Spadina Car

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Harbourfront Overhead Reconstruction

The TTC has announced that streetcar service will be suspended, in part, over the 509 Harbourfront and part of 511 Bathurst at various times between Tuesday, September 3 and January 2025. This will allow the reconstruction and upgrading of the overhead system between Union Station and Exhibition Loop to be fully pantograph-compliant.

Information is posted in three separate items on the TTC site with the first being the most extensive.

The work will be done in three stages:

  • Stage 1: September-Early October 2024
    • Overhead work will concentrate on the area from Spadina eastward.
    • 509 Harbourfront cars will be replaced by buses between Union Station and Exhibition.
    • Buses will use the streetcar right-of-way eastbound between Spadina and York, stopping at the curb at other locations, and at all stops westbound.
    • At Queens Quay Station, buses will serve the existing surface stops used by other routes.
    • At Union Station, buses will drop off on the southeast corner of Front & Bay, and pick up on Bay south of Front.
  • Stage 2: Early October to Late November 2024
    • Work will shift to the section between Spadina and Bathurst.
    • 509 Harbourfront streetcars will operate between Union Station and Spadina.
    • 510 Spadina buses will be extended west to Exhibition Place.
  • Stage 3: Late November 2024 to January 2025
    • Work will move to the section west of Bathurst.
    • 509 Harbourfront streetcars will continue to operate between Union Station and Spadina.
    • 510 Spadina buses will continue to run to the Exhibition.
    • 511 Bathurst streetcars will operate to Union Station instead of to the Exhibition.

In theory, based on the planned end date for work on 510 Spadina, everything should be back to normal just after New Year’s.

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510 Spadina: Buses vs Streetcars Jan-July 2024

In a previous article, I reviewed travel times for the bus and streetcar operations on 510 Spadina Avenue at the north and south ends of the route where severe traffic congestion made bus operation extremely difficult. The north end problem resolved itself first with a diversion, then at least partly with completion of construction on Bloor Street, but the south end required a reserved bus lane to bypass the traffic queue for the Gardiner Expressway on ramp.

With all the attention on these areas, a separate factor is often overlooked in comparing the services: when and where there is little or no congestion, the buses are faster than the streetcars in spite of the “transit priority” treatment with dedicated lanes. The problem lies in a combination of different stopping patterns, traffic signals that do not favour streetcars, and operational practices requiring streetcars to creep through intersections.

This is the daily experience of regular riders on Spadina, and it is a “dirty little secret” that factors conspire to undermine the quality and speed of streetcar service. This is both a City and TTC problem because responsibility for road design and streetcar operations rest with the two organizations.

Updated August 11 at 2:20 pm: Charts have been added at the end comparing streetcar travel times over the central portion of the Spadina route in September 2014 and May 2024. The differences reflect both loading times, acceleration and operating practices of the former CLRVs compared to the current Flexitys,

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Analysis of 510 Spadina Bus: July 2024

In a previous article, I reviewed the transition from streetcar to bus operation on 510 Spadina in mid-June. Since then, the route saw other changes:

The reserved lane has greatly reduced delays at the south end of the route, albeit at the expense of road capacity.

This article presents travel times over various segments of Spadina from Bloor Street to Queens Quay during July 2024 to show the effect of the changing route configuration.

A key factor evident in the tracking data is that congestion occurs outside of the peak periods, and not necessarily in the same way each day. It can be tempting to cherry pick the afternoon peak as a worst case target, but that does not solve all problems. The extent of congestion also varies, and transit priority must be on a sufficient scale to deal with the bad days, not simply to improve conditions a bit over a short distance.

What is quite clear is that the City and TTC reaction to congestion problems gave the impression of surprise rather than preparedness, and that weeks of delays for riders could have been avoided or at least reduced in severity at both ends of the route.

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TTC Board Meeting: July 17, 2024

The July 17 Board meeting was extraordinarily long thanks to three in camera items, plus extended discussions of the CEO’s Report and of use of buses as homeless shelters during the winter.

The confidential session dealt with:

  • A collective bargaining update for two small groups of customer service and operations supervisor employees.
  • An update on advice from External Counsel. On a recorded vote, this was adopted with all Board members except Councillor Saxe in favour. As of the publication of this article (July 28), there have been no leaks about the subject of this report.
  • An update on the fare modernization program including the status of the Presto contract. The report was also discussed briefly in the public session later in the meeting.

The public meeting included:

  • The July 16 storm, flooding and hardening of infrastructure against climate change.
  • New subway trains and federal funding announced earlier the same day (July 17).
  • Prioritization of State of Good Repair projects. This item received scant attention although the report contains much interesting background on capital plans.
  • Safety on the TTC.
  • Use of shelter buses.
  • Transit network expansion update.
  • Fare Compliance Action Plan: See the updated version of my previous article on this report which includes the debate at the Board meeting.

Not discussed was the issue of hydraulic fluid leaks from subway work cars of which one quarter are still out of service. A report is supposed to be coming to the Board soon. It is not clear how much this situation is affecting the TTC’s ability to stay on top of track maintenance issues and the growing list of slow orders for track that cannot be safely operated at full speed.

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Spadina Replacement Bus Shifts to St. George Station

The City of Toronto will be closing the intersection of Spadina and Bloor to all traffic from 5am Monday, July 15 to 5am Monday, July 22 for complete reconstruction. This is the west end of a project that has been working its way along Bloor Street for months.

TTC bus service will divert to St. George Station. Whether this will alleviate the bus congestion at the north end of the route remains to be seen.

Because this is a non-standard route, transit prediction apps will not work for locations off of Spadina, and southbound predictions will only work for stops and buses that are south of Harbord.

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Reserved Bus Lanes for Spadina?

Updated July 11 at 4:20 pm: The TTC has confirmed that planned overhead replacement on Bathurst shown on TOInview will not occur. They also confirmed that 2025 work on the west half of 506 Carlton will be done in stages, but have no further details at this point.

In response to the snafu with Spadina bus operations and traffic backlogs for the Gardiner Expressway, Toronto & East York Council has approved a proposal to implement a reserved bus lane between Queen Street and Queens Quay southbound. This must go to the full Toronto Council at its meeting of July 24.

The west curb lane would have all parking and cabstand space removed south of Queen. It would be reserved for transit vehicle and bicycles except for areas 30.5 metres north of King Street, Front Street and Fort York Boulevard which would be south-to-west right turn lanes. Between Richmond and Queen, stopping would be permitted outside of peak periods.

Speaking on CBC’s Metro Morning, Deputy Mayor Malik, sponsor of the motion, noted that planning for this type of event must substantially improve. The TTC was clearly caught out by the level of congestion on Spadina, something anyone who ventures downtown would know about. This did not appear overnight. A further question about the reserved lane proposal, which will be in effect at all hours, not just for the PM peak period, is how it will be enforced and what effect it will have on traffic feeding into this area.

A larger problem remains with the TTC’s planning for construction projects, and especially for streetcar replacements. In recent years, they have seemed quite willing to suspend service for extended periods in the interest of getting a lot of work done with a single closure. In practice, some of these have gone on far longer than they should have, and there have lengthy periods without any visible work.

The work on Spadina between King and Queens Quay, and later between College and Bloor, involves rebuilding the streetcar overhead to be fully pantograph compliant, as opposed to a hybrid pole/panto system. Some streetcar track repairs are likely during the streetcar replacement. This work should not take six months, the planned Spadina closure. This was originally announced as running only to October, but now to December. At Spadina Station the first stage of streetcar platform extension will occur taking advantage of excavation for a nearby condo project.

The City’s infrastructure plan viewer, TOInview, shows two other pending overhead replacement projects.

  • In 2024, Bathurst Street from Fleet to St. Clair
  • In 2025, College Street from Dundas to Yonge

Updated July 11 at 4:20 pm:

I asked the TTC if/when these projects will occur, and they advised that Bathurst will not be done in 2024. TOinview will be updated. College will be done in sections in 2025, but no further details are available yet.

It is not clear why at least the north end of Bathurst was not rebuilt while the St. Clair line was shut down for its own conversion and other projects along that route. This would have allowed streetcars to be based at Hillcrest as they were during previous roadworks on Bathurst. Do riders on St. Clair face another round of bus substitution?

College Street went through its own gyrations with substitute bus service during track replacement not long ago.

Many years have passed since the TTC streetcar system was entirely operating with streetcars, and the TTC seems to be happy to have some part of the network out of service almost all of the time. It certainly is not a question of vehicle availability, although their staffing is probably at a level where they could not field full streetcar service. This has implications for streetcar service levels generally, and for the resources more-or-less permanently “borrowed” from the bus network.

Consultation for the TTC’s 2025 Service Plan is about to get underway, and one topic planned for this is “construction”. Indeed, “doing diversions differently” is one goal of the current plan. On Spadina, that looks like an “own goal”.

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510 Spadina Bus Modified Diversion Tracking

Southbound 510 Spadina bus operations changed on July 8. Between 3 and 7pm on weekdays, buses do not operate south to Queens Quay, but instead loop east on Front, then south and west on Blue Jays Way to Spadina.

The charts presented here were generated by Darwin O’Connor’s TransSee website. Basic functions of that site are available free, and some chargeable features are free for Toronto streetcar routes. O’Connor uses the NextBus data feed as his source on a real time basis whereas the analyses I publish here use a monthly data extract provided to me by the TTC from their Vision system.

This article will be updated from time to time to show the evolution of travel times on the 510 Spadina replacement bus operation.

There are two locations of interest where congestion occurs:

  • Southbound approaching Front Street
  • Northbound approaching Bloor Street

Updated July 16 at 6:50am: Data for July 15 added.

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510 Streetcars vs Buses: June 2024

With the June 23, 2024 schedule change, streetcars were replaced with buses running from Spadina Station at Bloor to Queens Quay. Buses operated in the regular traffic lanes, not on the streetcar right-of-way.

To no surprise, during periods when Spadina Avenue is congested, primarily with traffic queued for the westbound Gardiner Expressway ramp at Lake Shore, the buses made glacial progress. This was not, however, the only place where buses were delayed by traffic.

The TTC has announced that it will change the south end loop in an attempt to speed service during the PM peak. No buses will operate between Blue Jays Way and Queens Quay, but instead they will loop via Front eastbound, then south and west via Blue Jays Way to Spadina. Traffic Wardens will assist with the turn at Front Street.

However, the congestion on the south end of Spadina can extend north to King and sometimes beyond Queen Street. It is not clear whether the new loop will address much of the problem. Buses will not be using the streetcar right-of-way, even though it has no centre poles north of Bremner Blvd. to bypass the traffic jam.

The TTC advises that this is an interim arrangement, and that they are working with the City on further, unspecified, changes to the bus operation.

It’s Not Just the Gardiner

An effect unexpected by some, I am sure, was that at uncongested parts and times, the buses make faster trips than the streetcars had only a week before the changeover. Anyone who rides the 510 Spadina car will know of their glacial progress through intersections thanks to the system wide slow order on all special trackwork. Spadina has many intersections. This type of pervasive delay is seen all over the streetcar system, but is worst on rights-of-way where one would expect streetcars to operate as quickly as possible.

Buses have a further advantage in that they are stopping nearside, and therefore can serve stops while awaiting a green signal, and then leave without a second farside stop.

The absence of priority with extended green phases for Spadina transit service affects the modes differently because an extended green would allow streetcars to reach their stops before a signal turns against them. Even if bus is caught on the nearside of an intersection, it will be stopping to serve passengers.

The left turn phase for auto traffic that blocks streetcars also blocks buses, and so this particular delay is common to both modes.

In addition to congestion at the south end of the route, buses also encounter problems during some periods approaching Bloor Street northbound.

The remainder of this article reviews travel times and service reliability on the main part of the 510 Spadina route over June 2024. (There is a companion article about the return of streetcars replacing buses on 512 St. Clair.)

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TTC Updates and Extends Spadina 510 Bus Replacement

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 22510 Spadina to June 22Combined 509/510 to June 22509 Harbourfront effective June 23Percent Change
Weekdays
AM Peak7’15” (8.4)10′ (6)4’10” (14.4)6′ (10)-31%
Midday9’30” (6.3)10′ (6)4’53” (12.3)7′ (8.6)-30%
PM Peak9’30” (6.3)10′ (6)4’53” (12.3)6′ (10)-19%
Early Evening9’15” (6.5)10′ (6)4’48” (12.5)7′ (8.6)-31%
Late Evening10′ (6)9’30” (6.3)4’53” (12.3)8′ (7.5)-31%
Saturdays
Early Morning8’30” (7.1)9’30” (6.3)4’49” (13.4)8’30” (7.1)-47%
Late Morning9’15″(6.5)8’30” (7.1)4.25 (13.6)7′ (8.6)-37%
Afternoon8’15” (7.3)7’45” (7.7)4′ (15)4′ (15)Nil
Early Evening9’15” (6.5)5’15” (11.4)3’21” (17.9)7′ (8.6)-52%
Late Evening10′ (6)9’30” (6.3)4’53” (12.3)8′ (7.5)-39%
Sundays
Early Morning15′ (4)15′ (4)7’30” (8)10′ (6)-25%
Late Morning8’45” (6.9)9’45” (6.2)4’35” (13.1)7’30” (8)-39%
Afternoon8’15” (7.3)9′ (6.7)4’17” (14)5′ (12)-14%
Early Evening9’15” (6.5)6’15” (9.6)3’44” (16.1)7′ (8.6)-46%
Late Evening10′ (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 22510B Spadina Bus effective June 23
Weekdays
AM Peak5′ (12)3’45” (16)
Midday5′ (12)3’30” (17.1)
PM Peak5′ (12)2’30” (24)
Early Evening5′ (12)3’30” (17.1)
Late Evening9’30” (6.3)6′ (10)
Saturdays
Early Morning9’30” (6.3)9′ (6.7)
Late Morning4’15” (14.1)2’45” (21.8)
Afternoon3’52” (15.5)2’45” (21.8)
Early Evening5’15” (11.4)4′ (15)
Late Evening9’30” (6.3)5′ (12)
Sundays
Early Morning15′ (4)9′ (6.7)
Late Morning4’53” (12.3)3′ (20)
Afternoon4’30” (13.3)3′ (20)
Early Evening6’15” (9.6)4′ (15)
Late Evening9’30” (6.3)6′ (10)
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TTC Plans Buses on 510 Spadina June-October 2024

The TTC has announced plans for construction projects that will require replacement of streetcars by buses on 510 Spadina starting June 23 until October 2024.

In June and July, overhead will be rebuilt between King and Queens Quay. This will not affect route 509 Harbourfront, and service on that route will be increased to offset the missing 510 Spadina cars on Queens Quay.

In August through October, overhead work will shift to the section from College to Spadina Station.

At Spadina Station, track will be replaced and other work will be done in preparation for a platform extension that will be enabled by excavation for a nearby condo.

There is no word on plans for the overhead between College and King, or whether another shutdown will be required for that segment.

Both the 510 daytime and 310 night buses will operate in mixed traffic stopping curbside along their route. Buses will use the surface loop at Spadina Station.