Since last spring, Metrolinx has quietly been chipping away at the early stages of construction for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE), which will add 7 new stations to the existing - but somehow still incomplete - LRT line. 

With tunnel boring already underway, Metrolinx has begun moving forward with early design work for the new stations, sharing their plans for the first time on August 2 at a community open house. 

The designs are preliminary and will eventually be finalized by an architect, so their purpose is more to show the vision for what these stations will offer.

Spoiler alert: they didn't exactly knock it out of the park, but it's progress nonetheless. 

Prelimnary design for Renforth-Eglinton Station. 

If there's one station that stands out from the bunch, it's Scarlett-Eglinton.

Passing over Scarlett Road with an elevated platform, this station has the potential to be a statement design piece, and from what we can tell, it looks like they may try to get semi creative with it. 

Scarlett-Eglinton Station will feature an elevated platform.

We'll save our excitement for now, though, because execution can be a tricky task. 

Preliminary design for Royal York-Eglinton Station.

Looking at Royal York, Islington, and Kipling Stations, the only thing that really jumps out is the lack of variety. 

Preliminary design for Islington-Eglinton Station.

Going for the simple white box approach, there isn't really much to it. Being consistent isn't a bad thing, but being interesting sometimes requires a little more risk. 

Preliminary design for Kipling-Eglinton Station.

Beyond the designs, these plans demonstrate the features and amenities that Metrolinx is going to prioritize for these stations, which were generally informed by public consultation. 

Things like bike infrastructure, universal accessibility, and inviting outdoor spaces were all emphasized as key things riders wanted to see. For the most part, these designs seem to check those boxes. 

Bike racks, accessibility, and usable outdoor space were key aspects of the community input. 

The internet has been quick to point out, however, that there was one rather concerning design oversight. 

Today is Aug. 2, 2023 - We constantly hear Ontario Provincial Ministers in #ONPoli talk about the #HousingCrisis - yet, somehow @Metrolinx is STILL using the One-Storey, Single-Purpose BOX as their "DESIGN VISION" for brand-new Transit-Stations..???

PDF - https://t.co/mXQB2SahoA pic.twitter.com/1UYDJ7JxwG

— HousingNowTO (@HousingNowTO) August 3, 2023

What's becoming more clear in cities like Toronto is that developing dense communities around transit infrastructure is the healthiest way to build. 

For many, the fact that these stations aren't being integrated into residential developments (or any kind of development for that matter), is a missed opportunity. 

It is almost unbelievable, but @Metrolinx is planning to build another dozen LRT stations in Toronto with no integrated development https://t.co/08d5pAzotZ pic.twitter.com/sA5BEqhDew

— Alex Bozikovic (@alexbozikovic) August 3, 2023

Echoing this sentiment was MP Scott Aitchison, who responded to the above tweet with a similar view. 

"The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension is a rapid transit project in the GTA, the epicenter of Canada's housing crisis," he tweeted, "but Canadians won't get a single unit of housing on top of or around these new stations."

Looking at the project timeline, the goal is to complete the extension by 2031. We still have years to go until these designs are realized, and let's not forget, these aren't even the actual designs.

There's still plenty of room for improvement.