At a time when the TTC is - again - raising fares to solve its budget problems, the time has surely come to get creative with cash and efficiency saving measures. While service cuts are righfully anathema to commuters, there is at least one service cut that should be enacted - it will certainly save money and, counterintuitive though it might seem, could actually improve service. The time has come to close the North/South section of Spadina station (Spadina-Lowther).

Ever since the demise of the travelator between the two sections, North/South Spadina has been a station without a purpose; passengers looking to switch lines from Bloor-Danforth to University-Spadina (or vice-versa) are invariably better off making the switch at St George St, even if it means seeing Spadina twice - a situation that could be avoided with the closing of Spadina-Lowther.

The saddest part though, is that Spadina-Lowther isn't even efficient at getting passengers to the rest of Spadina station. The other day, with an hour to spare, I timed my journey from Union station to the Spadina streetcar. By getting off at St George St and transferring for one stop to Spadina on the Bloor-Danforth (versus going straight to Spadina-Lowther) I actually managed to shave a minute off my travel time, once the hallway walk was taken into account.

In addition to the transfer and streetcar benefits to closing Spadina-Lowther, the closure would even aid travellers who never set foot in Spadina station. By eliminating a stop along the University-Spadina line, any passenger who is crossing Bloor St would have an extra two or three minutes lopped off their travel time by allowing the train to pass straight through, rather than having to stop and open its doors. Add to this the extra cash savings for the TTC by having one less station to heat and light, and the closure of Spadina-Lowther is a win-win situation for everybody.

The only major downside to the closing of Spadina-Lowther is that it would mean an end to the beautiful, if seldom used, Kendal Avenue entrance. However even this negative has an upside to it, as the building could be converted into a TTC transit museum, allowing a place for tourists and transit geeks alike to explore the history - and the future - of the Rocket.