Castle Frank station explained

Castle Frank
Symbol Location:toronto
Symbol:2big
Style:Toronto Transit Commission
Address:600 Bloor Street East
Toronto, Ontario
Country:Canada
Coordinates:43.6736°N -79.3689°W
Structure:Underground
Platform:Side platforms
Tracks:2
Accessible:No
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Custom:
Shape:none
Line:none
Marker:rail-metro
Marker-Color:
  1. 16A753
Zoom:15

Castle Frank is a station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth of the Toronto subway. It is located at the northwest corner of Bloor Street East and Castle Frank Road. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.[1]

Without any major commercial, industrial or entertainment destinations, the station primarily serves the residents of South Rosedale, from which it is within walking distance, and St. James Town and Cabbagetown by way of the 65 Parliament and 94 Wellesley bus routes. Nearby landmarks include Rosedale Heights School of the Arts and St. James Cemetery.

Entrances

The entrance to the station is located on the northwest corner of Castle Frank Road and Bloor Street East.The station was rated as high priority in the requirement for a second exit[2] which, although scheduled to be finished by January 2010,[3] finally opened in December 2012 after many delays.[4] This project still did not make the station accessible, although the stairs give subway riders a direct connection to the bus bays. Only an exit is provided through turnstile gates, without any way to get into the station using a pass or token that is available at the secondary entrance to many other stations.

Late in the fourth quarter of 2021, construction started to install two elevators to make Castle Frank station accessible. The elevators will connect the street-level concourse to each of the east- and westbound platforms. Completion is expected in 2024.[5]

History

Castle Frank station, opened in 1966, is named after the community that it serves. Its streets, and the brook that flows through it, are in turn named after John Graves Simcoe's summer residence in the area overlooking the Don River, which burned down in 1829.[6] The residence was named after his son Francis Simcoe. In 1954, a historical marker was placed in Prince Edward Viaduct Parkette, near the site of the historic Castle Frank residence, on the south side of Bloor Street at Castle Frank Road.

The Parliament streetcar line operated to its northerly terminus at the Viaduct Loop until 1966. No consideration was given to construct the short connection, from that location at Bloor Street East and Parliament Street across the Rosedale Ravine, which would have made the streetcar route a major feeder line to the subway station.[7] The site of the streetcar loop is now Rekai Family (formerly Bloor–Parliament before 2014[8]) Parkette.[9]

Subway infrastructure in the vicinity

East of the station, the line runs under Bloor Street to use the lower deck of the Prince Edward Viaduct. At the end of the Viaduct, it swings to parallel Danforth Avenue on the north side. Immediately west of the station, the line crosses the Rosedale Ravine in a covered concrete bridge, then continues in a tunnel to Sherbourne station.

Surface connections

See main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes.

When the subway is closed, buses do not enter the station. TTC routes serving the station include:

RouteNameAdditional information
65 ParliamentSouthbound to Queens Quay & Lower Sherbourne
94A WellesleyWestbound to Ossington station
94BWestbound to Wellesley station
365 ParliamentBlue Night service
southbound to the Esplanade

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: There's now free WiFi at over 40 TTC subway stations. blogTO. December 21, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170912082156/http://www.blogto.com/city/2016/11/theres_now_free_wifi_at_over_40_ttc_subway_stations/. September 12, 2017. dead.
  2. Web site: Fire Safety and Second Exits at Subway Stations . Richard C. Ducharme . April 14, 2004 . Toronto Transit Commission . May 1, 2013 . August 7, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110807055806/http://www.ttc.ca/postings/gso-comrpt/documents/report/f2037/_conv.htm . dead .
  3. Web site: TTC building new exit at Castle Frank Station . Robert Mackenzie . August 9, 2008 . Transit Toronto . May 1, 2013 . April 1, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130401085939/http://transit.toronto.on.ca/archives/weblog/2008/08/09-ttc_buildi.shtml . live .
  4. Web site: No end of delays for Castle Frank TTC project . Jack Lakey . September 7, 2011 . Toronto Star . May 1, 2013 . January 1, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120101164027/http://www.thestar.com/news/fixer/article/1050366--the-fixer-no-end-of-delays-for-castle-frank-ttc-project . live .
  5. Web site: Easier AccessCastle Frank Station . . May 20, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211202002508/https://www.ttc.ca/about-the-ttc/projects-and-plans/Castle-Frank-Station . December 2, 2021 . live .
  6. Web site: Peppiatt. Liam. Chapter 1B: Castle Frank. Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto. July 3, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150703142611/http://www.landmarksoftoronto.com/castle-frank/. July 3, 2015. dead.
  7. Web site: The Parliament Streetcar (Deceased) . James . Bow . Transit Toronto . May 1, 2013 . July 5, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130705020203/http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4120.shtml . live .
  8. https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2014/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-68516.pdf
  9. Web site: Bloor–Parliament Parkette . Parks Listing . City of Toronto . May 1, 2013 . June 20, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130620181421/http://www.toronto.ca/parks/prd/facilities/complex/2150/index.htm . live .