Don Mills station

Don Mills
Platform
General information
Location	1700 Sheppard Avenue East Toronto, Ontario Canada
Coordinates	43°46′32″N79°20′47″W / 43.77556°N 79.34639°W / 43.77556; -79.34639
Platforms	Centre platform
Tracks	2
Connections	TTC buses  10  Van Horne  24B  Victoria Park  25  Don Mills  85  Sheppard East  167  Pharmacy North  169  Huntingwood  325   Don Mills  385   Sheppard East  925  Don Mills Express  985  Sheppard East Express YRT buses  24  Woodbine  90  Leslie
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Parking	366 spaces [1]
Accessible	Yes
Architect	Stevens Group Architects
Other information
Website	Official station page
History
Opened	November 24, 2002;21 years ago (2002-11-24)
Passengers
2019 [2]	42,598
Rank	17 of 75
Services
Preceding station Toronto Transit Commission Following station Leslie towards Sheppard–Yonge Line 4 Sheppard Terminus
Location

Don Mills is a subway station that is the eastern terminus of Line 4 Sheppard in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station is at the northeast corner of Sheppard Avenue East and Don Mills Road, within the residential communities of Don Valley Village and Henry Farm, adjacent to Fairview Mall shopping centre. The station is close to Highways 401 and 404, as well as the Don Valley Parkway. Other nearby landmarks include Fairview Mall, Georges Vanier Secondary School, and the Fairview district branch of the Toronto Public Library.

History

The station opened in 2002 as part of the original Line 4. A plaque at the platform level commemorates John Marinzel, a worker who died on April 18, 2001, of injuries from an accident during the construction of the station. ^[3] A Vivastation for the Viva Green line of York Region's Viva Rapid Transit system opened on October 16, 2005. ^[4]

Description

Like all stations on the Sheppard line, Don Mills is fully accessible. The station is equipped with three elevators connecting the concourse level with the bus platforms and two street entrances, and a single elevator between the island train platform and the concourse. Stairs and escalators provide regular pedestrian access between all levels. ^[5]

There are three accessible entrances around the Don Mills Road and Sheppard Avenue intersection. Two of the entrances are on the northeast and southeast sides of Sheppard Avenue, respectively, and one automatic entrance in the parking garage at Fairview Mall near the Marshalls/HomeSense entrance. ^[6]

Above the bus terminal, on the street level, is a multi-storey public parking lot with 366 parking spaces for commuters. ^[7] Parking costs $7 from 5:00am to 9:30am and is free after 9:30am and all day on weekends and holidays. TTC commuter spaces are restricted to levels 4 and 5 as the lower floors are for mall patrons only. ^[1]

Outside the parking lot, next to a staffed pedestrian entrance to the station, is a passenger pick-up area with 18 temporary parking spaces.

Subway infrastructure in the vicinity

Don Mills station south side tail track

As this is a terminal station, there is a diamond crossover to the west of the platform for arriving trains to cross over to the westbound track, and for departing trains on the eastbound track to cross to the westbound track. There are also tail tracks beyond the east end of the platform. However, unlike other terminal stations where the tail tracks are at least as long as a standard six-car train for overnight storage, those at Don Mills are only about two cars in length. This is likely because storage capacity is available at Sheppard–Yonge, which can store enough trains to service the line.

Architecture and art

Tiles on the concourse level

Inlay of a fossil fish embedded in the terrazzo floor

The station was designed by Stevens Group Architects, ^[8] who also built Sheppard West and Bayview stations.

There are two pieces of public art in the station. The piece before / after: 1997 / 2002 spans the concourse and platform levels in the station. Created by Toronto artist Stephen Cruise, it consists of tile work on walls and inlays on the terrazzo floors:

• On the concourse level, the tilework on walls represents the geologic strata through which the line travels, plus graphical depictions of local flora and fauna.
• On the concourse and platform levels, bronze inlays in the floor depict fossils of fish, turtles, and leaves found on the site; the Sheppard line is also depicted in an abstract form on the floor.

Outside the station (on the north side of Don Mills Road, south of the bus entrance) is a tribute to Northern Dancer, a famous racehorse foaled at E. P. Taylor's Windfields Farm, which was then located on "nearby" Bayview Avenue.

In mid-2021, to celebrate the TTC's 100th anniversary, a temporary art installation titled Sheppard Subway Construction was put on display at the station. ^[9] Located on the concourse level, the installation consisted of various enlarged photographs showcasing the construction of Line 4 Sheppard.

Surface connections

Don Mills station has a bus terminal that is also underground. It allows for connection to both TTC bus routes and York Region Transit (YRT) routes.

Toronto Transit Commission routes

Main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes

When the subway is closed, passengers may board buses at the intersection of Don Mills Road and Sheppard Avenue outside the station.

Route	Name	Additional information
10	Van Horne	Eastbound to Victoria Park Avenue (Rush hour service)
24B	Victoria Park	Southbound to Victoria Park station via Consumers Road (Rush hour and midday service)
25A	Don Mills	Northbound to Steeles Avenue East and southbound to Pape station
25B		Southbound to Pape station
25C		Northbound to Steeles Avenue East
85	Sheppard East	Westbound to Sheppard–Yonge station
85A		Eastbound to Rouge Hill GO Station
85B		Eastbound to Toronto Zoo
85C		Eastbound to Meadowvale Road
85D		Eastbound to Rouge Hill GO Station via Toronto Zoo
167A	Pharmacy North	Northbound to Steeles Avenue East via Consumers Road
167B		Northbound to Steeles Avenue East (Rush hour service)
169A	Huntingwood	Eastbound to Scarborough Centre station via Van Horne Avenue
169B		Eastbound to Scarborough Centre station (Rush hour service)
925	Don Mills Express	Northbound to Steeles Avenue East and southbound to Pape station
985A	Sheppard East Express	Eastbound to Kennedy station
985B		Eastbound to Meadowvale Road (Rush hour service)
325	Don Mills	Blue Night service; northbound to Steeles Avenue East and southbound to Eastern Avenue (On-street transfer)
385	Sheppard East	Blue Night service; eastbound to Meadowvale Road and westbound to Sheppard–Yonge station (On-street transfer)

York Region Transit routes

Main article: List of York Region Transit and Viva bus routes

A Vivastation located outside the station

Several York Region Transit (YRT) bus routes also operate to and from Don Mills station. Under Ontario's One Fare Program that began on February 26, 2024, customers paying by credit, debit or Presto card can transfer between YRT and TTC services without incurring an additional fare. As free card transfers need to be recorded for reimbursements as well as to enforce double-fare payments for riders ineligible for free transfers between YRT and TTC services, YRT buses drop off passengers outside of the station and pick up passengers inside the station and at on-street stops outside the station. ^[10]

Route	Name	Additional information
24	Woodbine	To Honda Canada
90	Leslie	To Richmond Green Secondary School
90B		To 16th Avenue via East Beaver Creek (AM) To Highway 7 via East Beaver Creek (PM)

Prior proposals

As part of the Transit City plan, the TTC proposed the construction of the Sheppard LRT (light rail transit) line to connect Don Mills station to Sheppard East station on the proposed extension of Line 3 Scarborough. This replaced previous plans to extend Line 4 Sheppard to Scarborough Centre station on Line 3.

The Transit City plan included an LRT along Don Mills Road from Pape station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth through Don Mills station to Steeles Avenue. However, the transit line, along with other Transit City lines, was cancelled by Rob Ford when he became mayor in December 2010. ^[11]

In a 2015 study, one of the options for a proposed Toronto relief line connected to Don Mills Station. ^[12]

References

1. "TTC Don Mills Station Parking". Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
2. "Subway ridership, 2019" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2023. This table shows the typical number of customer-trips made on each subway on an average weekday and the typical number of customers travelling to and from each station platform on an average weekday.
3. "Certificate of Amendments" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
4. YRT Viva Route Map
5. "Plan for Don Mills Station". Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
6. "TTC Don Mills Station". Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
7. "Don Mills Station". www.ttc.ca. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
8. "Board Meetings". Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
9. "Photography Exhibits". ttc.ca. TTC. April 18, 2022. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
10. https://www.ttc.ca/riding-the-ttc/Updates/One-Fare-Program
11. "Rob Ford: 'Transit City is over' | CBC News". CBC. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
12. "Yonge Relief Network Study (YRNS)" (PDF). Metrolinx. June 25, 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2018.

External links

Media related to Don Mills Station at Wikimedia Commons

• Official station page