SETAC – South Etobicoke Transit Action Committee

TTC Streetcar Stop Rationalization

The TTC is proposing to rationalize the placement of stops, with the goal of making streetcar stops safer, and reducing the need for vehicles to stop frequently at closely-spaced stops.

The full TTC proposal is here:

http://www3.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Commission_reports_and_information/Commission_meetings/2014/January_28/Reports/Improving_Pedestrian.pdf

Essentially this proposal affects various classes of stops:

  • Sunday stops. These are a holdover from the days of “Toronto The Good” where even operating streetcars on Sundays was considered a dubious undertaking.  These stops provided close access to churches, but they are primarily found in the older part of the system.  (There are a few special cases for use early on Sundays when the subway is closed.)  Sunday stops were eliminated when the St. Clair and Roncesvalles streetcar lines were rebuilt, and they will now be dropped throughout the system.
  • Some stops are not located at traffic signals or crosswalks, and these can take motorists unawares because they are not prepared to stop for other purposes.  The TTC would like to rationalize such stops to better locations.
  • Some stops are very close together for no evident reason, and the TTC proposes to consolidate stops.

What are your thoughts on eliminating some 501 Queen stops on the Lakeshore?

What about eliminating the 29th Street westbound stop, as it is only one block from the 30th Street east and westbound stops?

2 thoughts on “TTC Streetcar Stop Rationalization

  1. Ed

    TTC staff jumped the gun and removed the westbound and eastbound streetcar stops at 39th Street, even before this report was considered by the commission. (39th Street still has bus stops — it’s only the safety islands and the streetcar stops that have been removed.)

    This was done without consultation. Even Councillor Grimes was not in the loop. Normally, the Councillor has a lot of say in changes like this to a route’s stops. Not in this case!

    The posted notices on the stops said that “The TTC is placing streetcar stops at signalized intersections for rider safety.” However, Mitch Stambler’s presentation to the transit meeting indicated that the 39th Street stop was “too close to the next stop”. Councillor Grimes’ office wrote back that, not only were the stops “too close”, they were “lightly used”.

    As one of those “light users”, I am of course bitter than my local stop has been removed.

    Spacing out the stops seems like a good idea, until you realize that a lot of riders can already have a 500m or more walk just to get to Lake Shore Blvd. In my case, I have a 450m walk to Lake Shore, and now an extra 300m to the next stop at 37th.

    Will stop removal make for faster service? I would have to experience it to believe it. Right now, I don’t believe this.

    While the safety islands were being redone, all the curbside stops got handicap ramps for the new LFLRV streetcars that will be coming in a few years. Even stops which might fall under the “not at a signalized intersection, too close to another stop” have the ramps. In particular, eastbound and westbound stops at 15th Street, and the westbound stop at 29th Street. These three stops, and the eastbound stop at Summerhill Road, are ones that are likely gone as a result of any TTC stop elimination programme.

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