Toronto’s deputy mayor is proposing the introduction of a temporary, priority bus lane to help ease traffic along a section of Spadina Avenue.
In June, the 510 streetcars along Spadina Avenue went out of service and were replaced with shuttle buses due to upgrades that are expected to be completed in January 2025.
Read More
“The 510 Spadina streetcar route is one of our busiest transit routes in the city. I know first-hand as a TTC rider that the right-of-way construction has a big impact on community members, workers and businesses, and all road users,” Deputy Mayor and Ward 10- Spadina-Fort York City Councillor Ausma Malik told Now Toronto in an email statement on Wednesday.
In a letter to city council on Tuesday, Malik proposed priority lanes for bus operations in the southbound direction on Spadina Avenue, south of Queen Street West where the bus service experiences significant congestion.
“Travel times for the Spadina route have tripled since the initiation of the replacement bus service on June 23, 2024,” Malik wrote.
The motion was adopted at Toronto and East York community council on Wednesday but still needs to be approved by city council before the project can proceed.
Transit advocacy group TTC riders told Now Toronto it supports Malik’s motion.
“Transit riders on Spadina urgently need solutions to get moving. Riders have reported that trips on the Spadina replacement bus are taking longer than those walking or cycling,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.
To make way for the temporary bus lanes, the deputy mayor is suggesting the interim removal of on-street parking and a taxi stand on the west side of Spadina Avenue between Richmond Street West and Front Street West.
Measures such as the deployment of traffic agents at key intersections and the turning around of buses at Front Street are already in place, but have proven insufficient, according to Malik.
If the proposed plan goes ahead, two southbound traffic lanes for cars will stay open on Spadina Avenue between Richmond Street West and Lake Shore Boulevard West, while the proposed temporary parking and traffic changes should remain in place until the 510 Spadina streetcars resume service, the letter explained.
Malik called the motion “urgent” and estimated operational costs of $162,300 (pre-HST) between July to December 2024.
“I’ll continue to work with City staff and TTC staff to make sure that as this critical maintenance work proceeds, we can all get where we need to go well,” she told Now Toronto.
The motion is set to be presented to the next city council meeting on July 24.
