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New Streetcars

W. K. Lis said:
Send an e-mail, snail mail, etc. to your newly elected/re-elected local Councilor, new Mayor, Premier of Ontario, etc. that you want to keep the streetcars in Toronto. The more correspondence the better.

Let them know you are concerned that public transit is being killed in favour of single-occupant cars and smaller capacity buses that will not be viable in the coming decades to come. Let them know that it is the single-occupant cars that cause traffic congestion, not streetcars. The cars in front of the streetcar who refuse to drive in the right lane or making illegal left turns are the main problem.
Click to expand...

The main problem on Queen st are actual LEGAL left turns. Very few streets have restricted left turns. Btw, Miller was quoted as saying it is politically impossible to ban the majority of left turns on Queen and only leaving them on major intersections. So if Miller wasn't able to do this, nobody will.
 
If Ford, or more likely his advisors, were really smart they would deny any plan to scrap the network, and appoint Adam Vaughan lead a task force to produce a very thorough report on how to manage the network better, to be delivered in, say, two years.
 
allabootmatt said:
If Ford, or more likely his advisors, were really smart they would deny any plan to scrap the network, and appoint Adam Vaughan lead a task force to produce a very thorough report on how to manage the network better, to be delivered in, say, two years.
Click to expand...

Indeed. It seems odd that Western Waterfront/Bremner LRT can accomplish his goals of reducing streetcars on Queen/King while making riders very happy.

Run half of king cars to Spadina then limited-stop along Bremner to Union. Same idea for Queen but perhaps use Dufferin. All of Lake Shore (Queensway) cars would go along WWLRT to Union.

It would be humorous if Pantalone's baby (he's been endorsing that one for a decade) was installed by Ford.


In fact, I think I will write Ford a letter suggesting this option to 1) save TTC operating expenses and 2) reduce the streetcar count on Queen and King streets.
 
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Some of this stuff is really easy to fix. Give TTC special powers to ticket/tow cars that impede their routes. Look at parking rules along the streetcar routes and eliminate it altogether if necessary. Fire any taxi driver caught waiting for fares on a streetcar route. Enforce the transit lane on King Street. Ban a bunch of left turns.

Queen & King are never going to be super fast routes, but they could be made far more reliable if the transportation department and the police would work with the TTC.
 
If we segregated the lanes that the streetcars run on on King and Queen and built curbs to block cars from entering them or poles or bollards, I'm sure they'd move beautifully. Who NEEDS to drive downtown anyway? I'm a driver, and I drive downtown sometimes, but I don't think it's necessary for any downtowner to be driving around there.
 
Filip said:
Now, obviously my only one ride option is the 501, and God forbid if that thing could move any slower once it hits Queen St. In 10 mins from my house I reach Roncesvalles...
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So, you like the LRT stretch of the 501? That bit along the Queensway is about the closest analog we'll have to transit city...
 
lafard said:
So, you like the LRT stretch of the 501? That bit along the Queensway is about the closest analog we'll have to transit city...
Click to expand...

As I said, I had nothing against other TC routes.. Waterfront West I was actually excited about - then they moved the completion date to the 2020s and I knew it wasn't going to happen. It's more important to give a big fuck you to the subway corridors first.
 
Filip said:
I really don't understand how you could fix the Queen car to be a viable choice for commuters.

Contrary to what some of you might believe, I don't drive (I have a licence, I just choose to take the TTC to the core unless I'm late for a meeting or going to the doctor's) and I live in Humber Bay Shores. Now, obviously my only one ride option is the 501, and God forbid if that thing could move any slower once it hits Queen St. In 10 mins from my house I reach Roncesvalles.. From there add 30-45 mins to reach Queen/University. Sometimes the streetcar just stops moving for 10 minutes and I get off and walk. Usually I beat it in that case.

I love the iconic streetcars, but at the same time I hate them.
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The problem isn't the streetcars, but the gridlock on the west-side of town. I'm on the east-side, and we just don't see the same level of congestion on the roads, until you are right downtown.

It's a tough problem ... really the only answer, apart from some new east-west arteries (finish Front to Dufferin perhaps?) is either making certain lanes street-car only; or grade separation.
 
Coruscanti Cognoscente said:
Good point. We should make all streetcar routes ROWs. No cars should be allowed in those lanes. Of course you'd have to make parking on those streets illegal since there'd only be one lane for cars. But it's fair.
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I agree. Basically automobiles and streetcars shouldn't mix. Remove the parking as you suggest, build ROWs for the TTC along Queen, King, Broadview, wherever streetcars are wanted.
 
Basically yeah. Traffic is barely moving anyway. If we ban cars from the streetcar lanes, at least the streetcars will be able to move with impunity and drivers see the steetcars actually moving while sitting in traffic and realize it's a better option. I really see no reason for mixed traffic operations on streets like King, Queen, Dundas, College, or at least every other line. Cars have Richmond and Adelaide and Wellington etc.
 
Parallel parking makes streets friendlier to pedestrians. You don't want all those pedestrians along Queen to get splashed by passing cars when it rains or when the snow melts, do you? So I don't think parking should be removed. And of course, it also screws over motorists since there is less parking space. Everyone loses.

The solution I see for King and Queen, which I have suggest here before, is to turn them into one way for general road traffic and remain two way for streetcars by moving the tracks to one side of each street. King and Queen are perfect for one way because of the way the converge on each other. The streetcars would have the ROW for two lanes and drivers/cyclists would have the ROW for one lane and for three lanes at intersections (using streetcar lane and parking lane for turning).

So Queen would be:
Code: 
<<<<<PARKING<<<<<
<<<<<GENERAL<<<<<
<<<<STREETCAR<<<<
>>>>STREETCAR>>>>

And King would be:
Code: 
<<<<STREETCAR<<<<
>>>>STREETCAR>>>>
>>>>>GENERAL>>>>>
>>>>>PARKING>>>>>

But of course on one side people will no longer be able to board the streetcar from the street, so boarding platforms would have to be built in the middle of the street on the far side of the intersections. But no on neither side will streetcars block traffic when letting passengers on.
 
That's the solution ... the city was supposed to trial this 2-3 years ago, before they got distracted with Transit City. And I guess it's kind of what what we are getting on Queens Quay West.

Wonder how many decades before we actually try the obvious solution.
 
doady said:
Parallel parking makes streets friendlier to pedestrians. You don't want all those pedestrians along Queen to get splashed by passing cars when it rains or when the snow melts, do you? So I don't think parking should be removed. And of course, it also screws over motorists since there is less parking space. Everyone loses.

The solution I see for King and Queen, which I have suggest here before, is to turn them into one way for general road traffic and remain two way for streetcars by moving the tracks to one side of each street. King and Queen are perfect for one way because of the way the converge on each other. The streetcars would have the ROW for two lanes and drivers/cyclists would have the ROW for one lane and for three lanes at intersections (using streetcar lane and parking lane for turning).

So Queen would be:
Code: 
<<<<<PARKING<<<<<
<<<<<GENERAL<<<<<
<<<<STREETCAR<<<<
>>>>STREETCAR>>>>

And King would be:
Code: 
<<<<STREETCAR<<<<
>>>>STREETCAR>>>>
>>>>>GENERAL>>>>>
>>>>>PARKING>>>>>

But of course on one side people will no longer be able to board the streetcar from the street, so boarding platforms would have to be built in the middle of the street on the far side of the intersections. But no on neither side will streetcars block traffic when letting passengers on.
Click to expand...


I don't like that idea as much. My idea is implementable right now and doesn't require any moving of streetcar tracks.

If you want to make it pedestrian friendly why not do it this way:

<<<<<STREETCAR<<<<<<<
<<<<<<CARS<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>>CARS>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>STREETCAR>>>>>>

Voila pedestrians are protected from splashing cars by streetcars.
 
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