The TTC’s Keele subway station came online in 1966, but unlike most underground stops it was built across a valley, requiring the station to be elevated.
More than 50 years later, Keele Station is being made more fully accessible as part of the TTC’s Multi-Year Accessibility Plan. BRC Restoration is undertaking required concrete and masonry work to prepare for new elevators and entrances on behalf of Kenaidan Contracting Ltd., general contractor for the $10.2-million contract.
Keele Station was originally part of a subway system expansion that also saw the line extend east to Woodbine in 1966. Some novel features of the station design included the installation of a “Speedramp,” a flat-surface escalator, built by Stephenson-Adamson of Belleville, Ont. It was the first device of its kind to be used in a Canadian subway and was designed to help move people swiftly up a 104-foot incline from the former Keele streetcar loop to
As the masonry contractor for the project, BRC is helping to re-establish that functionality, building two new elevator shafts to move TTC customers from bus level to track level at eastbound and westbound platforms. The contactor is also bumping out walls at the bus loop to convert part of the area into much-needed work and storage space for TTC staff.
“The station isn’t the oldest in the system, but there’s still a focus on maintaining the familiarity of brick colour and architectural elements from the original construction,” says Arran Brannigan, president of BRC. “We‘re salvaging any brick in good condition and reusing it on the site. One of the architectural elements is a series of precast square openings inside a brick wall that delineates one end of the passenger area at the bus loop.”
The two elevator shafts, one on each end of the station, are being added to the outside of the station walls.
New walls are made of steel-reinforced concrete block and fully grouted.
The Keele bus loop has been closed since the end of March, with buses redeployed to street level and to High Park Station for about six months.
“However, Keele Station continues to operate on behalf of its patrons,” says Brannigan. “The workspace is generous, but we still have to co-ordinate closely with Kenaidan and the TTC.”
While BRC will observe the City of Toronto’s Construction Noise and Vibration bylaw, the TTC points out that the reduction in “sounds of the city” created by COVID-19 lockdowns may make neighbours “more aware of the noise and vibration.”
Other new accessibility features at Keele Station include automatic sliding station entry doors and improved signage and security cameras along the accessible approach pathway.
BRC’s work began in April and the contractor will field a crew of about six workers throughout its part of the project, which is likely to conclude at the end of 2020. The overall Keele station project is scheduled for completion in 2021.
The TTC has set a goal of making all its subway stations accessible by 2025 with the addition of elevators at several locations.
the subway platform above.
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