Subway commuters who rely on a large parking lot to park their cars before taking the TTC downtown will soon have to find alternative parking options.
The TTC has announced that it will permanently close its main parking lot at Wilson Station beginning Monday, November 18, 2024.
The sprawling parking lot at 50 Wilson Heights Boulevard – connected to Wilson Station on the TTC's Line 1 subway via a tunnel over Allen Road – is being redeveloped into a large-scale housing development as part of the City of Toronto's Housing Now initiative.
The spacious but soon-to-be-defunct parking lot at Wilson Station is a relic of a nearly two-decade period when the station served as a terminus.
Wilson Station opened on January 28, 1978 as the new terminus of the “Spadina Subway” extension of the “University Subway” from St. George to Wilson.
The line, then renamed Yonge–University–Spadina, was extended by another stop to Downsview (since renamed Sheppard West) on March 31, 1996 and even further north to the Vaughan Metropolitan Center on December 17, 2017.
Nearly half a century after Wilson Station opened, its importance as a feeder station for park-and-ride commuters has declined due to subway expansion, leaving the city-owned property ripe for development with much-needed housing.
City-run real estate agency CreateTO is working with private developers Tridel and Greenwin on a new residential complex for the site, which would include six buildings ranging in height from 10 to 17 stories and include a mix of condominiums, market-rate rentals and affordable rentals.
CreateTO
And it looks like the project team isn't wasting any time getting things underway and plans to close the site ahead of the rush on Monday morning.
A notice has been posted on the parking meters in the parking lot where drivers will encounter the graphic shown below.
TTC
Motorists seeking alternative parking options are advised to use the nearby Wilson Transit Road Lot, which has space for 72 cars, or alternative commuter parking further north on the route.
These include the Sheppard West (632 parking spaces), Pioneer Village (1,881 parking spaces), Finch West (347 parking spaces) and Highway 407 (550 parking spaces) stations.
The closure will primarily affect motorists, but pedestrian traffic will also be affected.
According to the TTC, “the existing north and east pedestrian access between Wilson Heights Boulevard and the station will be closed during construction” and replaced with a new pedestrian access upon completion of the project.
Pedestrians are encouraged to access the station via Wilson Avenue or other access points during construction.
Main photo by
Toronto Parking Authority