Summary
Old Elm GO Station (formerly Lincolnville) is a train and bus station in the GO Transit network located in Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. Old Elm is the northeastern terminus of train service on the Stouffville line. The original station opened on September 2, 2008 on the north side of Bethesda Road, adjacent to the GO train storage yard.[4] Old Elm was rebuilt further south on the west side of Tenth Line, and opened on October 17, 2023.[2][1]
 Old Elm | |||||||||||
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 The Old Elm station platform in April 2024. | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | 12958 Tenth Line, Stouffville, Ontario Canada | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 43°59′25″N 79°14′13″W / 43.9904°N 79.2370°W | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Metrolinx | ||||||||||
| Platforms | Side platform | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 1 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | Shelters | ||||||||||
| Parking | 673 spaces[1] | ||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Station code | GO Transit: LI | ||||||||||
| Fare zone | 74 | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 2008 | ||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 2023 at new location[2] | ||||||||||
| Previous names | Lincolnville (2008–2021) | ||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||
| 2018 | 33,000[3] | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Station name edit
The station was referred to by the provisional name of Stouffville North before adopting the Lincolnville name partway through construction.[5][6] Historically, Lincolnville is the name of a hamlet which was located at the corner of Bloomington Road and Highway 47 (Old Concession 10 Road), divided between the townships of Uxbridge to the east and Whitchurch to the west.[7] On October 16, 2021, the station was renamed Old Elm GO after an elm tree located on the premises of the new station along Tenth Line.[8]
The station's namesake tree is 200 years old, 40 metres (130 ft) tall and 4 metres (13 ft) wide. It had survived Dutch elm disease during the 1970s and 1980s. The tree was to be cut down in order to make room for the station's bus loop, but the local community successfully lobbied to have it preserved. The bus loop was realigned around the tree, and as a result the station has 30–40 fewer parking spaces than originally planned.[9]
Description edit
The station has a bus loop and a passenger pick-up and drop-off area. There is parking for 673 vehicles including 15 accessibility stalls and 4 stalls for scooters and motorbikes. There are also 35 bike racks. The accessible platform features heated shelters, a platform canopy, and a platform snow-melting system. The station entrances for buses and motor vehicles are signalized.[1]
History edit
Lincolnville station opened on September 2, 2008 at Bethesda Road,[4] after some delay; it had initially been projected to open the preceding June.[10] It was built to relieve the line's previous terminus, Stouffville GO Station, which is located in Stouffville proper; it could not expand its parking and had limited bus interchange capabilities. Constructed next to the existing Stouffville layover facility at 10th Line and Bethesda Road,[5] Lincolnville station cost $5.5 million and extended passenger service approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) farther from Union Station in Toronto. The station's park-and-ride catchment includes much of the municipality of Uxbridge, and it is seen as a precursor to eventual GO Train service to the townsite of Uxbridge proper.[10] From 2010 to 2011, 410 additional parking spots were built, along with a bus storage facility and crew centre.[11] The adjacent layover facility was completed in October 2019.[12]
In 2021, construction began to relocate the station 500 metres (1,600 ft) to the south.[12] The new station would include a parking lot with 672 spaces, a bike lane, a bus loop, and improved accessibility.[8][13] The new station opened on October 17, 2023[2].[1]
Bus connections edit
- 70–71 GO Bus:[14] Northbound to Goodwood and Uxbridge and southbound to Union Station.
- There is no local York Region Transit bus service.[15]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d "Old Elm GO Station is now complete". Metrolinx. October 30, 2023. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c "GO Transit opening new Old Elm Station in Stouffville on Oct. 17". YorkRegion.com. October 17, 2023. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023.
- ^ "Drivers of Ridership and Revenue" (PDF). Metrolinx. February 7, 2019. p. 4. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- ^ a b "Lincolnville GO station opening in September". Stouffville Sun-Tribune. Metroland Media Group. July 7, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
- ^ a b "Accessibility Plan 2008" (PDF). GO Transit. September 2007. p. 30. Retrieved December 2, 2007. [dead link]
- ^ "Stations and Stops - Lincolnville". GO Transit. 2007. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ For a brief account of Lincolnville's early history, cf. Jean Barkey et al., Whitchurch Township (Erin, ON: Boston Mills, 1993), 108–109. See also the detailed 1878 historical map: Township of Whitchurch, Illustrated historical atlas of the county of York and the township of West Gwillimbury & town of Bradford in the county of Simcoe, Ont. (Toronto: Miles & Co., 1878).
- ^ a b Riedner, Heidi (September 29, 2021). "200-year-old elm tree at root of name change of new Lincolnville GO Station". Stouffville Sun-Tribune. Metroland Media Group. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ "How a 200 year-old tree will live on through construction". Metrolinx. November 15, 2019. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023.
- ^ a b Hayward, Jeff (March 21, 2008). "Uxbridge GO station on track for June". Uxbridge News-Journal. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
- ^ Cf. Stouffville Sun-Tribune, More Parking in Stouffville, September 29, 2010.
- ^ a b "Lincolnville prepares for major changes – GO station and layover facility are seeing developments that will help local transit customers". Metrolinx. April 30, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ "Lincolnville GO Station public meeting" (PDF). Metrolinx. September 13, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "70-71 Stouffville GO Train and Bus Schedule" (PDF). GO Transit. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ York Region Transit System Map Archived April 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
External links edit
Media related to Lincolnville GO Station at Wikimedia Commons- GO Transit station page for Old Elm GO Station
