TORONTO — It’s going to be a bigger, better and much more convenient Toronto Pearson Airport, one that the CBC has dubbed “a second Union Station.”

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) has released new images of a proposed new transit centre, which will be located across from Pearson’s Terminals 1 and 3 and opened by the year 2027. If approved, the centre will potentially connect a number of transit lines that are already in development or have been proposed by the government, including: Eglinton Crosstown West LRT; Mississauga Bus Rapid Transit; Finch West LRT; Regional Express Rail on the Kitchener line; and the Province of Ontario’s High-Speed Rail concept.

In addition to serving as a regional transportation hub, it would also be home to airport passenger processing, including security screening. The vision for the area around the transit centre calls for improved streetscapes through sidewalks, landscaping and improved lighting.

“By the time New York and Chicago were the size that Toronto is today, they each had at least two major transportation hubs,” said Howard Eng, President and CEO of the GTAA. “Now is the time to ensure that better transit options are in place; otherwise we risk squandering the significant opportunities that are part and parcel of the exciting growth that the airport, the city and the region are experiencing.”

Eng presented the new designs yesterday at the Brampton Board of Trade’s State of the City event. The GTAA has held preliminary discussions with all levels of government to raise awareness about the opportunity for the regional transit centre. It anticipates continued planning discussions throughout the year.

A vision for what the connecting point for network of #transit lines & highways could look like at @torontopearson #SOTCBrampton pic.twitter.com/8Omodu1RSz

— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) February 7, 2017