TTC: Other Items (catch all)

[smallspy]

Hmm, I wonder why they don't extend the 91 Woodbine that ends near York Mills and Don Mills, so it too has a bit more connectability. Used to be a pain taking it to the Lesmill area and then either walking, or taking a couple more buses a couple of stops each.

When the TTC was planning out the opening of the Sheppard Line in the early 2000s, they did look at this. The problem that they came up with was two-fold: one, they had trouble figuring out how best to serve the two different neighborhoods that are served by the north-end loop of the 91; and two, even with the low frequencies of the route back then, it was going to require a couple of additional buses to extend the route, and the ridership wasn't high enough to justify it.

Now that all of the buses run up to York Mills, instead of only every second bus, this second point is a bigger problem.

I'm surprised there still hasn't been any movement on extending the 115 to Leslie Station like what was originally intended when Line 4 opened.

Originally it was thought that they could get people taking the Sheppard subway to Leslie and transferring to the 115.

Then when they did the research before the subway opened, they found out from the riders that no one would actually do that. That, and the fact that they would have had to add another bus to the route and increase its operational costs, resulted in them leaving the route alone.

Dan

 

[Allandale25]

Not sure if this has been posted somewhere. Maybe time for a new thread?

Bem Case on LinkedIn: P76PH22075 - Request for Proposals For New Subway Trains | 18 comments

The TTC has just posted an RFP for 80 new subway trains - that’s a big order at 480 subway cars! This is a big milestone for my team, for the many who have… | 18 comments on LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com

 

[Steve X]

Please, please TTC, don't screw up the Leslie bus!!! As someone who has lived/relied on the affected section north of Sheppard for over 15 years, this 151 proposal sounds utterly asanine. I was really looking forward to Leslie becoming a proper trunk route (from Danforth to Steeles) with the opening of Line 5. Like JSF-1 said, just extend the 115 to Leslie station, and don't screw those of us over north of Sheppard who want the connectivity to Line 2, 4, 5 that we were supposed to get with the new combined route 51/56.

EDIT:
I just spoke with a TTC representative who called the Planning Department and said, not to take these maps very seriously, that they are just proposals at the moment, and should be released for public consultation next week. Keep checking the TTC website.

If everyone says no, they won't do it. That said, the 51 would probably be pretty unreliable with the 56 merge. It'll probably be stuck running in bunch with the 51B branch. It won't be able to make up time by tailgating some 34/54 as they do on Eglinton. With the current TTC management, they probably know 30-40 minute gaps were be common in the north end in afternoon rush hence they proposed this.

 

[mind_the_gap]

If everyone says no, they won't do it. That said, the 51 would probably be pretty unreliable with the 56 merge. It'll probably be stuck running in bunch with the 51B branch. It won't be able to make up time by tailgating some 34/54 as they do on Eglinton. With the current TTC management, they probably know 30-40 minute gaps were be common in the north end in afternoon rush hence they proposed this.

If anything, they can have both the 51A and 151. What I’m opposed to is having a discontinuous route on Leslie between Eglinton (Avenue) and Steeles. Why punish riders (like me) north of Sheppard.

 

[W. K. Lis]

This is the 2023 plan - the Line 5 stuff was dealt with in previous consultations including the 2020 plan - there's been multiple reviews of the service plan changes over the years.

They've been reporting on the Line 6 changes now for a couple of years as well, in various places.

I think the most recent Line 5 service changes was in the 2022 plan, released in February 2022. Though I have no doubt it will be tweaked again.

View attachment 433303

I think the current plan is for Metrolinx to handover the line to TTC in 2023. Whether or not TTC can finish testing and commissioning by the end of 2023 is an interesting question!

I wouldn't be surprised if they try and keep Line 3 going until the same day Line 5 opens, and do the Line 3 and Line 5 changes at the same time. Presumably the Line 5 opening would free up some vehicles for the Line 3 changes.

Looks like some "NIMBY"s were upset with the 179 CASTLEFIELD bus proposal. It was originally be routed like this...

Somebody didn't like having any bus going along Beechborough Avenue (between Keele Street and Kincort Street), forcing to send it up Kincort to Ingram Drive and then Keele Street to Keelesdale Station. Just they wanted to keep the useless speed bumps and unobeyed stop signs along Beechborough Avenue. Would have been better to use raised intersections and yield signs instead.

From link.

 

[duffo]

The 2023 service plan page and survey is now posted! More detail provided which was previewed in those twitter images from a few days ago.

https://www.ttc.ca/about-the-ttc/projects-and-plans/2023-Annual-Service-Plan

 

[Richard White]

The 2023 service plan page and survey is now posted! More detail provided which was previewed in those twitter images from a few days ago.

https://www.ttc.ca/about-the-ttc/projects-and-plans/2023-Annual-Service-Plan

They are really rejigging routes out in Scarborough. They are eliminating the 69 Warden South in favor of a new route the 117 Birchmount South for example and cutting back the 70 O'Connor to Eglinton.

One interesting thing I noticed was that in the Fall 2022 Diagrams it showed a Line 3 replacement service.

 

[Northern Light]

The detailed service changes can be found in the Customer Survey, which is up until Nov 6th:

TTC 2023 Annual Service Plan

These are the details for south-west Scarborough - Beaches:

I like this set of changes.

@Richard White the O'Connor 70A branch (to Eglinton) appears unchanged to me; what seems to be proposed is that the St. Clair branch to Warden Stn is being renamed to reduce confusion. I think that's sensible.

Likewise, Warden South is retaining service along most of its route, but is being merged with Gerrard 135, which will end up with more frequent service (which it needs), and I see that as a positive.

The downside for some is the removal of the Warden South connection to Kingston Road, south of Gerrard.

 

[KhalilHeron]

I really like all the east Scarborough service changes. The new routes and 54b extension will make getting around the area considerably easier. Also really like the new route from Rouge Hill GO to the Zoo, the TTC really has got to make connections to GO stations like this more often. More should have bus loops like Rouge Hill.

 

[Northern Light]

I really like all the east Scarborough service changes. The new routes and 54b extension will make getting around the area considerably easier. Also really like the new route from Rouge Hill GO to the Zoo, the TTC really has got to make connections to GO stations like this more often. More should have bus loops like Rouge Hill.

Agree; but would add, this route will only reach its potential with GO-Co-pay in Toronto.

I live not far from Danforth GO.

If I were to take this route to the Zoo it would probably be faster than taking the car, or at least competitive.

However, the GO fare for that trip is $5.60 + TTC fare of $3.20 for a total of $8.80 x 2 (round trip); $17.20 per person. That's a bit steep, and becomes silly for a family.

Even at existing GO fares, with co-pay, you're down to $11.20 per person which makes it a vastly more enticing choice.

If one can get GO inside Toronto down to a TTC fare then this service would do fantastic business.

 

[W. K. Lis]

We need a Blue Night Network study. The current routes don't reach people because some follow expressways (IE. Highway 427 for 300 Bloor-Danforth) which don't have bus stops at cross streets. What about Steeles Avenue West? Shouldn't the 335 Jane Night bus be extended south to The Queensway (301).

Unfortunately, the Blue Night Network improvements would need increases in subsidies from the city. Since nothing is expected from the province to cover the "operating" budget of any of the municipal transit agencies, I don't expect to see much in this network. The TTC remains underfunded compared to other cities outside of Ontario.

 

[JSF-1]

We need a Blue Night Network study. The current routes don't reach people because some follow expressways (IE. Highway 427 for 300 Bloor-Danforth) which don't have bus stops at cross streets. What about Steeles Avenue West? Shouldn't the 335 Jane Night bus be extended south to The Queensway (301).
View attachment 434699

I think a Blue Night route along Markham Road could be worth a shot since its about a 4km gap between McCowan Road and Morningside Avenue. Plus there is a lot of industrial business and warehouses north of Sheppard that may be worth serving on Markham Road. It can be numbered 302 Markham Road and renumber the current 302 to 316 Kingston Road-McCowan

 

[nfitz]

Wow, full day and weekend streetcar service on Wellington, Church, and York streets. When was the last time that happened?

I'm not sure there's even been mid-day service on Wellington with streetcars in modern times.

 

[Northern Light]

We need a Blue Night Network study. The current routes don't reach people because some follow expressways (IE. Highway 427 for 300 Bloor-Danforth) which don't have bus stops at cross streets. What about Steeles Avenue West? Shouldn't the 335 Jane Night bus be extended south to The Queensway (301).
View attachment 434699

I think a Blue Night route along Markham Road could be worth a shot since its about a 4km gap between McCowan Road and Morningside Avenue. Plus there is a lot of industrial business and warehouses north of Sheppard that may be worth serving on Markham Road. It can be numbered 302 Markham Road and renumber the current 302 to 316 Kingston Road-McCowan

I concur that the Blue Night network should be expanded.

I also agree on the need for a night version of Markham 102 serving St. Clair and Markham road, I think as much for St. Clair as for Markham in that the gap between service on Danforth and Eglinton is quite large, and there is a material pocket of density already at St. Clair/Birchmount, with a new tower there on the way; but also the very large Scaborough Junction proposal would be on this route.

Other services I would prioritize would be Kipling, to fill in a large gap in N-S service west of Islington, Bayview from Eglinton to Sheppard for now to service Sunnybrook especially from the Crosstown to Line 4; and I would also break the Victoria Park and Warden night buses into two, with VP running all the way up to Steeles serving many 24-hour workplaces, and Warden running only as far south as Warden Station.

 

[Richard White]

there is a material pocket of density already at St. Clair/Birchmount, with a new tower there on the way; but also the very large Scaborough Junction proposal would be on this route.

I used to take the 300 home a decade ago when I worked late. I lived at Birchmount and St Clair and it was a pain having to walk from Warden and Danforth all the way home because the 302 would never connect.