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TTC: Streetcar Network

T3G said:
I know this is a pretty trivial piece of track in the bigger picture, but OMG. It's shocking how much of the network is down for the count all at once.
Click to expand...

Not only that but they just spent a couple months earlier this year (or was it late last year?) doing emergency maintenance to Dufferin St right at Springhurst that had that whole intersection shut down.

At least this work is mostly taking place during other emergency repairs currently happening to the Dufferin St bridge over the rail corridor. What a mess.
 
More emergency repairs to the Dufferin Street Bridge. This happened about a decade ago, when they dropped in the current "temporary" span.

When is full reconstruction? The last I heard about the timeframe it had been delayed, as it was going to be simultaneous with the grade separation at Strachan.

Edit - late 2024 according to the project website - which to my shock has been updated in the last 10 years - https://www.toronto.ca/community-pe...projects/dufferin-street-bridges-replacement/
 
kotsy said:
Do you have any more information on this?
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I believe we discussed it in back in the Blue 22 thread - which got renamed to something more dull.

There's mentions of Strachan in the Dufferin Bridge thread (which started in 2013) - which is where we should be discussing this.
 
kotsy said:
Do you have any more information on this?
Click to expand...
This was done in 2011 or 2012

Here is 2012
Strachan 2012.jpg


Here is 2021

Strachan 2021.jpg
 
kotsy said:
Of course - what threw me is that they want to do the Dufferin Bridge work simultaneously (and that Strachan is currently grade separated). Did @nfitz mean the building the temporary Dufferin bridge?
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He can doubtless speak for himself but I assume he meant that the TTC and City work on the Dufferin Loop and nearby streets would be coordinated with the emergency work on the (closed last week) Dufferin bridge.
 
I had to take a non-ROW streetcar line today for the first time in a while.

I could rant about how it took the 504 22 minutes to get from Sumach to Jarvis, but what I found really alarming was this:

IMG_4120.jpg


It's not hard to understand why the average Torontonian hates streetcars. It's just too bad there is no one out there interested in fighting their corner. Every solution to the many ills that plague the network, including from so-called transit "experts" and "advocates" is "just replace them with buses bro". I loved the trams in Prague, they were wonderful. If only we were interested in making ours the same.
 
T3G said:
I had to take a non-ROW streetcar line today for the first time in a while.

I could rant about how it took the 504 22 minutes to get from Sumach to Jarvis, but what I found really alarming was this:

IMG_4120.jpg


It's not hard to understand why the average Torontonian hates streetcars. It's just too bad there is no one out there interested in fighting their corner. Every solution to the many ills that plague the network, including from so-called transit "experts" and "advocates" is "just replace them with buses bro". I loved the trams in Prague, they were wonderful. If only we were interested in making ours the same.
Click to expand...
I would love to get back to Prague for not only the trams, but the city itself. Watching the trams fly all over the place was the worth going to the city in the first place as well riding the various types of them.

Was talking to a chap in Utica who said buses should replace trams/LRT's as well passenger trains. You hear a lot of anti LRT/streetcar in the US when it them come up as a transit plan. They are now looking at an 18 mile transit line in Las Vegas with an BRT costing $400m and the LRT at $2 Billion. It was supposed to be an BRT, but lack of funding put it on the back burner. Since there is a pot of money now,, they are moving forward on the LRT plan.

People hate streetcars/LRT because they slow down them down from speeding and have to wait for them to move at stops. Mostly single drivers.

The lack of enforcement will slow everything down along with illegal left turns,
 
Whatever they do with Ontario Place, we need to improve transit access to the site.

They should create a new perimeter streetcar loop around Exhibition Place, whenever Ontario Place is open. Loop clockwise from Fleet Street and Strachan Avenue, behind the Princes' Gates (would be better going OVER Princes' Blvd. as an elevated structure), OVER Lake Shore Blvd. W. down to Ontario Place, then back OVER Lake Shore Blvd. W., up to Dufferin Street, and returning to the Exhibition Loop. We can avoid interfering with the Honda Indy Toronto road layout. After hours, the current Exhibition Loop configuration can be used.

Stops could be at Fleet & Strachan (for Princes' Gate or Enercare Centre access), Ontario Place, Dufferin & Princes' Blvd., the current Exhibition Loop, and Fleet & Strachan.

The accountants would likely demand a single track loop, while the actual transit proponents would want a double track loop.

We can transfer the money proposed for the automobile garage towards the elevated streetcar loop, and have only a deliver garage.
 
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drum118 said:
I would love to get back to Prague for not only the trams, but the city itself. Watching the trams fly all over the place was the worth going to the city in the first place as well riding the various types of them.

Was talking to a chap in Utica who said buses should replace trams/LRT's as well passenger trains. You hear a lot of anti LRT/streetcar in the US when it them come up as a transit plan. They are now looking at an 18 mile transit line in Las Vegas with an BRT costing $400m and the LRT at $2 Billion. It was supposed to be an BRT, but lack of funding put it on the back burner. Since there is a pot of money now,, they are moving forward on the LRT plan.

People hate streetcars/LRT because they slow down them down from speeding and have to wait for them to move at stops. Mostly single drivers.

The lack of enforcement will slow everything down along with illegal left turns,
Click to expand...
Forget drivers, I even know many transit riders who hate streetcars. Someone I know got sad when the streetcar was reinstated after construction ended, because the replacement bus was like 5-10 minutes faster along the same route. The streetcars are so painfully slow it’s just ridiculous.
 
sche said:
Forget drivers, I even know many transit riders who hate streetcars. Someone I know got sad when the streetcar was reinstated after construction ended, because the replacement bus was like 5-10 minutes faster along the same route. The streetcars are so painfully slow it’s just ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Since we're just sharing anecdotes here - personally, I hate the bus. Streetcars are smooth. I know many drivers who buy a croissant and a negroni and enjoy them on the streetcar.

Buses are just... déclassé. All of the transit riders I know say this too. Even the electric ones are jerky as hell and the only people who like them tend to be insane or don't own a TV, or both. In summary, buses are extremely ick.
 
I agree, but given that the buses are not subject to the inane speed restrictions streetcars are, it's not hard to see why someone would prefer them (I referred to this in my original post).

My bus hot take is that the GM New looks of old provided superior ride quality to the Novas. The Orions hold up pretty well especially given their age, but the ride quality on the Novas is dreadful, feels like they barely have a suspension. The old GMs in general felt much more solid and stable.
 
felix123 said:
Since we're just sharing anecdotes here - personally, I hate the bus. Streetcars are smooth. I know many drivers who buy a croissant and a negroni and enjoy them on the streetcar.

Buses are just... déclassé. All of the transit riders I know say this too. Even the electric ones are jerky as hell and the only people who like them tend to be insane or don't own a TV, or both. In summary, buses are extremely ick.
Click to expand...
I'd prefer a bus! The driver is 100% isolated on the streetcar so a lot more wacky things happen. Bus bunching is bad but the streetcar lines are much worse, and less reliable due to breakdowns or blockages. I find they're often more filthy inside as well
 
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