratch that. At yesterday's meeting, the four Bloor-Danforth stations that were to have been preserved may be on the remodelling block too, thanks to a motion by Bussin. (It's unclear to me whether this proposal to include the others was approved. It sounded to me like the chair told Bussin her proposal could wait til later, while the National Post seems to believe otherwise. I've got calls in to to clarify and I'll update this when I'm certain.)

***UPDATE: Bussin has confirmed that her motion that all 69 stations be considered for future revitalization was approved yesterday by the committee. My confusion arose from the fact that this motion was not voted on separately, nor did Giambrone get the nod from other commissioners to strike "recommendation 'b'" (which stated that four Bloor-Danforth stations be preserved) from the staff report. Seems to me that such a change would warrant more than a short dicussion 
between Bussin and the chair. That said, none of this necessarily means that, say, Coxwell and Woodbine Stations, will one day undergo massive transformations. According to Bussin, plans for "certain revitalizations" won't be tabled until about a year from now. At that time, the particulars of the plans will be up for approval. And not  every station is going to undergo immediate renewal. As Mihevc emphasized at the meeting, station redesign will only happen when major repairs and service improvements need to take place.***

***UPDATED AGAIN: No wonder I was confused — I just heard back from Giambrone's EA, Kevin Beaulieu. As he understands it, Bussin's proposal was "referred to staff to consider in their next report on the matter," meaning that "the Commission did not approve adding the additional stations to the program." For now, High Park, Keele, Coxwell and Woodbine Stations are protected from being redesigned in future.***

***ONE LAST UPDATE: To be clear, Commissioner Bussin's motion was as follows:
"That staff be requested, as part of their future report concerning scheduling of the Station Modernization Program, to consider potential art and other innovative heritage related strategies for those stations where the original design appearance will be preserved."***

TTC Vice-Chair Joe Mihevc sees things a little differently than Clark does. “I’ve been following the blogs in the last couple of days on this topic….Hardly anyone is saying that these stations are of great historical import. I think only two or three people are saying that. The vast majority of people are saying: you know what? This is a public space. We want it to be a beautiful public space; we want it to be functional; we want accessibility; we want cleanliness; we want good service; and all these other things. But I don’t see anyone rushing to the judgement that these tiles, these stations are of any historical importance, and therefore all of them should be preserved with consistent design from one end to the other. I would submit that that is really a minority opinion.”

If you’ve picked up this week’s EYE WEEKLY, you’ll see that the paper’s editorial staff are part of that supposedly small group of station modernization critics. “The Bloor-Danforth line’s station designs represent a single achievement, decorated from one end to the other with tiles in alternating colour patterns for both wall tiles and trim, with an elegant, custom-designed font etched into the walls,” reads the editorial. “The terminal stations match each other and the stations in the middle show a constant, minimalist aesthetic. Looking at that, you see a transit commission that once planned and designed entire lines at once and set to work building.” (For further background on the issue, read Edward Keenan’s article on “Toronto’s type and tile heritage,” published last November.)

At least one TTC commissioner, Councillor Peter Milczyn,  expressed appreciation for the Bloor-Danforth line’s design. “The vision, as it was at the time, has currency, has validity and it does have a certain character and ambiance which is unique to Toronto and which we should preserve,” he said, no doubt to the ire of Bussin. But his opinion contained a caveat: “There are unique circumstances where it is important for a variety of reasons — cultural, economic — that the subway stations should relate to what’s above them. Museum [Station] is one [example]. But for the most part, the platforms are fine the way they are.”

Mihevc agreed, at least with the “unique circumstances” part. “When the opportunity [to refurbish old stations] does arise…let’s let what’s happening underground related to what’s happening in the immediate vicinity above ground in the neighbourhood,” he said.

As for Bussin, she appeard relieved that Toronto’s subway stations’ fate was in the TTC’s hands, and not the public’s. “It is time to move forward,” she argued. “You know how they say that artists are usually 15 years ahead of the public? Well, we as commissioners should be at least 15 years ahead — we should be thinking about what these stations should look like.”

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