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Alternatives to the King Streetcar?

U

Urban Newbie

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Hey all:

I'm going to re-post this in its own thread.

I'm curious to hear impressions of the 509 Harbourfront route.

For someone living in Liberty Village who works right downtown, is this a good alternative to the King Streetcar? (Which I'm trying to avoid at all costs!)

Anyone know how long the entire loop takes, from Exhibition to Union?

The King car can take upwards of 30-40 mins from King and Church to Strachan. Bleah.

Any other alternatives to the King car you might recommend other than the 509?

Thanks,
UN
 
You can try the 501 (Queen) but I hear that one's the worst of them all. When the weather is nice, cycling (or walking, even) may be an option for you. You may want to look at GO, which stops at Exhibition and takes about 4 minutes to get from there to Union. Frequency sucks but if you time your commutes, it could really work for you.
 
Thanks for the tips, man. Walking and biking are definitely my good-weather options. I'm just planning for crap-o weather time too.

Re: Exhibition GO - do you know if that station is accessible from Liberty Village, north of the tracks? Or would someone have to walk around on Strachan?
 
It's right at the foot of atlantic ave... and yes you can get to it from the north side.

if I were you I would just hop on the go to union... probably would never get checked for tickets either
 
gei said:
if I were you I would just hop on the go to union... probably would never get checked for tickets either
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be surprised! They never seem to check on even the long routes. What are the chances of getting dinged in the seven minutes you're on board??
 
Urban Newbie said:
Thanks for the tips, man. Walking and biking are definitely my good-weather options. I'm just planning for crap-o weather time too.

Re: Exhibition GO - do you know if that station is accessible from Liberty Village, north of the tracks? Or would someone have to walk around on Strachan?
Click to expand...
N/M
 
The GO Exhibition is definitely the fastest way to get to Union but less frequent and more costly. 509 is definitely faster than the Queen and King but it doesn't show up as frequently... I can see that changing when all the developments on Fleet street and in Liberty Village are done.
 
Urban Newbie said:
Hey all:

I'm going to re-post this in its own thread.

I'm curious to hear impressions of the 509 Harbourfront route.
Click to expand...

The big question is how easily can you access it? You live in Liberty Village, can you access Exhibition Loop, possibly by walking to Exhibition GO station and crossing beneath the tracks? The streetcar loop is right beside the station. If so, you may be in luck.

The 509 Harbourfront route is increasing in ridership and frequency, thanks to the condo boom enroute, and the line offers a trip to Union that's on a completely reserved right-of-way. It's about a twenty minute trip. The drawback is that, outside of summer, it doesn't always operate at all times of the day. Late evening service in the winter time is often cut. Service is also more frequent in summer than winter, as this is a route that caters more to the tourists.

If you can't access Exhibition loop easily, your other bet is to walk to Strachan Avenue and down to the stop at the Strachan and Fleet. I don't know how long of a walk that will be for you.

In the near future, there is some hope that the situation will improve, as the TTC considers extending this line on private right-of-way west to Dufferin Loop and beyond, to the King/Roncesvalles intersection. This, combined with improvements to the tracks along Lake Shore Boulevard, will give southern Etobicoke residents a reserved right-of-way run to Union, bypassing the congestion on Queen and King. Liberty Village and Parkdale should benefit from this, with stops at Strachan, Exhibition loop, Dufferin Loop and Jameson. There is also the idea of getting to Union quicker, using an abandoned rail right-of-way beneath the Gardiner to access Bremner Boulevard for an express run, bypassing the stops and stoplights of Queen's Quay.

Hope this helps,
James
 
Urban Newbie said:
I wouldn't be surprised! They never seem to check on even the long routes. What are the chances of getting dinged in the seven minutes you're on board??
Click to expand...

When I used to ride the Lakeshore West line a while back I noticed that most often they would check tickets between Exhibition and Union. I guess that way they can check everyone who boarded. However, I never saw them check tickets during rush hour or late at night. I'd say you are at most risk of being checked in the late morning/early afternoon, but that's all anecdotal.

I would buy a ticket just to be on the safe side.
 
gei said:
if I were you I would just hop on the go to union... probably would never get checked for tickets either
Click to expand...

What a great idea! Why don't we all evade fares and just ride the system for free? Why have I fallen into the [stupid] honourable trap of paying for tickets, which even once led me to miss a Viva bus because I was in a rush. Oh, right, because if we treated every public asset with such self-interested callousness, there wouldn't be a public asset to begin with. Thanks a lot, Garrett Hardin!

Where's fiendish when you need him?
 
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