Bessarion (TTC)
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| Bessarion 701 Sheppard Avenue East |
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| Opened | November 24, 2002 |
| District | North York |
| Line | Sheppard line |
| Next station | ≅0.9 km west to Bayview 2 min
≅1.2 km east to Leslie 2 min |
| Daytime Connections | 85 Sheppard East |
| Night Connections | 385 Sheppard East |
| Daily Boardings | 2010 |
| Rank 2007-08 | 68th busiest out of 69 |
| Platforms | Centre platform |
| Accessibility | 2 elevators
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Bessarion is the name of a station on the Sheppard line of the subway/RT system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
It is located at 701 Sheppard Avenue East at Bessarion Road and Burbank Drive, and was opened in 2002. Nearby landmarks include Canadian Tire and IKEA North York.
The station is, as of 2008, the second least-used in the TTC’s subway network (after Ellesmere), with only about 2,000 people using this station each day. Bessarion station had been one of the stations originally planned for the Sheppard line, but suggestions to remove it from the project due to budget overruns had come up on several occasions.
When the question was raised a last time in 1998, it was finally decided that the station should be built, because it was in a prime redevelopment area. A large-scale condominium and townhouse project are under construction on the former Canadian Tire warehouse site that adjoins the station, and the decision to build the station was partly due to the expectation that it would become an important selling feature for these housing units. (While the area could be served by the Leslie station, that was some distance away and accessibility was made difficult by having to cross the railway track.)
As of 2007, Concord Adex Investments Limited of Vancouver is currently developing the large multi-condo complex, Concord Park Place, which includes a community park. The former Canadian Tire distribution centre was demolished through June and July 2007, the chain still retains a store nearby. Concord Adex is also responsible for the CityPlace condo mega-development at the vacant CNR lands, currently under construction west of the CN Tower. [1]
An emergency exit from the station leads to a Bessarion parkette on the southside of Sheppard and to the west of the station exit.
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[edit] Public art
The public art in the station, by Toronto artist Sylvie Belanger, is a frieze of hands, feet, and backs of heads, which represent the users of the station.[1] The feet images appear on the concourse level while the heads appear on the platform level. The hands images appear along the stairs between the Sheppard Avenue North Side entrance/exit and the concourse.
.JPG/120px-Inside_Bessarion_station_(concourse).JPG) images of feet greet passengers at the concourse level |
 backs of heads decorate a pillar on the platform |
 legs & feet, dog & boy |
[edit] Bus terminal and surface connections
There is no bus terminal at this station and the only bus route that connects with the station is the 85 Sheppard East bus, which runs along Sheppard. A transfer is required to connect to this surface route.
[edit] Parking lot
There are no commuter parking spaces at the station. The lots across from the station are for patrons of the nearby plaza. Most commuters to the station arrive by bus, dropped off or walking from nearby residences.
[edit] Future expansion
The station may be expanded if nearby houses are re-developed for high-rise residences or commercial development. The station's current growth is limited by existing residential and commercial properties on all four corners of the intersection at Bessarion and Sheppard.
 The south entrance and Concord developent site |
 View looking west |
 View from the south |
[edit] Film shoots
Bessarion station was used in a film shoot for a Minute Maid orange juice commercial in 2006. There are people waiting on the platform, peering down the tunnel to see an oversized orange rolling down the tracks. The platform edge bands which include next station information have been covered up and only the purple line shows.
