Toronto is the largest city in Canada so getting around the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in rush hour can produce some heartbreaking stories.
3 Down Nation, a Web site devoted to the CFL, featured such a story. This person was traveling from Mississauga to BMO Field for last week's midweek CFL game with the Ottawa RedBlacks in Toronto.
He was staying in town for a conference in a Mississauga hotel. We don't know which one; he did note that BMO Field was 17 kilometres away.
He left his hotel at 5:45 pm, took a free shuttle to Pearson airport, took the UP Express to Union Station, and finally traveled on the GO train on the Lakeshore West line one stop west to Exhibition.
He arrived at Union Station at 7 pm — kickoff was 7:30 pm — but had to wait 45 minutes for the GO train at that hour. He ended up missing the first quarter.
"Two hours and 10 minutes to get to a place 17 kilometres away. Yikes."
I would bet good money that the concierge didn't give him the best possible route. My business trip past shows that people who normally drive don't know good transit options.
Let's help out the weary CFL traveler. I took a cursory look at the GO train map as well as the Toronto subway map for about 10 minutes.
We don't know where he was staying within Mississauga. He might not have known there were GO train options in Mississauga (cheaper than the UP Express $12.35 cost). He really might not have known there was a GO train station in Mississauga on the Lakeshore West line: Port Credit (30 Queen Street East) is on the Lakeshore West route, 3 stops west of Exhibition.
A cab ride to Port Credit might have been a lot. There might be buses from his hotel to the Port Credit station but we don't know where he stayed. Getting 3 stops away on the GO train would have cut a lot of time off his trip, bypassing Pearson and Union Station.
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This is not to say every traveler is going to know how to navigate well in a strange situation. Having good travel options, researched as well as you can, improve your travel odds. I thought I had researched how to get to the football stadium at Moncton, New Brunswick for Touchdown Atlantic. Finding a bus stop proved harder since there weren't that many signs.
Waited a long time for a bus to get to the Green Line to get to a Montréal Expos game in 2004 and missed the beginning of the game. Back then, tracking transit wasn't viable on a phone.
He wasn't the only one concerned about more trains between Union Station and Exhibition.
I had my own fun trip to get to BMO Field. My plan was to take the King streetcar west to the Dufferin Gate Loop. The King streetcar suddenly stopped at Bathurst not going any further west.
The Bathurst streetcar went to the Exhibition Loop, so a longer walk to get to the stadium. I took the GO train back to Union Station after the game.
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"Getting to BMO Field in Toronto is a terrible experience" — the 3 Down Nation headline on the story.
The BMO Field attendance figures have been dismal. The Toronto Argonauts have spent most of the season at the top of the East Division and are undefeated at home. The team didn't even draw half of what they were allowed for that Wednesday game and that night was a celebration of the 1991 Grey Cup winners.
The walking distance from Union Station to Rogers Centre (below map) is 900 metres, about a ½ mile walk. The GO train trip is only one stop west and puts you in a great position to get to the stadium. The TTC streetcars get you pretty close to the stadium.
The BMO Field facilities are gorgeous with great sightlines for football, much better than SkyDome. I've seen Argos games in both places, not even a close comparison. TTC and GO could work on improved transportation on the days of Argonauts home games.
We know fans of Toronto FC of MLS don't have trouble getting to BMO Field.
Getting to BMO Field may never be a great experience but should be a better experience, even if traveling from Mississauga. The trip isn't the primary reason why attendance has dropped for the CFL in Toronto. Every little improvement will help draw football fans to the Exhibition place.
photos credit: GO Transit
map credit: Google
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