Updated June 13, 2024 at 8:00 am: A table comparing scheduled service levels on Queens Quay has been added.
Updated June 13, 2024 at 2:00 pm: A table comparing scheduled service levels on the 510 streetcar with proposed bus service has been added.
In April, I reported TTC plans to replace 510 Spadina Streetcars with buses from June 23 through the summer and fall. The TTC has now updated the announcement and extended the program from October into December. Here are the April (left) and June (right) versions of the maps for comparison.
The TTC’s construction notices can be found here:
The scope of work includes:
- Track reconstruction at Spadina Station
- Enabling works for Spadina Station Loop expansion. Condo construction east of the station will expose part of its structure, and the TTC will make provision for extending the streetcar loading platform.
- Overhead reconstruction from Spadina Station to College Street, and from King to Queens Quay.
There is no information about the segment from College to King which was omitted due to resource limitations according to the TTC. It is unclear whether there will be another shutdown in 2025 to finish the work. I await clarification on that issue from the TTC.
Buses will operate in mixed traffic, not on the streetcar right-of-way. According to the Transit Notice:
- The City will be deploying traffic wardens to assist bus operations on Spadina Avenue.
- Narrow lane width and centre overhead poles in certain sections preclude bus service on the streetcar right-of-way.
- Overhead crews will be actively working in the right-of-way in different sections of Spadina Avenue.
- Operating in both the streetcar right-of-way and in mixed traffic lanes would require new signals and
limit any travel time benefits.
Some of this does not entirely make sense. There are centre overhead poles only south of Front Street. No work is planned between College and King. It is not clear that completely new signals would be needed for buses to shift between the streetcar right-of-way and curb lanes, especially at College and at King where there are already priority signals for streetcar turns northbound and southbound. Some reprogramming would be necessary.
As for traffic wardens, they will be little use on lower Spadina where traffic is regularly backed up from the Gardiner Expressway. I would not be surprised to see many buses short turn at Adelaide rather than attempting the trip south to Queens Quay.
Service on 509 Harbourfront will be improved, but the details have not yet been published.
I will update this article as more information is available.
Comparison of Service Levels on Queens Quay
The table below shows the existing scheduled service on Queens Quay until June 22 with the 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina cars, and from June 23 with the revised 509 service. It is quite clear that there will be less service on Queens Quay from June 23 onward.
The values shown below are headways in minutes and seconds, and vehicles/hour e.g. “10′ (6)”.
| 509 Harbourfront to June 22 | 510 Spadina to June 22 | Combined 509/510 to June 22 | 509 Harbourfront effective June 23 | Percent Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | |||||
| AM Peak | 7’15” (8.4) | 10′ (6) | 4’10” (14.4) | 6′ (10) | -31% |
| Midday | 9’30” (6.3) | 10′ (6) | 4’53” (12.3) | 7′ (8.6) | -30% |
| PM Peak | 9’30” (6.3) | 10′ (6) | 4’53” (12.3) | 6′ (10) | -19% |
| Early Evening | 9’15” (6.5) | 10′ (6) | 4’48” (12.5) | 7′ (8.6) | -31% |
| Late Evening | 10′ (6) | 9’30” (6.3) | 4’53” (12.3) | 8′ (7.5) | -31% |
| Saturdays | |||||
| Early Morning | 8’30” (7.1) | 9’30” (6.3) | 4’49” (13.4) | 8’30” (7.1) | -47% |
| Late Morning | 9’15″(6.5) | 8’30” (7.1) | 4.25 (13.6) | 7′ (8.6) | -37% |
| Afternoon | 8’15” (7.3) | 7’45” (7.7) | 4′ (15) | 4′ (15) | Nil |
| Early Evening | 9’15” (6.5) | 5’15” (11.4) | 3’21” (17.9) | 7′ (8.6) | -52% |
| Late Evening | 10′ (6) | 9’30” (6.3) | 4’53” (12.3) | 8′ (7.5) | -39% |
| Sundays | |||||
| Early Morning | 15′ (4) | 15′ (4) | 7’30” (8) | 10′ (6) | -25% |
| Late Morning | 8’45” (6.9) | 9’45” (6.2) | 4’35” (13.1) | 7’30” (8) | -39% |
| Afternoon | 8’15” (7.3) | 9′ (6.7) | 4’17” (14) | 5′ (12) | -14% |
| Early Evening | 9’15” (6.5) | 6’15” (9.6) | 3’44” (16.1) | 7′ (8.6) | -46% |
| Late Evening | 10′ (6) | 9’30” (6.3) | 4’53” (12.3) | 8′ (7.5) | -39% |
Comparison of Service Levels on Spadina
The table below compares the existing streetcar service on 510 Spadina between Spadina Station and Queens Quay with the proposed level of bus service. Note that streetcars carry two to three times the load of a standard bus. Values are shown in minutes and seconds, with vehicles per hour in brackets.
| 510 Spadina to June 22 | 510B Spadina Bus effective June 23 | |
|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | ||
| AM Peak | 5′ (12) | 3’45” (16) |
| Midday | 5′ (12) | 3’30” (17.1) |
| PM Peak | 5′ (12) | 2’30” (24) |
| Early Evening | 5′ (12) | 3’30” (17.1) |
| Late Evening | 9’30” (6.3) | 6′ (10) |
| Saturdays | ||
| Early Morning | 9’30” (6.3) | 9′ (6.7) |
| Late Morning | 4’15” (14.1) | 2’45” (21.8) |
| Afternoon | 3’52” (15.5) | 2’45” (21.8) |
| Early Evening | 5’15” (11.4) | 4′ (15) |
| Late Evening | 9’30” (6.3) | 5′ (12) |
| Sundays | ||
| Early Morning | 15′ (4) | 9′ (6.7) |
| Late Morning | 4’53” (12.3) | 3′ (20) |
| Afternoon | 4’30” (13.3) | 3′ (20) |
| Early Evening | 6’15” (9.6) | 4′ (15) |
| Late Evening | 9’30” (6.3) | 6′ (10) |
Steve Munro 
The new GTFS came out yesterday and it shows midday service on the 509 increasing from 9-10 minutes to 6-7 minutes.
Steve: Thanks for checking that. I have added a table comparing the combined 509/510 services before June 23 with the 509 service after.
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Given the Spadina bus congestion is worst south of College, wouldn’t it make sense to expedite the work south of King to the summer months and restore service to Bathurst station via College as early as possible?
Or defer the southern work until the King to College work is done?
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If I read this right, seems like there could be a Spadina Station Loop expansion at a later date, just not this year. So we can expect a later situation where loop will have to be closed to expand it. Over a course of several months, not over a weekend like they do in other countries.
Steve: All necessary work should occur “behind the curtain” in new space to be opened up in this round of construction. In theory.
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Do you know what division is doing the 510?
Steve: Eglinton and Mount Dennis.
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Steve: There is no information about the segment from College to King which was omitted due to resource limitations according to the TTC. It is unclear whether there will be another shutdown in 2025 to finish the work. I await clarification on that issue from the TTC.
Nfitz: Given the Spadina bus congestion is worst south of College, wouldn’t it make sense to expedite the work south of King to the summer months and restore service to Bathurst station via College as early as possible?Or defer the southern work until the King to College work is done?
Last summer, my lady & I were walking downtown and picked up a streetcar on westbound King being rerouted to Spadina station, just what we needed. However, as the car approached College, it was announced that because of an incident at Harbord the car was diverting to Bathurst station. So, I know firsthand that that route is feasible.
Therefore, except for when there are overhead repairs right at King and/or College intersections, cannot the Spadina car keep running between Bathurst station and Charlotte loop/King? Spadina has its heaviest passenger loads north of King.
Steve: This is far too sensible a question. I am still waiting to hear from TTC about the timing of work between College and King.
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The map shows the south loop of the 510B replacement bus via Lake Shore Blvd W and Dan Leckie Way. The turn from Spadina to Lake Shore westbound is the same as for the Gardiner onramp, and that’s notoriously clogged with cars.
I take this to mean that the right-of-way loop at Spadina and Queens Quay will be closed for overhead reconstruction such that even buses will be unable to pass, and TTC is either unwilling or unable to timebox this work on ~200 metres of overhead to anything less than six months. Sorry but the only thing that comes to mind is… LOL.
Steve: Yes. There does not appear to be a lot of thought put into alternate configurations of the route including simply abandoning service between King and Queens Quay, or trying to run something along Bremner (which would have its own problems). The idea of staging the work to keep streetcars operating on part of the route seems to conflict with the TTC’s love for just shutting a route down and sending out flocks of buses at great cost which can be billed against the capital project, not the operating budget.
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Thanks for all of your work, Steve!
I don’t quite understand the scope of this work that is supposed to take six months.
If memory serves, the track at Spadina Stn was replaced in 2012, wasn’t it? Any idea why it has to be redone a mere 12 years after? Wasn’t it supposed to last 25 years or so?
On the subject of the overhead: the tangent wire is already pantograph compatible and has been so for years.
The tangent wire is also relatively new and has been replaced not too many years ago. And I have also noticed the frogs have already been removed at the junctions with College, Dundas and Queen Streets (making the overhead pantograph-only, essentially), but it seems like those intersections are not even within the scope of this year’s work.
So what exactly needs to be done to the overhead that requires a six-month shutdown?
Steve: The extra work is, I think, mainly for the platform expansion at Spadina Station. I am no sure what trackwork is involved, and as you say it is relatively new. Although the overhead is pan-friendly, the final stage of the conversion is to convert to self-tensioning overhead and to remove tha hybrid mode frogs at intersections. That will affect not just the 510 but the intersecting routes. All that said, the pace does appear to be leisurely.
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If public transit had real priority in this city, they would have banned on-street parking on Spadina and put in temporary bus only lanes along the curb lanes.
They could do the same with subway and streetcar shutdowns, banning on-street parking and putting in temporary bus only lanes along the curb lanes.
However, the single-occupant motor vehicle is king in Toronto, so we can’t do that. The powers-that-be look at a streetcar, subway train, or bus as a single vehicle, not the number of people inside them.
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