Sustainable station design nets Guildwood GO two awards
One of Toronto’s oldest train stations is also one of the greenest. Find out why.
Oct 6, 2021
GO trains aren’t the only green things at Guildwood GO station.
Guildwood is one of the oldest stations in the GO network – first opened in 1977 – but now boasts some of the most modern and sustainable amenities.
Not only has the station recently achieved Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification, Guildwood GO also recently won a 2021 Toronto Urban Design Award of Merit.
Guildwood is the first GO station featuring a green roof and atrium incorporated into the design.
The station’s ‘Kiss and Ride’ site is shown in this artist rendering. (Metrolinx image)
The green roof includes a rooftop pollinator garden, planted and designed with specific nectar and pollen producing plants. It attracts pollinating insects – including primarily bees and flies, but also butterflies, beetles, and hummingbirds.
A GO train pulls in, in this artist rendering. (Metrolinx image)
It’s not just birds and bees that benefit from the station. The Toronto Urban Design Awards jury says the station design creates a pleasant experience for commuters and has the potential to increase transit ridership because of it.
GO Bear recently paid a visit to Guildwood GO Station where a GO-VAXX mobile vaccine clinic was held. (Metrolinx photo)
Guildwood GO Station is no stranger to awards, in December 2019, shortly after the station improvements were finished, the station was honoured with two Ontario Concrete Awards; the 2019 Infrastructure Award, and the coveted Project of the Year for Excellence and Innovation.
GO’s green initiatives don’t stop here. The transit agency continues to add sustainable features like solar panels, secure bike parking, and green roofs as stations are upgraded.
by Stacey Kenny Metrolinx corporate communications manager
