News   Dec 20, 2024
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Streetcar Tracks on Adelaide

Random but it's crazy to see how long some of the streetcar tracks have been in the road despite being abandoned in the 50's or 60's

Walking down Neville Park Blvd one can still find a some of the abandoned Neville Park Wye still embedded in the roadway too
 
From July 18 - ongiong work at Queen and York Streets intersection.

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Sleeping sleepers:

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Track rails waiting installation:

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July 2024: Construction Update​

The new cycle track on the north side of Adelaide Street from York Street to Victoria Street has been installed and most of the protected eastbound left-turn phases for motor vehicles are now operational. The left-turn phases improve traffic flow for left-turning motor vehicle movements and eliminate potential conflicts between pedestrians and people cycling.

Line painting adjustments and activation of the only remaining cycling traffic signal at the York Street and Adelaide Street West intersection are still pending and are expected to be completed in the next few weeks.

Ongoing work to install underground Toronto Hydro cables (cable pulling) will continue until the end of the year. This work will require intermittent lane closures around the Toronto Hydro vaults. This work will occur during off-peak hours.


TTC Overhead Work​

Before streetcars can safely operate on Adelaide Street West (and York Street) as part of the Queen Streetcar Diversion (QSD), TTC crews have to install overhead wiring to power the streetcars.

TTC crews have started installing overhead wiring on Adelaide Street West. This work will continue into fall 2024.

If you want to receive updates about the TTC's ongoing overhead work, please email your contact information to the project’s TTC Community Liaison, Michael Vieira at Michael.Vieira@ttc.ca


Metrolinx - York Street​

Metrolinx is working with the TTC and the City of Toronto to build a permanent streetcar detour route along Adelaide and Richmond streets, connecting via York and Church streets. Once completed, the 501 Queen streetcar will keep riders moving during the construction of the Ontario Line.

Metrolinx crews will be performing utility removals and relocations as well as other necessary roadway work such as track slab excavation, pouring of a track slab foundation, and conducting work on the traffic signals to support the installation of new streetcar tracks.

York Street contra-flow bike lane

In addition to streetcar track installation, Metrolinx will be building a contra-flow bike lane on York Street from Richmond Street to King Street West. York Street from Queen Street to Richmond Street will have sharrow markings installed to maintain the underground parking lot of the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada building.

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Image source: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2021/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-173823.pdf
Contact us

By phone: 416-392-2896
By email: adelaideconstruction@toronto.ca

Visit the project webpage: toronto.ca/AdelaideConstruction

At any point, should no longer wish to receive updates on the Adelaide Street Construction project, please unsubscribe below

 
Is it me, or this really crawling, comparing to a typical project - this only appears to be a single track and the one switch!
Clearly this is not a priority. In fairness, even if this curve were finished we would still have no streetcars as Queen is blocked @ Yonge and the TTC still has no overhead up on Adelaide/York. No real reason to rush it.
 
Clearly this is not a priority. In fairness, even if this curve were finished we would still have no streetcars as Queen is blocked @ Yonge and the TTC still has no overhead up on Adelaide/York. No real reason to rush it.
Overhead team probably thinks no reason to rush the wiring since this curve isn't done. Disappointing since there's actually sufficient track in place that Adelaide from Charlotte to Victoria could be wired up and available for diversions.
 
Overhead team probably thinks no reason to rush the wiring since this curve isn't done. Disappointing since there's actually sufficient track in place that Adelaide from Charlotte to Victoria could be wired up and available for diversions.
Indeed, though until York/Queen is done there is not too much point in rushing the overhead but any well run organization would have EVERYONE working HARD to get all parts done - I still find it amazing that MLX were allowed to close Queen/Yonge before the diversion route was set up.
 
Indeed, though until York/Queen is done there is not too much point in rushing the overhead but any well run organization would have EVERYONE working HARD to get all parts done
Saw a diversion notice for 504 Westbound at around 2pm today that sent it down to Wellington, if something similar were to affect the Eastbound route the current option is Dundas and owing to a lack of curves, would require a detour to McCaul. Only having to send cars up Spadina to Adelaide to get to Church seems like it would be a simpler diversion. The TTC spent a pile of their own money to add the Adelaide tracks from Charlotte to York, it's a shame there seems to be no urgency to activate them.

I still find it amazing that MLX were allowed to close Queen/Yonge before the diversion route was set up.
It was a Metrolinx promise so of course it's been broken.
 
Saw a diversion notice for 504 Westbound at around 2pm today that sent it down to Wellington, if something similar were to affect the Eastbound route the current option is Dundas and owing to a lack of curves, would require a detour to McCaul. Only having to send cars up Spadina to Adelaide to get to Church seems like it would be a simpler diversion. The TTC spent a pile of their own money to add the Adelaide tracks from Charlotte to York, it's a shame there seems to be no urgency to activate them.


It was a Metrolinx promise so of course it's been broken.
I do not think the City even made them give promises they just said "Yes, sir" and closed the intersection!
 
The little traffic island on the north-west corner of Adelaide and York is bizarre and dangerous. Walking down York each day to work I see at 8:00 a.m. about 80% ignore it and veer into the traffic lane to avoid it, usually without even looking, also almost no pedestrians understand it at all and walk through the bike lane thinking it's a crosswalk box, and the few cyclists who swerve around on the correct side then have to merge back into a flow of "cyclists" that don't, and I've seen several near collisions now. Especially troubling, and why cyclists is in quotes, is the Adelaide bike lane now carries large numbers of e-bike delivery riders going at max speed and the e-scooter stunt rider who don't care about anything and just go at max speed through anything. It's created an extremely dangerous situation. This is guaranteed to cause a bike-pedestrian collision that results in severe injuries.

Oh, and to no ones surprise the "southbound only" bike lane on York is already being used in the north direction all the time too, which was extremely predictable but again is dangerous as the high-speed e-bikers confront others on regular bikes in that bizarre irregular bike lane.
 
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The curve got removed at some point since Monday, it seemed to be back on the flatbed but still near the intersection. Took this photo earlier today:
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The little traffic island on the north-west corner of Adelaide and York is bizarre and dangerous. Walking down York each day to work I see at 8:00 a.m. about 80% ignore it and veer into the traffic lane to avoid it, usually without even looking, also almost no pedestrians understand it at all and walk through the bike lane thinking it's a crosswalk box, and the few cyclists who swerve around on the correct side then have to merge back into a flow of "cyclists" that don't, and I've seen several near collisions now. Especially troubling, and why cyclists is in quotes, is the Adelaide bike lane now carries large numbers of e-bike delivery riders going at max speed and the e-scooter stunt rider who don't care about anything and just go at max speed through anything. It's created an extremely dangerous situation. This is guaranteed to cause a bike-pedestrian collision that results in severe injuries.

Oh, and to no ones surprise the "southbound only" bike lane on York is already being used in the north direction all the time too, which was extremely predictable but again is dangerous as the high-speed e-bikers confront others on regular bikes in that bizarre irregular bike lane.
I've made comments in another thread that I think this protected intersection doesn't fit here owing to the fact of Adelaide's opposite side configuration. Normally with a protected intersection traffic going around the island would all be going in the same direction but in this case there is a conflict between southbound and eastbound traffic. Also, from the pavement markings cyclists are supposed to wait next to the island rather than behind the crosswalk as they've got yield as seen below:
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