#bloor-danforth

Why I Love Toronto Reason #51

The Bridge Connecting Castle Frank and Broadview Station

Now for those TTC users who venture past Yonge Station to the Danforth portion of the Bloor-Danforth Line, you will get treat. Now that’s not to say that we Bloor riders don’t get a few treats, we do I haven’t posted them yet. It’s just I am doing this one today because I had to travel down that line to get to this costume shop to find parts of my costume. So after Keele Station many of us catch are last rays of sun and of the outside world before we are plunged into the tunnels of darkness and for many of us who transfer to the Yonge-University Spanida Line and go through the downtown core portion of the TTC, many of us don’t see sunlight again until we actually exit the station. But for those of use to travel past the Yonge point, we get to ride on a bridge. Now yes, from Old Mill to Jane you get to be on  bridge. But The bridge between Castle Frank and Broadview is much cooler. You actually get to see the wooden beams and the structural elements of the bridge ie. The triangle (now if I may divert, remember in Grade 6 shop class for those of you that had shop, when the teacher made you build bridges and you had to make triangles – yeah that’s what it looks like). Now I will admit the top of the bridge is really ugly – I wouldn’t recommend seeing it, the barriers located on the top may be called art to some but I call it a quick attempt by the city to prevent suicides.  

Now not only do you get the treat of riding under the bridge, you get an awesome view – one worth the 15 minutes of darkness or longer you may have had to incur. When you come out you can’t see the CN tower its blocked by a number of trees, but as you keep going east the you can see the tower for a brief moment before the BMO building blocks it. You also get to see the cars below you, the Don River Park, with its walking and bike trails, some graffiti on occasion, the river, and some old train tracks leading to who knows where. Then you descend back into the darkness until you reach Victoria Park Station.

 All in all if you travel to the Danforth portion of the Bloor-Danforth line be sure to stay on the train until you get to Broadview because the bridge is truly a treat for us transit riders. Also I didn’t mention it at night when the lights underneath the bridge turn on and the CN Tower turns colours and the headlights of the cars colour the street below red and white like the Canadian Flag. But you know what the TTC is more than just stations and or specific bus/ streetcar routes, its also about what you see while riding the Red Rocket. Below are some links to videos of riders experiences on the bridge – enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo46jYK3ncg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zxZXhUs6kA