Building accessible transit: Inside Leaside Station

Metrolinx is committed to providing fully accessible transportation facilities. The Crosstown stations and vehicles will be in compliance with the municipal and provincial guidelines. We are committed to removing barriers for all transit users. We can look to Leaside Station for examples of how this is being applied to the Crosstown LRT project. 

Located at Eglinton Avenue East and Bayview Avenue, Leaside Station will have two accessible entrances to serve the community members who will rely on the new transit line – including those who regularly commute to the nearby Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) facility.

“We’re looking forward to the opening of the new Eglinton line that will make it easier for people who are blind or partially sighted to access CNIB,” says Debbie Gillespie, Accessibility Lead (Infrastructure and Transit), CNIB-GTA. “The accessibility features at Leaside Station will accommodate individuals with varying degrees of vision loss which will help create an inclusive, barrier-free community.”

Both the main and secondary entrances of Leaside Station will have elevator access from street level to the concourse level, as well as an elevator at the concourse level that will provide easy access to the station platform. The station’s primary architectural elements such as entrances, walkways, stairs, elevators and washrooms will be designed for accessibility and there will be a seamless, barrier-free path from the entrance level to the station platform level. 

An objective of the station design and planning was to create an uncluttered environment on all levels, facilitating easy movement and clear sightlines through the station. The station design lets light filter deep into the lower levels, and act as a wayfinding tool to guide passengers back up to the surface.

Accessible devices and services – including fare gates, Passenger Assistance Intercom (PAI), and Audible Information Systems – will also be clearly identified through signs using the International Symbol of Access (ISA) and Braille. In addition, there will be accessible wayfinding, including colour-contrasting tactile walking surfaces with guiding patterns, to help visually impaired riders navigate  from the entrance to the platform with ease.

All of the Crosstown’s stations will incorporate accessibility standards and principles of Universal Design to accommodate transit users with disabilities and visual impairment.