Day: October 15, 2013

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Once Upon a Time in Scarborough

Mike Filey passed along to me a clipping from the Toronto Star of June 29, 1977.

A high-speed streetcar line providing service between the Scarborough Town Centre and the Bloor-Danforth subway has been approved by Metro Council.

The $108.7-million line … was approved on a 23-8 vote.

Streetcars on a separate right-of-way should make the trip in about 15 minutes.

The cost of this route was to be shared 75-25 between Queen’s Park and Toronto.

It is no secret that this line was not built, nor was the planned extension to what is now Malvern Centre.  Instead, Queen’s Park, always happy to meddle in Toronto’s transit planning, strong-armed Toronto and the TTC into changing to the technology we now have on the RT at a cost, by the time the line was finished, of about $240m.  The hope for low-cost transit expansion was dashed by a technology that was almost as expensive as a subway.

The network that might have sprung from this to serve Scarborough and other suburbs never materialized.  Instead, we have endured 36 years of arguments about where we can afford to put our next subway lines, one at a time.

Premier Bill Davis may have said that the city is for people, not for cars, but he did bugger all to advance that position by making Toronto a showcase for a failed transit technology rather than a burgeoning network that grew along with and shaped its suburbs.

Scarborough LRT Study, April 1977, Excerpts

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TTC Service Changes Effective November 24 and December 22, 2013

Most of the service changes in November and December relate to construction projects that will wind down this fall.

Effective November 24, 2013

Bathurst Street Toronto Water work

The 511 Bathurst service will return to streetcar operation.  A special schedule for 512 St. Clair that kept mid-day service at peak levels (because the extra cars could not return to Roncesvalles Carhouse) will be replaced with the normal schedule.

Sterling/Dundas track and overhead work

The scheduled short turn of 505 Dundas, 506 Carlton and 306 Carlton Night services at Lansdowne will end and all service will run through to the usual destinations for these routes.

Dufferin Street paving

29 Dufferin will resume its normal route between College and Queen with the completion of paving north of Queen.

Dufferin Bridge

The Dufferin bridge at the CNE remains closed and all operations to Princes’ Gates have been dropped from the schedules.  This reduces the number of vehicles in service during certain periods.

Metrolinx construction

Service relief buses will be provided on 32 Eglinton West to compensate for construction delays with the LRT project.  A revised schedule will be implemented in January 2014.

Additional running time will be added on 59 Maple Leaf to compensate for work on the GO Transit grade separation in Weston.

Since August 19, 2013, 63 Ossington has looped at Eglinton Avenue rather than Eglinton West Station to avoid construction work.  This is expected to last until late November.

Lawrence West Station construction

Construction at Lawrence West Station required buses on many routes to be extended to Lawrence Station.  The following routes will now revert to their normal eastern terminus:   52C Lawrence West/Culford, 58 Malton, 59 Maple Leaf.  The 400 Lawrence Manor community bus will resume serving Lawrence West Station at the west end of its route.

Ossington Avenue trackwork

Service on 63 Ossington and 316 Ossington Night Bus will revert to Ossington Avenue between College and Dundas with the completion of the track replacement project.  Additional running time added for the diversion will be removed, but service improvements from August and September 2013 schedules will remain.

Updated:  Through service on Ossington resumed on October 28.

Queensway overhead work

In October, services on 501 Queen, 508 Lake Shore and 301 Queen Night Car were cut back to Humber Loop for streetcar island reconstruction on Lake Shore.  Starting in late November, the TTC will rebuild the overhead on The Queensway and these services will turn back from Sunnyside Loop.

The 301/501 Queen Shuttle bus will be extended east from Humber Loop via The Queensway and King to Dufferin Loop.  Service will operate every 6 minutes during peak periods, and every 6-10 minutes at other times (except for 30 minute night service).

The work is not expected to require the entire schedule period, and streetcar service will return to Humber Loop when possible.

Seasonal Changes

The Sunday/Holiday service to the Brick Works via 28A Davisville should have ended at the start of September, but this was missed in schedule changes at that time.  Saturday service is not affected.

Service to Canada’s Wonderland ends on Sunday October 27 after which buses on 165 Weston Road North will turn back at Major Mackenzie Drive.  The change will be formally in the schedule as of November 24.

Standby buses and streetcars will be provided across the system to handle demand due to Christmas shopping as needed.

Effective December 22, 2013

Kingston Road construction

Streetcar service on routes 502 Downtowner and 503 Kingston Road will resume to Bingham Loop.  The weekday extension of 22A Coxwell to Bingham will be dropped, and 22 Coxwell will operate as normal between Danforth and Queen.

Additional service on 12 Kingston Road, 64 Main, 69 Warden South, 92 Woodbine South that was provided during construction will be removed.

Lake Shore construction

Streetcar service on 501 Queen, 508 Lake Shore and 301 Queen Night Car will resume to Long Branch Loop.

Warden Avenue construction in York Region

68 Warden will revert, mostly, to the May 2013 schedules as provision for road work by York Region is no longer required.  Saturday late evening headways improved to 16’15” in September 2013, and this change will remain in place.

Christmas and New Year

For the two weeks of the holiday period, summer schedules will operate on weekdays except where these are holidays.  No school trips will be scheduled, but extra service using standby vehicles will be provided on many days.

The late night closing times for the Yonge Subway vary depending on the nature of each day.

Because of New Year celebrations downtown, the 501 Queen car will divert via Church, King and Spadina after 11:00 pm on December 31.  Extra service will be provided on 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina.

Service to the Zoo will be extended until 10:00 pm.

2013.12_Holiday_Summary