Queens Quay (TTC)

Queens Quay
Station platforms looking south, with the pedestrian crossing visible at the far end
Location	10 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario Canada
Coordinates	43°38′29″N 79°22′37″W / 43.64151°N 79.37704°WCoordinates: 43°38′29″N 79°22′37″W / 43.64151°N 79.37704°W
Platforms	side
Connections	Jack Layton Ferry Terminal TTC buses
Construction
Structure type	underground
History
Opened	1990
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station Streetcar line toward Exhibition 509 Harbourfront Union Terminus Streetcar line toward Spadina 510 Spadina

Queens Quay^[a] is an underground streetcar station of the Toronto streetcar system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the only underground streetcar station that is not part of or connected to a Toronto subway station (Union, Spadina, and St. Clair West subway stations have underground stations for streetcars as well). It was opened in 1990 as part of the former Harbourfront LRT route. The station is now served by the 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina routes.

The station is named after Queen's Quay, an adjacent street skirting Toronto's waterfront. The station's internal signage bears the subtitle "Ferry Docks", a reference to the nearby Jack Layton Ferry Terminal for the Toronto Island Ferry that provides pedestrian access to the Toronto Islands.

This station did not open at the same time as the rest of the Harbourfront line it served, due to disputes regarding direct access to nearby businesses that eventually fell through.^[1] Additionally, after the station did open, the "FERRY DOCKS" subtitle was not yet present.^[2]

Design

Tiles showing station name and Ferry Docks destination

Queens Quay is a unique station in Toronto because it is served by streetcars rather than subways. It is the only station to have a pedestrian crossing between platforms at track level, as there is no electrified rail to contend with. Streetcars crossing the pedestrian walkway must stop and sound their gong before proceeding; Union-bound streetcars stop immediately after rounding a sharp curve, ring their gong, and proceed into the stopping zone to load and unload passengers. Exhibition- and Spadina-bound streetcars enter the station, load and unload passengers, ring their gong, then proceed out of the station.

Originally there was to have been an underground station in front of the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel and the Toronto Island Ferry Docks. Patrons of the hotel were to have had underground access to the station. Plans for the station were cancelled when the hotel changed its mind about sharing in the station's cost. This meant that the fallback location on Bay would require ferry passengers to cross a busy street on foot.^[3]

Queens Quay is also the only station in Toronto that does not have any employee washrooms or an employee lunchroom, as there is no collector on duty at the station. The streetcar platform is not in a fare-paid zone, so passengers boarding pay their fare on board the streetcar.

The station was closed from July 2012 to October 2014 due to Waterfront Toronto’s project to rebuild Queens Quay West and reconstruction of the Harbourfront streetcar line, during which time there was a replacement bus service.^[4] As of the station's reopening on October 12, 2014 a proof-of-payment ticket vending machine is present on the northbound platform.

Streetcar infrastructure in the vicinity

Ramp between Queens Quay West and the station level in 2009

North of this station, the lines enter an underground loop at Union TTC station, below Union Station, the city's main railway station; to the south, they emerge from the tunnel onto Queen's Quay, where they run west in a dedicated right-of-way as far as Spadina Avenue, where the two routes diverge; the 509 continues west to Exhibition Place, while the 510 turns north towards Spadina TTC station.

Nearby landmarks and attractions

Passenger entrance on the east side of Bay St. The Fairmont Royal York hotel, Air Canada Centre and TD Centre are in the background

• Air Canada Centre
• Queen's Quay Terminal
• Toronto Island Ferry Docks
• Toronto Star Building
• WaterPark Place
• Westin Harbour Castle

Former landmarks

• Captain John's Harbour Boat Restaurant (scrapped in 2015)

See also

• Queens Quay East light rail line

Note

^{^} Although the eponymous street is variably spelled both with and without the possessive apostrophe in "Queen's", all TTC signage omits one. The station's name is sometimes erroneously referred to as "Queens Quay–Ferry Docks"; the "Ferry Docks" reference, however, is roughly akin to how "Yorkville" is appended onto signage at Bay station.^[5][6]

References

1. Route 509 - The New Harbourfront Streetcar - Transit Toronto
2. Toronto PCC Streetcars in June 1991 The lack of subtitles can be seen at 5:14 and 5:26.
3. Peter Howell (1990-03-12). "TTC fighting on two fronts Province, Toronto give it rough ride". Toronto Star. p. A.15. Retrieved 2012-03-13. The constant bickering between the TTC and Toronto over serving the ferry dock led to the recent decision by the owners of the Harbour Castle Westin to withdraw their $2.5 million share of the $4 million cost. The TTC now plans to build a smaller stop on the north side of Queen's Quay, which means thousands of people will have to cross the busy street to take the ferries.
4. https://www.ttc.ca/News/2012/July/0726_replace_harbour.jsp
5. Queens Quay Station: 510 Spadina Schedule
6. Queens Quay Station: 509 Harbourfront Schedule