Leslie station opened for public viewing on November 22, 2002, along with the rest of the Sheppard subway line and for revenue service on November 24, 2002.[4]
On December 22, 2016, this station and Coxwell were the last subway stations to be equipped with Presto card readers.[5]
Station description
Mezzanine level of the station
The station is on three levels. The bus platforms are on the upper level at Old Leslie Street, with an automatic accessible entrance. The concourse and collector are at an intermediate level, where the main fully accessible entrance is located on the south side of Sheppard Avenue East west of Leslie Street. There is a secondary automatic accessible entrance at the corner of Leslie Street directly to the easterly end of the subway platform, which is at the lowest level.[6]
The station features 102 spaces of commuter parking.[7] Cost is $7 per day or $2 per hour from 5:00 am to 2:00 am daily. As with all TTC lots, no overnight parking is allowed between 2:00 am and 5:00 am.[1]
Architecture and art
Lexier's Ampersand
The public art in the station, entitled Ampersand and created by Canadian artist Micah Lexier, consists of 17,000 ceramic tiles, each with a printed ampersand between the words "Sheppard" and "Leslie", based on 3,400 different pieces of handwriting from the community collected in 1997.
According to the artist's statement posted in the station, this piece of artwork "acknowledges the duality of being both an individual and part of a larger community." This piece can be seen on both the concourse and platform levels, including the bus terminal.
Subway infrastructure in the vicinity
Exterior of the stationEnclosed bridge over the Don River
Just east of the station, the line emerges from the subway tunnel to cross the Don River East Branch on a fully enclosed bridge, then returns into the tunnel. West of the station, the subway continues through its tunnels into Bessarion station.
Blue Night service; westbound to Sheppard–Yonge station and eastbound to Meadowvale Road
A bus terminal, located one level above the concourse, is integrated with Leslie station. Although the terminal is quite spacious and has several bus bays, it currently only serves the 51 Leslie route. The 85 Sheppard East route can only be boarded on the street with a valid transfer.
GO Transit
Leslie station is located north of Oriole Station on GO Transit's Richmond Hill line, but they are not adjacent. No action has yet been taken on proposals to relocate the GO Station to connect directly with the subway. Passengers wishing to transfer to the GO Station are directed to the exit outside the bus terminal; a short walk to the intersection of Old Leslie Street and Esther Shiner Boulevard brings pedestrians to a walkway which connects to the north end of the GO platform.
^"Subway ridership, 2023-2024"(PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved November 12, 2024. This table shows the typical number of customer-boardings made on each subway line and the number of customers travelling to and from each station platform on a typical weekday in Sep 2023-Aug 2024.
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