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TTC: Streetcar Network

Monarch Butterfly said:
In the 1980's, the streetcars ran on The Queensway's right-of-way at a good clip. This was before they "improved" and "upgraded" the track-work (insert laugh track here).

Note the speed limit signs of "60 km/h". Today the signs say "40 km/h", which none of the motorists today obey, EXCEPT the Flexity streetcar operators, which run below the posted speed limit.
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That 40 km/h limit is absurd. There's barely any pedestrian traffic, even on a hot summer day. Clearly there to just slow down streetcars.
 
Steve X said:
That 40 km/h limit is absurd. There's barely any pedestrian traffic, even on a hot summer day. Clearly there to just slow down streetcars.
Click to expand...

That video is very interesting, I think that's the first time I've ever seen images or video of CLRV's on Toronto tracks running in multiple-unit operation. Richard Glaze's videos on Transit Toronto also show streetcars operating at very high speeds on numerous routes well into the beginning of the CLRV era, and I remember riding PCC's before they retired and they just flew through switches. Things have definitely regressed in the past thirty years.
 
fiendishlibrarian said:
That video is very interesting, I think that's the first time I've ever seen images or video of CLRV's on Toronto tracks running in multiple-unit operation.
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I'm still waiting for any video or photo evidence of the MU light illuminated (the blue light above the rear doors), particularly in the few times it ran in MU operation.
 
Monarch Butterfly said:
That looks like its from Google maps, DATED 2021!

Was on The Queensway TODAY, and saw the posted speed limit signed as "40 km/h".
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I have to say I'm surprised, when stretches of that road that don't even need a sidewalk! Lakeshore East remains at 60, west of the Don - and it has sidewalks and bike lanes. It was still 60 km/hr in July 2023, even during construction. When did it change?
 
nfitz said:
I have to say I'm surprised, when stretches of that road that don't even need a sidewalk! Lakeshore East remains at 60, west of the Don - and it has sidewalks and bike lanes. It was still 60 km/hr in July 2023, even during construction. When did it change?
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After the reconstruction of that famous KQQR intersection and extending the ROW to reduce streetcar delays, they felt the road should be reduced to 40 km/h. So after all that effect to speed up streetcars, they create another way to slow it right back down.
 
Steve X said:
After the reconstruction of that famous KQQR intersection and extending the ROW to reduce streetcar delays, they felt the road should be reduced to 40 km/h. So after all that effect to speed up streetcars, they create another way to slow it right back down.
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For what it's worth, the Finch LRT project did go to the MTO and get their blessing on streetcar speed limits that are higher than the adjacent road. That's how the Finch LRT is (theoretically) allowed to go 60 (for an incredibly brief distance) while Finch Ave itself is only posted at 50.

City documentation confirms @Monarch Butterfly's observation of a 40 limit on the Queensway. It was lowered from 60 to 40 in 2023. This is truly absurd - the City cannot seriously expect motorists to respect speed limits at all if they post limits that are so ridiculously inconsistent with the physical road design. As with many other elements of their Vision Zero plan, it is hopelessly short-sighted. They're so fixated on the prospect of marginally reducing speeds that they completely ignored the safety consequences of eliminating the credibility of speed limits.
 
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reaperexpress said:
For what it's worth, the Finch LRT project did go to the MTO and get their blessing on streetcar speed limits that are higher than the adjacent road. That's how the Finch LRT is (theoretically) allowed to go 60 (for an incredibly brief distance) while Finch Ave itself is only posted at 50.

City documentation confirms @Monarch Butterfly's observation of a 40 limit on the Queensway. It was lowered from 60 to 40 in 2023. This is truly absurd - the City cannot seriously expect motorists to respect speed limits at all if they post limits that are so ridiculously inconsistent with the physical road design. As with many other elements of their Vision Zero plan, it is hopelessly short-sighted. They're so fixated on the prospect of marginally reducing speeds that they completely ignored the safety consequences of eliminating the credibility of speed limits.
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It's Eglinton that is posed 50 but allows the LRVs to go 60. Finch West is posted 60.
 
reaperexpress said:
For what it's worth, the Finch LRT project did go to the MTO and get their blessing on streetcar speed limits that are higher than the adjacent road. That's how the Finch LRT is (theoretically) allowed to go 60 (for an incredibly brief distance) while Finch Ave itself is only posted at 50.

City documentation confirms @Monarch Butterfly's observation of a 40 limit on the Queensway. It was lowered from 60 to 40 in 2023. This is truly absurd - the City cannot seriously expect motorists to respect speed limits at all if they post limits that are so ridiculously inconsistent with the physical road design. As with many other elements of their Vision Zero plan, it is hopelessly short-sighted. They're so fixated on the prospect of marginally reducing speeds that they completely ignored the safety consequences of eliminating the credibility of speed limits.
Click to expand...
so the streetcars have to follow this new lower speed limit?
 
reaperexpress said:
For what it's worth, the Finch LRT project did go to the MTO and get their blessing on streetcar speed limits that are higher than the adjacent road. That's how the Finch LRT is (theoretically) allowed to go 60 (for an incredibly brief distance) while Finch Ave itself is only posted at 50.

City documentation confirms @Monarch Butterfly's observation of a 40 limit on the Queensway. It was lowered from 60 to 40 in 2023. This is truly absurd - the City cannot seriously expect motorists to respect speed limits at all if they post limits that are so ridiculously inconsistent with the physical road design. As with many other elements of their Vision Zero plan, it is hopelessly short-sighted. They're so fixated on the prospect of marginally reducing speeds that they completely ignored the safety consequences of eliminating the credibility of speed limits.
Click to expand...
The Queensway's traffic lanes were NOT reduced in width. They have the same width when it was 60 km/h as is now (2025) at 40 km/h. Want to reduce speeding? Reduce the traffic lane width.

Meanwhile, the streetcar right-of-way is the same width, but the streetcars are micromanaged to speed roll at about 7 km/h through the intersections on The Queensway.
 
Monarch Butterfly said:
The Queensway's traffic lanes were NOT reduced in width. They have the same width when it was 60 km/h as is now (2025) at 40 km/h. Want to reduce speeding? Reduce the traffic lane width.

Meanwhile, the streetcar right-of-way is the same width, but the streetcars are micromanaged to speed roll at about 7 km/h through the intersections on The Queensway.
Click to expand...

If there is room to narrow the car lanes there, hopefully they can maybe add a painted buffer or at least widen the bike lane there, but I'm not sure there is much room to narrow the lanes, they don't feel particular wide to be honest, and I assume they were already narrowed to shoehorn in the bike lane
 
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Steve X said:
It's Eglinton that is posed 50 but allows the LRVs to go 60. Finch West is posted 60.
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Finch is also posted 50. Here's the council report where they reduced it from 60 to 50 while making an exception for the LRT:

https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2021/ie/bgrd/backgroundfile-168557.pdf
Screenshot 2025-12-15 at 19.06.58.png
 
bearcat said:
If there is room to narrow the car lines there, hopefully they can maybe add a painted buffer or at least widen the bike lane there, but I'm not sure there is much room to narrow the lanes, they don't feel particular wide to be honest, and I assume they were already narrowed to shoehorn in the bike lane
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There is no room to reduce traffic lanes to widen the cycling lane, but there is room to shift the sidewalk to make room in a lot of areas. The bike lanes have been closed for sometime and are still as of Dec 7 when I last looked at them.
 
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