I have received feedback from some readers on my site about the wide spacing of streetcar stops on the 501 diversion via Richmond/Adelaide. For those who do not know, streetcars now stop only at University, Yonge and Church. There are arguments to be made about "ideal" stop layouts, but ... - ThreadSky

swanboatsteve.bsky.social • 106 days ago

I have received feedback from some readers on my site about the wide spacing of streetcar stops on the 501 diversion via Richmond/Adelaide. For those who do not know, streetcars now stop only at University, Yonge and Church. There are arguments to be made about "ideal" stop layouts, but ...

Comments

rocketoperator.bsky.social•106 days ago

That spacing seems crazy, both Yonge and Bay are busy stops with transfer connections. A stop on York at Adelaide would make sense.
Yes some stops were to close to other stops, but major streets and transfer points should have stops.

seanyyz.bsky.social•82 days ago

Yeah, I was shocked the first time I encountered an eastbound streetcar on Adelaide and Bay and there was no stop there, even though a curb cut was built there for the streetcar ramp access.

It stopped at Bay on the original route and the King diversion.

seanyyz.bsky.social•82 days ago

I never saw the need for the 501 to stop at York Street, but removing Bay is ridiculous.

swanboatsteve.bsky.social•82 days ago

Stops at Yonge and Bay would be within the 400m TTC standard especially with the wb Yonge stop being farside. All the same every other east-west route downtown - 503 504 505 506 94 and line 2 all stop at Bay.

seanyyz.bsky.social•82 days ago

And there’s a surface route transfer too.

swanboatsteve.bsky.social•82 days ago

To a bus that runs very infrequently assuming it's on time.

wklis.bsky.social•99 days ago

Will there be a traffic signal at each stop? Will the streetcar have to stop for passengers and then a red signal? Is it because the priority is for the single-occupant SUV that (Mayor) Doug Ford might use?

swanboatsteve.bsky.social•99 days ago

There already are signals at each potential stop. The stops would be nearside hence no double stopping.

wklis.bsky.social•99 days ago

But will the signal turn green when the streetcar doors close? No, it turns red.

swanboatsteve.bsky.social•98 days ago

That is common to all signals, not just this diversion. Two problems: nearside vs farside stops, lack of green time extension controlled by streetcar.

swanboatsteve.bsky.social•106 days ago

(2) ... the TTC is claiming to people who write in that the new stops meet the TTC's standards. This is a lie, and I am not going to sugar coat that word. Here is the actual standard taken from the TTC's website. Link: https://cdn.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Documents/Home/About-the-TTC/Projects-Landing-Page/Transit-Planning/Service-Standards_May-2024.pdf?rev=6c96a85cc0a64147ad424f949dabce64

swanboatsteve.bsky.social•106 days ago

(3) This clearly states that the distance *between* stops on local services should be 300-400m. This is *not* the same as the distance *to a stop* which is how the TTC presents it. For added mirth, the TTC says that the average stop spacing over the diversion is "approximately 430m".

swanboatsteve.bsky.social•106 days ago

(4) Considering that it is almost 1.38km from University to Church via Adelaide, this calculation is simply wrong. (The distance westbound via Richmond is shorter, about 1.08km.) Even the TTC's own route definition files in the Open Data GTFS schedules show the wider spacing.

swanboatsteve.bsky.social•106 days ago

(5) Placement of stops on any route can be tricky, but TTC should not be using this as a stealth exercise in advancing their plans to eliminate stops in the alleged pursuit of faster travel. Walking distance is an important part of anyone's trip.

swanboatsteve.bsky.social•106 days ago

(6/6) If management wants new standards, then present them to the Board with worked examples of the effects. Don't just bring in a change (as they did with crowding standards) without Board approval. Rick Leary is gone, and with him should be the appropriation of board policy making to staff.

lmso.bsky.social•85 days ago

I was finally able to get to the area. There is a stop WB on Richmond before the R turn on York. It also looks like there is an EB stop on York before the L turn on Adelaide. I didn’t make it further than that. These stops are not on the TTC site yet.

swanboatsteve.bsky.social•85 days ago

Thanks! I will check this out Tuesday.

swanboatsteve.bsky.social•85 days ago

And here are both stops.

swanboatsteve.bsky.social•82 days ago

These stops have been added to the GTFS schedules (standard electronic format) for Dec 22/24 and will show up in trip prediction apps from that date.

lmso.bsky.social•82 days ago

That is great. Thanks.

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply