Finch station
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Finch is a station on the Yonge-University-Spadina line of the subway system of Toronto, Canada. It is the northern terminus of the line's Yonge Street section, and the northernmost station in the system (at least, until the Spadina extension opens). It is located at 5714 Yonge Street between Finch East and West Avenues. The station was opened on March 29, 1974, by then-Premier William Grenville Davis and North York mayor Mel Lastman, replacing York Mills as the northern terminus of the line. A stainless-steel plaque for the opening event is found on the lower concourse level and smaller plaque at south subway platform.
On street level is a bus terminal in a rectangular shape with angled platforms. Stairs, escalators, and elevators lead down three levels to the subway platforms. Level one (an upper concourse, one floor below the bus terminal) is a T-shaped corridor leading to Level Two. Level Two (the lower concourse level) consists of connections to office towers (North American Life, Place Nouveau, and condominiums on Pemberton Avenue), the regional bus terminal, and the “Kiss-n-Ride” passenger drop-off facility. A plaque celebrating the station's opening is located on this level. There are a few shops inside the station at this level, including Gateway Newsstand and Tim Hortons. Level Three (the platform level) consists of a central platform with an operations tower at the south end.
Krystyna Sadowska's sculpture Rhythm Of Exotic Plants (1965) is displayed on the mezzanine (lower concourse) level, outside the fare-paid area.
Besides access from bus platforms, passengers can enter Finch from:
- North American Life Building — lower floor (to lower concourse)
- Yonge Street east side (to upper concourse)
- GO Finch Terminal (to lower concourse)
- Kiss-n-Ride entrance, elevators and stairs — north west corner of Yonge Street and Hendon (to lower concourse)
- stairs — north-east and north-west corners of Finch Avenue and Yonge Street (to lower concourse)
- Pemberton Avenue cul-de-sac (privately maintained entrance) (to upper concourse)
There is an emergency exit between Finch and North York Centre stations at Church Avenue and Yonge Street. The site was once the Willowdale United Church, demolished to make way for subway construction. Stairs from the tunnel surface in a brick building in the northeast corner, beside a cemetery and a Dominion supermarket.
Connections
As is often the case with TTC’s larger bus terminals, the bus terminal at Finch station is within the fare-paid area, so passengers boarding buses will need to enter the bus terminal through the subway station. For passengers who do not wish to enter the station to board a bus, stops are located at very short distances outside the station; however, express buses will neither pick up nor drop off passengers at these stops.
Bus routes serving Finch include:
- 36 Finch West
- 39 Finch East
- 42 Cummer
- 53 Steeles East
- 60 Steeles West
- 97 Yonge
- 125 Drewry
With the exceptions of route 97 southbound and “Blue Night” night buses, all TTC buses stop inside the bus terminal to pick up and drop off passengers.
North of the Finch TTC station is a regional bus terminal, which connects the subway to GO Transit, Brampton Transit, and York Region Transit buses (including York Region's Viva Blue bus rapid transit line). The City of Toronto is give-up the Yonge Street parking lot north of Finch for an alternate exit for vehicles and opening the western stub of Pemberton Avenue with Yonge Street.
Parking lots and passenger drop-off facility
Located at Finch station are also two major TTC parking lots (referred to as the car park in directional signage) for use by commuters, called simply the East Lot and the West Lot, with a combined capacity of over 3000 parking spaces. (Even with such capacity, the lots are usually full during weekdays.) Access to these lots can be either by cash or by Metropass.
In addition to the parking lots, Finch Station also features a relatively elaborate “Kiss-n-Ride” passenger drop-off/pick-up facility, which is connected to the lower concourse level of the station (outside the fare-paid area) by pedestrian tunnels. The area has a round, indoor waiting area for passengers, and a circular waiting area for cars (with about 20 temporary parking spaces) outside this indoor waiting area.
Nearby landmarks
- Plaque on the North American Life building commemorating the birth place of former Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson
- Newtonbrook Plaza
- Finch's Hotel (historic landmark that no longer exists)
