TTC board to mull proposal from TMU to rename Dundas Station
New name, to be considered by board on Wednesday, would be 'TMU Station'
The TTC board will consider a proposal this week from Toronto Metropolitan University to change the name of Dundas Station to TMU Station.
A report from the TTC's chief strategy and customer experience officer, which will be presented to the board at its Wednesday meeting, recommends that the board approve a "partnership framework" with the university that includes the renaming of the station.
"The area around Dundas Station has changed dramatically with the rapid growth of TMU, and the TTC station has become fully integrated with the TMU campus and student life," the report reads.
"A change in the station name reflects the evolution of both the local neighbourhood and university, while aligning with the TTC practice of naming stations after public sector institutions and customer destinations, such as York University, Museum, Queen's Park, and Osgoode."
The report says work would begin immediately if the board approves the recommendation. It adds that work could be done to renew the station as well and that delaying the decision would cost more in the future.
"There is a time-sensitive and unique opportunity to incorporate the new name at minimal incremental expense and without disruption to the customer experience, by aligning this station renaming with the roll-out of customer information changes for the new Line 6 Finch West," the report reads.
No mention of public consultation
TMU has also proposed that it and the TTC create an innovation hub, to be called the "Transit Innovation Yard," with the intent of improving transit innovation in Canada.
"Through this unique partnership, the TTC will gain access to cutting-edge solutions from both TMU researchers and top-tier startups, while providing a real-world testing ground for transit innovation," the report says.
The report makes no mention of public consultation on the renaming proposal.
Council voted in December 2023 to change the name of Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square and recommended a host of other landmarks be stripped of the Dundas name over Henry Dundas's connections to the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Dundas Street and other similarly named landmarks are named after Henry Dundas, a Scottish politician active from the 1770s to the early 1800s, when the British Parliament was debating slavery abolition motions.