The old Doug Ford — the angry bull-in-a-china-shop we remember from 2018-2019 — is back, and it is clear that governing, in fact, has not changed him. After six years, and a rumoured early provincial election, Doug Ford will need to run on something, because there’s little to show for his promises of getting housing built, transit projects completed, and hospitals fixed. An RCMP investigation continues to look at the government’s Greenbelt land swaps, and it is rare for provincial or federal governments in Canada to get elected with a majority three times in a row. So here we are.
But after three straight days of political red meat policy announcements, the strategy has become clear: Doug Ford is “deadcatting.” Dead cat theory, popularized during the leadership of former London mayor and British prime minister Boris Johnson, is the practice of suddenly throwing down an outrageous policy or statement to divert attention away from an unpleasant topic. The shocked audience is suddenly compelled to talk about the metaphorical dead cat thrown on the table. In the United States in recent weeks, dead cats have become less metaphorical, with baseless and racist accusations against Haitian migrants in Ohio spread by Donald Trump, vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance, and far-right commentators.
There is no way a Highway 401 tunnel will be built. Not only would it be the longest road tunnel in the world, but the long on-ramps and off-ramps required to access a deep-bore urban highway tunnel will make it completely infeasible. The proposal also completely ignores the problem of induced demand, and it won’t solve the problem of where the traffic goes when it gets off that additional highway. For these reasons, it was especially disappointing to see the Toronto and Region Board of Trade (TRBoT) endorse the idea.
There are things that can help alleviate traffic. One is ensuring that transit projects are completed, funded, and maintained. That doesn’t just mean building and completing projects like the Crosstown LRT and the Ontario Line, it’s also making sure the system remains in excellent condition to avoid problems like the persistent slow orders in the Toronto Subway. It also means making the best use of existing infrastructure, like Highway 407, for goods movement. Highway 407 passes by every major freight yard in Greater Toronto, but trucks clog Highway 401, Highway 7, and Steeles Avenue instead because of the high tolls. And it means active transportation improvements, like bike lanes and multi-use paths.
What we don’t need are more dead cats to distract us from the real problems.
No matter how you get around Toronto, it’s feels like it’s more difficult than ever
Getting around Downtown Toronto can be an exercise in frustration, whether you drive, bike, take transit, or drive. Though necessary transit and road construction projects are the cause of much of the congestion, driver behaviour, poor management, and a lack of coordination between various municipal and provincial agencies have only added to the traffic quagmire.
North-south streets such as Spadina, York, Bay, and Jarvis are jammed by drivers headed south towards the Gardiner Expressway, with lane closures near Exhibition Place only making things worse. Motorists blocking intersections make it difficult for pedestrians, cyclists, streetcars, and through traffic to get across the city centre. Ontario Line construction has closed a portion of Queen Street, while work to rebuild streetcar tracks on York and Adelaide Streets to allow 501 cars to bypass the closure is still proceeding.
GO Transit is also expanding its rail corridors to allow for more off-peak and express trains, with the long-term goal of having an electrified, frequent, regional rail network that complements and supplements the web of subways, light rail and buses throughout the region. The TTC is also addressing a backlog of state-of-good repair works throughout the subway system, resulting in slow orders, early closures, and weekend shutdowns.
Meanwhile, people still need to get to places like work, school, conferences and trade shows, concerts, sporting events, social gatherings, festivals, museums, and all the other things that make a city a city. Eventually, with improved GO corridors, the Ontario Line, and the opening of the Crosstown LRT, there will be some redundancy in the transit system that will make planned service closures easier to navigate. But for now, we are stuck with an underbuilt transportation system in a rapidly growing city.
This makes the coordination of transit closures and projects especially essential so things don’t completely fall apart. Saturday, September 21 was just one example of the failure to do so.
On Saturday September 21 and Sunday September 22, GO Transit reduced service on the Lakeshore West Line to hourly service on the entire corridor because of work at Long Branch GO Station, where the station is being completely rebuilt for accessibility improvements and future expansion. It also shut down the entire Barrie Line for various construction works along the corridor, with rail replacement buses to Union Station, stuck in traffic on the Don Valley Parkway and Lake Shore Boulevard with all other motorists getting around the Gardiner closure.
Normally, there are hourly trains as far west as West Harbour Station in Downtown Hamilton, with half-hourly service to Aldershot Station in Burlington. Between Union and Oakville, rail service is as frequent as every 15 minutes during midday and early evenings on Saturday and Sunday. Hourly train service reduced capacity on the inner Lakeshore West line by 75%.
Compounding the problem was the total closure of the Gardiner Expressway between Highway 427 and the Don River between Friday evening and Sunday morning for routine maintenance (the Gardiner and the Don Valley Parkway are regularly closed twice a year for repairs). Many people who might have otherwise driven into the city would have taken GO Transit instead, normally a very good idea. Though none of Toronto’s professional sports teams were playing at home on Saturday, there was still a Shane Gillis stand-up comedy performance at Scotiabank Arena, and a Rainbow Kitten Surprise concert at Ontario Place.
Also, to add insult, the Lakeshore East trains between Toronto and Oshawa were not through-running with the Lakeshore West trains and were operating on a modified schedule. I was travelling east of Toronto on Saturday, making a few stops in Durham Region. As I arrived back from Whitby on Saturday afternoon on a train that normally connects onward westbound train at Union Station, we were treated to the sight of the hourly Lakeshore West train just pulling out. It couldn’t have even waited 2-3 minutes to allow passengers to make the cross-platform connection. That resulted in other passengers complaining to GO staff in the concourse, who were not that helpful.
I’m on the GO Train now. The CSR on the LW train is telling people at Long Branch to not board because the train is too full, so they now have to wait an hour. Lots of people heading to Budweiser Stage and Scotiabank concerts. Very poor planning/coordination between city and MLX. https://t.co/LXNATzYwoV
Tweet from Alan Deschamps, reporting on a full GO train arriving at Long Branch at 6:21 PM on Saturday Sept 21, with the customer service ambassador (CSR) telling waiting passengers to not board and to wait for the next train in an hour
In the early evening on Saturday, a jam-packed eastbound GO train on the Lakeshore East train was not accepting any passengers at Long Branch or Mimico station because of overcrowding. Waiting passengers were told to wait an hour for the next train.
One would think that Metrolinx (GO Transit’s parent agency) and the City of Toronto would coordinate their construction schedules to avoid such problems. However, not even the City of Toronto can figure this out. Back in June of this year, the TTC replaced the 509 Harbourfront and 511 Bathurst streetcars with buses for a week for minor overhead work on Fleet Street. The timing coincided with the massive Collision tech conference at Exhibition Place, which resulted in overcrowded shuttle buses and unreliable service. Had the TTC checked with anyone at the city’s economic development office or with Exhibition Place (another city agency), this work could have easily been rescheduled.
Overloaded 509 Harbourfront bus shuttle on Queen’s Quay in June 2024
Though coordination of transit closures and construction projects with major events and parallel roadworks will not solve Toronto’s road and transit congestion problems, it will at least reduce some of the frustration of getting around. The poor customer service at GO Transit will certainly make riders question if they will be able to rely on the service in the future.
Of course, there is one measure that won’t help but still will be implemented by the provincial government later this fall: a prohibition on new bicycle lanes if they take road space from motorists. Despite blocked bike lanes, aggressive drivers, and an incomplete cycling network, it is still the most reliable and fastest mode for many shorter city trips. Along with major transit improvements and construction coordination, cycling is one of the solutions to getting around Toronto.
On Friday, May 10, Mississauga City Councillor and mayoral candidate Dipika Damerla posted a message and video on Twitter/X, stating that “it will be up to the residents to decide on who best represents the vision of the Mississauga they want.” She followed that by saying that she “will not be silenced in my opposition to remove two lanes from Bloor Street and create more gridlock in Mississauga.”
It will be up to the residents to decide on who best represents the vision of the Mississauga they want.
In the video, she is standing on Bloor Street West at Yonge Street in the heart of Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville business district, 16 kilometres east of the Mississauga border at Etobicoke Creek. Needless to say, this is a very different built environment than anywhere in Mississauga.
Toronto’s Bloor-Danforth bike route, which stretches from Danforth Avenue and Dawes Road on the east to Bloor Street West at Aberfoyle Crescent (near Islington Avenue) is very well used by cyclists, including commuters, couriers, and casual riders. There is also a subway paralleling the entire corridor. Behind Councillor Damerla, there is heavy traffic, but it is unfair to blame the bike lanes for this congestion. The vehicles are stopped at a red light at Yonge Street, one of the busiest intersections for pedestrians and cyclists in the city. There’s a dedicated scramble crossing at the intersection, which does reduce the green light time for traffic on Bloor, though it makes it safer for pedestrians, who outnumber all other road users there.
There is also considerable construction in and around the intersection. Work continues on the troubled “The One” condominium tower, blocking off some of the southwest Yonge-Bloor corner. Just east of Yonge, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists are squeezed as the TTC works to expand the Bloor-Yonge Subway Station below.
Furthermore, before the bike lanes were installed, the curb lanes were used by stopped cars and delivery trucks; Bloor Street was never a traffic clearway, and it is a ridiculous argument that the bike lanes have caused congestion.
Construction on Bloor Street is the cause of some of the congestion in the area
In Mississauga, Bloor Street is a minor arterial road that extends as far west as Central Parkway. Between Etobicoke Creek and Royal Orchard Drive (just west of Dixie Road), Bloor is lined with rental and condominium apartment buildings and townhouse complexes. From Royal Orchard to Cawthra, the street is lined with low-density dwellings, a shopping plaza, and a high school. The western-most section is lined with fences as the houses back onto Bloor, more typical of major suburban arterial roads.
Bloor Street in MississaugaLooking west towards Central Parkway and the Mississauga City Centre skyline
The City of Mississauga was already planning to resurface Bloor Street, but took advantage of the timing to completely study the corridor with the goal of promoting active transportation and improving road safety while maintaining traffic flow.
After extensive community consultation, Mississauga city staff recommended Alternative 6 for Bloor Street which widens the sidewalks, adds new separated cycle tracks, and a boulevard for trees and street lighting between the roadway and cycle tracks and the sidewalks and property lines. A continuous two-way left turn lane would allow motor vehicles to turn in and out of side streets and private driveways without conflicting with through traffic. This was approved by City Council in June 2023. Construction is scheduled to begin in October 2024.
This plan balances the needs of all road users, particularly students and seniors. It is great to see suburbs like Mississauga and Brampton rethink their streets to better serve all of their residents.
Bloor Street, looking east from Havenwood Drive. Note the “school route” sign and the cyclist using the sidewalk in the distance.Yellow lawn signs with the slogan “Save Bloor Street.” Note the SUV parked in a way that partially blocks the narrow sidewalk.
Bloor Street, whether it be a residential roadway in Mississauga, or a commercial street in Downtown Toronto, is not a place where drivers should expect nor be given ultimate priority over pedestrians, cyclists, or public transit riders.
Luckily, many Mississauga politicians already get it. Reporting for the Mississauga News, Steve Cornwell noted that fellow councillor and mayoral candidate Alvin Tedjo “stands by the approved Bloor project”, while Carolyn Parrish, another city councillor running for mayor declared that a reversal of last year’s council vote would not pass, saying that the “issue’s dead” at one mayoral debate. Ward 3 Councillor Chris Fonseca — whose ward covers most of Bloor Street — championed the changes.
Though Parrish has led several polls (with Damerla and Tedjo in second and third place), it is unfortunate to see a top-three candidate and sitting councillor using the Bloor Street redesign as a wedge issue. Mississauga is growing up. Some of its politicians should too.
Nearly three years ago, I wrote about the complicated history of Toronto’s Dundas Street. Calls to rename the street, which honours Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, came during a time of reckoning in Canada and the United States with racism, colonialism, and our ongoing relationships with First Nations. Ryerson University (my alma mater) changed its name to Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) in 2022, in acknowledgement of Egerton Ryerson’s role in developing Canada’s system of residential schools.
Retain the legal street names with additional interpretation and recognitions
Retain the legal street names but rename those civic assets with Dundas in their name, except TTC facilities (there are three parks and one library branch that include the Dundas name, and Yonge-Dundas Square; there are two TTC subway stations and one streetcar line that also bear the Dundas name)
Rename the streets and all other civic assets now carrying the Dundas name (including Dundas Street East, Dundas Street West, Dundas Square, and Old Dundas Street).
In 2021, Toronto City Council voted 17-7 in favour of the fourth option, renaming Dundas Street and all associated city assets, such as the library, the two subway stations, Yonge-Dundas Square, and three city parks. At the time, the estimated cost was $8.6 million, but by Fall 2023, it had grown to $12.7 million. There was also a significant backlash to the renaming, which included several conservative city councillors.
In the end, council voted to approve a compromise that would include renaming Yonge-Dundas Square, Dundas and Dundas West subway stations, and the Jane-Dundas library, but retain the name Dundas Street itself. There would also be a public education campaign “to acknowledge the historical impact of Henry Dundas’s actions and that of slavery more generally.”
Yonge-Dundas Square would be renamed Sankofa Square, while Dundas Station, directly below, would be renamed with financial support from TMU. “Sankofa” was one of four shortlisted names considered by the Recognition Review Community Advisory Committee (CAC), which was made up of Black and Indigenous leaders, including business owners and residents along Dundas, with the participation of local city councillors.
Sankofa, a concept that originates with the Akan people of Ghana, “refers to the act of reflecting on and reclaiming teachings from the past which enables us to move forward together.” The CAC’s short list notes the concept’s connection to West Africa, which represented a major portion of the origins of Africans trafficked to the Americas — including Upper Canada — during the slave trade.
Dundas Street, looking east from Dovercourt Road
This compromise will not make anyone especially happy, but Mayor Olivia Chow will have to make many more compromises to properly address the fiscal and social crises Toronto is facing. But this is one compromise I mostly agree with. At first I thought Yonge-Dundas Square should have an Indigenous name, but after reading the background materials, I learned that the First Nations elders on the CAC preferred a name that focuses on the Black historical experience.
Until recently, few people gave the name “Dundas Street,” named over 200 years ago, much thought. Now more people are aware that there were slaves here, in Ontario, despite Governor John Graves Simcoe’s abolitionist leanings. Our understanding of history evolves as we as people evolve — this is the reason why we have historians.
Nearly three years ago, I wrote about the history of Dundas Street. It’s a really interesting one, by the way, as it continued to change and grow right up until the 1950s. In 2023, we continue to add to the history of the colonial-era road.
On July 24, 2023, 38 years of Line 3, the Scarborough RT, came to an ignoble end when a car came off the tracks just south of Ellesmere Station, four months ahead of the scheduled closure of the deteriorating line. Though the City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) were hesitant to say so at the time, it was apparent that the July derailment meant Line 3’s permanent closure. A farewell party, with two SRT cars, was held at Scarborough Centre Station on September 23, 2023, allowing the public to have one last sit in the venerable cars.
I went to check out the new temporary bus lanes on Midland and Kennedy, installed ahead of a planned busway between Kennedy and Ellesmere Stations. The busway, which will open in 2025 after the old SRT right-of-way is decommissioned, will include a new stop at Tara Avenue, at the Meadoway trail.
In the meantime, most drivers appear to be respecting the new painted lanes, even on busy Kennedy Road. With several bus routes from north and east Scarborough diverted to Kennedy Station to provide a more pleasant ride, the bus lanes are very well used.
Streetcars backed up eastbound at King and University, November 28, 2023
On Tuesday, November 28, the University of Toronto’s School of Cities released their report that looked at vehicle movement and traffic violations on the King Street Transit Priority Corridor. They found that there are, on average, 6,800 illegal turns and through movements at intersections on the corridor, and less than 0.3% of offenders are stopped by Toronto Police and ticketed. Traffic enforcement was heaviest between November 2017 (when the pilot began) and March 2020 (when the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions began). Enforcement has not caught up since then.
The U of T School of Cities has provided invaluable quantification of what many Torontonians have suspected for years: the King Street Transit Priority Corridor is broken, and that there is little being done to fix it.
The transit priority corridor, which runs between Bathurst Street in the west and Jarvis Street in the east, has restrictions on through vehicle movements, where motorists must turn right at most intersections. Until 10 PM daily, only TTC buses and streetcars, emergency vehicles, and bicyclists are exempt. After 10 PM, taxis may also continue through the corridor.
The pilot program launched on November 12, 2017. The initial pilot, in which signs were erected, Jersey barriers placed to restrict the curb lane, and TTC stops moved to the far side of most intersections, was intended to optimize permanent streetscaping improvements, streetcar stop placement and transit optimization, get motorists acquainted with the new rules (at first, only warnings were issued by police) and allow time for Toronto City Council to decide on whether the pilot should be made permanent. Council approved making the transit priority corridor permanent on April 16, 2019.
Though Toronto City Council voted to transform King Street permanently, no work has started on the streetscape or public realm to do so. Just like Union Station, temporary Jersey barriers remain in place. The relocated TTC streetcar stops are left at road level, without transit shelters or accessible curbs. Drivers routinely ignore restrictions, with only a 0.3% chance of getting a $85 or $110 ticket. Meanwhile streetcars get stuck and transit riders get nowhere. On Wednesday, November 8, a Toronto police officer decided to enforce congestion on King Street… by ticketing a streetcar operator stuck in the intersection at University Avenue.
A motorist, ignoring several signs, proceeds straight through on King Street eastbound at Spadina Avenue
The problem is not just limited to through movements on King Street, though. On Tuesday, November 28, I stood at the corner of King and Spadina between 4:00 PM and 4:20 PM. The backup of cars and trucks headed southbound towards the Gardiner Expressway extended into the south side crosswalk and into the eastbound lanes at times. Motorists are not permitted to enter an intersection on a green light if they cannot clear it before the light turns red; this causes gridlock. But on more than one occasion, streetcars and pedestrians were impeded by illegal intersection blocks.
At Spadina and King, a truck and three passenger vehicles block the south side crosswalk and prevent a streetcar from proceeding straight on a green light
After standing at King and Spadina, I walked over to King and University, where the Toronto Police charged a streetcar operator earlier this month. At 5 PM, eastbound streetcars were lining up between University and John Street, unable to proceed.
Traffic jammed at King Street eastbound at University Avenue
However, motorists were able to turn right and left from University Avenue to eastbound King, blocking the east side crosswalk to pedestrians and ensuring that no streetcar could continue across. I spoke to one operator, who told me that the day before, he was stuck there for a half hour before he could move across.
The University and King intersection, at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, November 28. Note the blocked crosswalk and the line of streetcars, all with their hazard lights blinking. Eventually, one streetcar operator decides they had enough, and occupies the intersection.
While there, I counted several motorists who passed to the right of the stopped streetcar, and instead of turning right as permitted, they went straight, only contributing to the blockage ahead.
Two eastbound cars pass a stopped streetcar on the right to join the congestion ahead
The problem downtown is exasperated by several road closures. Queen Street is closed between Bay and Victoria Streets for Ontario Line construction; this will last for at least five years. Adelaide Street, which is one-way eastbound is closed at York Street due to the delayed Adelaide Street diversion track installation that is supposed to allow Queen Streetcars to divert around the Ontario Line closure. York Street is also closed at Adelaide. There are several other lane closures on Bay, Yonge, and Richmond Streets and University Avenue for utility work.
Adelaide Street is likely to remain closed at York until early 2024
Yet, one would hope that something was done to allow transit riders to get through the downtown core, especially as the city has been aware of the severe congestion for weeks at this point. The city needs to move ahead on permanent streetscape changes to further discourage through traffic on King Street by closing the curb lanes at the far side of each intersection.
It is also clear that the Toronto Police are not too interested in ticketing motorists on King Street. Even if they were, it wouldn’t be enough, as it takes 10-15 minutes to stop and ticket a driver; automatic ticketing, similar to red light cameras, would be more effective, though traffic officers can still be strategically deployed at congestion hotspots.
It’s beyond time for this city to take transit seriously again. King Street would be a great place to start.
Route 17 bus arriving at University of Waterloo Station
On Monday, April 10, 2023, GO Transit filled a big hole in Ontario’s intercity transportation web with Route 17, which connects three major urban centres, four universities, and two existing GO Transit rail corridors. On that day, I made my way to Waterloo and rode one of those first buses south towards Hamilton. Nearly a month later, I made a second trip, from Guelph and Downtown Hamilton, on May 5.
Sign post at University of Waterloo indicating the stops for Route 17
The bus originates at the new University of Waterloo bus terminal, located adjacent to the Ion LRT corridor and on the far east side of the university campus. It then stops in front of Wilfrid Laurier University, on Victoria Street North in Kitchener’s east end, at Guelph Central Station, University of Guelph, the park & ride lot in Aberfoyle, Aldershot Station, McMaster University, and Hamilton GO Centre.
Waterloo-bound Route 17 bus at Guelph Central Station, May 5, 2023
On the first day, the experience was more interesting than I expected, as the driver, new to the route, missed the turn from the Hanlon Expressway (Highway 6 through Guelph) towards Downtown Guelph. Luckily, dispatchers were able to guide the driver back on route after a short delay, so it only made for a roundabout tour of some of Guelph’s residential neighbourhoods, where GO Transit has certainly not gone before (and probably won’t, ever again).
On congested Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph
Sitting at the top of the front of a double decker bus (so far, I had my choice of seats as the route is still new and not too busy) gave me a view of the traffic congestion in the western Greater Golden Horseshoe. Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph is still a two-lane road, without even paved shoulders to make it a bit more cycling friendly. Though there are a few GO trains on the adjacent railway, the service is sporadic and only runs on weekdays. A new four-lane freeway has been planned for decades, with some preliminary work started, but a regular two-way, all-day train service, and more bus links to places like Cambridge, would be even more effective in meeting travel demands in the region.
Highway 6 south of Highway 401 is also very congested, and a new highway bypass is planned to divert traffic around a two-lane section through Morriston and Puslinch Station. Clearly, there’s a lot of travel demand between Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, and Hamilton, but transit options have always been severely limited.
Thankfully, Metrolinx is upgrading the western portion of the Kitchener Line, with a second platform under construction at Guelph Central Station, and work started on new passing sidings between Kitchener and Georgetown. But it will be several years at least before the upgrades allow for regular, two-way, daily passenger rail, so the bus will have to do.
At Aldershot Station
In my review of GO’s service changes earlier this month, I argued that Route 17 was trying to do too much with a single bus route. Riding the corridor from end-to-end (albeit on two separate occasions), I could not help but feel frustrated by the southern end of the route, where the GO bus goes east on Highway 403 to connect with Aldershot Station, then backtracks to get to McMaster University, then turns around to get to Downtown Hamilton. I understand that all three destinations are important trip generators (Aldershot allows passengers from Burlington, Oakville, and southern Mississauga to get to Guelph and Waterloo, McMaster University is a reliable trip generator, and Downtown Hamilton is a busy urban hub), but for someone to get between Hamilton and Guelph or Waterloo, it’s a long way out of their way.
I am hopeful that GO Transit uses the summer down time to see where passengers are going and coming from and make route adjustments or add express runs once classes resume in September.
Map of GO Transit Route 17
A note on Route 21
Last month, when previewing the new GO Transit changes, I discussed the changes to Route 21 (the Milton Corridor train-bus service), in which most buses were pulled from Union Station, instead diverted to three stations on the Lakeshore Line. Though at the time, I explained that the change made sense given severe traffic delays on the Gardiner Expressway and around the new GO Bus Terminal, it would mean a longer trip, and an unpopular transfer.
I underestimated the aggravation and anger transit riders had when the new schedules were put into service. The loss of direct GO bus service between Milton and Mississauga along Derry Road is also a new gap that should be re-filled.
I suggest three changes, though I acknowledge that the continued shortage of train crews and budget issues might make these more difficult:
Restore 15-minute rail service on the Lakeshore West corridor. This would at least ensure that transferring Route 21 customers aren’t stranded up to 30 minutes at Oakville, Clarkson, and Port Credit stations. Since GO Transit’s ridership has recovered faster off-peak versus peak periods, the extra capacity will be helpful.
Restore all-day, regular bus service on Derry Road between Milton and Meadowvale, perhaps extending to Bramalea Station and/or Highway 407 terminal. This would provide new connections, including the new weekend Kitchener Line trains.
Extend more buses between Square One and Kipling Terminal. Though the new Kipling Station bus terminal was a Metrolinx project, only Route 29 (Guelph-Square One-Kipling) uses it. It could then be an alternative to transferring to Union Station for some passengers.
Across Canada, our biggest cities are building new transit. Here in Toronto, the Crosstown and Finch West LRTs are well underway (though the first phase of the Eglinton-Crosstown is already three years late), as well as the Scarborough subway expansion, the Ontario Line, and GO Transit corridor improvements. Vancouver is building a major expansion to its Skytrain network, the Broadway Subway. Ottawa, Calgary, and Edmonton are all expanding their LRT networks. And in Montreal, the first phase of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) will open for service, while major work on the Blue Line Métro extension has just begun.
While Greater Montreal has been busy with rail transit projects, it has also opened two new busways: on Boulevard Le Corbusier in Laval, and on Boulevard Pie-IX on Montreal’s east side. The Laval busway was completed in late 2017. The SRB Pie-IX corridor was mostly completed by the end of 2022, though a section near Boulevard Jean-Talon remains under construction for the Blue Line Métro extension.
Laval’s Boulevard Le Corbusier
Looking south on Le Corbusier at Boul. Saint-Martin
Laval, a sprawling suburban municipality immediately north of Montreal Island, has a population of over 400,000. Though the large island has several historical town and village centres, the municipality is mostly made up of suburban subdivisions, shopping centres, low-rise apartment buildings, crisscrossed by several autoroute highways, including the A-13, A-15, A-19, A-25, and A-440. Despite the post-war sprawl and auto infrastructure, the far eastern end of the island remains largely agricultural.
After the extension of the Orange Line Métro into Laval in 2007, the city of Laval has worked towards urbanizing its geographical centre into “Centre-Ville Laval.” Laval’s new downtown core would consist of new and expanded educational institutions, new cultural and entertainment venues, office and high-tech employment, along with new higher-density, urban-scaled residential development. The new city centre would be focused on Boulevard Le Corbusier northward from Montmorency Métro Station, in an area lined with aging commercial properties.
During my March visit to Laval, some of the progress on Centre-Ville Laval was evident. A new sports and concert venue, Place Bell, opened in 2017, luring the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affliate from St. John’s. (Place Bell should not be confused with Centre Bell, the home of the Canadiens, also located on the Orange Line). The Université de Montréal also opened a suburban campus next to the Métro station. Slowly, mid-ride condo buildings were built on the south end of Le Corbusier, within walking distance from the campuses and transit links.
New residential development on the south end of Boul. Le Corbusier, in the near distance
To support the planned growth of Laval’s city centre, a new busway was built northward, towards the massive Carrefour Laval shopping centre, a Cadillac Fairview-owned mall that dominates Montreal’s north suburbs. The busway passes between older, smaller shopping malls, such as Centre Laval and Galleries Laval, which will one day get redeveloped. Building the new busway, along with semi-protected cycling lanes, was clearly a way of indicating the municipality’s urban planning goals.
Unfortunately, the Laval busway reminded me of the things I disliked most about York Region’s Viva Rapidways. For one, the Laval busway doesn’t speed up bus service. It is only one kilometre long, and does not properly connect with either the bus terminal at Montmorency Métro or the bus terminal across the street from Carrefour Laval. Buses must re-enter mixed traffic at both ends of the route. As in Toronto and York Region, left-turning cars are prioritized at each traffic light, and there was no apparent transit priority.
The median bus stops are also difficult to get to. Despite many days since Montreal’s last significant snowfall, and bone-dry sidewalks and roadways, the curbs and crosswalks were left uncleared. This forces pedestrians to either mount the piles of old, packed, crusty snow, or divert into the roadways to cross the street. The bike lanes were merely a convenient snow storage space.
Laval should be embarrassed by its inaccessible crosswalks and bus infrastructure
For a Saturday morning, transit service on the busway was adequate, but not especially impressive. The Société de transport de Laval, the municipal transit agency, operates a free shuttle bus on weekends, holidays, and summer weekdays between Montmorency Métro and Carrefour Laval every 20 minutes. Otherwise, bus service was sporadic despite multiple routes using the busway: two or three buses would come at once, followed by a gap of 10 or 15 minutes.
Quebec’s unique traffic signals were both interesting for out-of-province visitors and frustrating for pedestrians. In Ontario and most other jurisdictions, a right green arrow indicates absolute right-of-way for right-turning motorists. In Quebec, it merely indicates that motorists have a green signal to turn right, regardless of conflicting movements. Outside of Montreal, motorists are permitted to turn right on a red light, unless signed otherwise. This is not great signalization, especially on high-speed suburban roadways.
Right-turning motorists have the green arrow to turn right, conflicting with pedestrians (which have the walk signal) and cyclists
However, bus signals are unmistakable from general traffic signals, with white bar aspects (and a white triangle instead of an amber light). That’s one thing that is done better than here in Ontario.
Montreal’s SRB Pie-IX
Looking south on Boul. Pie-IX from Rue Bélanger
The SRB (BRT) corridor on Montreal’s Boulevard Pie-IX, which I visited later the same day, was a welcome contrast to Laval’s implementation. Boulevard Pie-IX (named for Pope Pius IX, the founder of the dogma of papal infallibility), is a wide north-south boulevard on Montreal’s east side, passing through Hochalaga, past Olympic Stadium and the Botanical Gardens, all the way into Laval. It’s a busy bus corridor, feeding into the Métro Green Line as well as the future extension of the Blue Line to Anjou.
The intersection of Pie-IX and Jean-Talon, where a new Métro station is under construction
The 439 SRB route parallels the local 139 Pie-IX bus, and like other median busways, passengers board and exit at stops at the far side of the intersection. Though there is no fare pre-payment, passengers are permitted to board at rear doors with a valid Opus card or ticket. Shelters are simple, but the stained green glass lines up nicely with the gaps where the bus doors open.
Inside a SRB shelter
Unlike median busways elsewhere in Ontario or Quebec, buses are not slowed down by left-turning motorists as left turns are prohibited along the entire SRB corridor. This simplifies operations, allows for easier transit priority, and reduces the space required at intersections for dedicated left turn lanes. Unlike Laval, the crosswalks in Montreal were cleared and easy to traverse in winter.
Left turns are banned along the entire SRB corridor. Note the triangle light on the bus signal.
The current bus rapid transit alignment replaces an older, more dangerous set up where there was a central median where the inner lane was dedicated to buses in the opposite peak (contraflow) direction during weekday rush hours. Buses assigned to Pie-IX were equipped with special flashing arrows to warn oncoming motorists, along with overhead lights indicating the lane restriction. After several serious collisions, the arrangement was abandoned.
2009 Google Streetview image of the old Pie-IX express bus arrangement, where buses in the AM peak used the leftmost northbound lane to travel south, stopping at the median shelter. In the PM peak, northbound buses used the rightmost southbound lane.
Once again, Montreal shows how buses can be sped up without compromising safety or road space. Restricting left turns along the entire corridor was the right choice, and a solution that should be considered along some of Toronto’s busiest bus corridors as well.
Finally, rapid transit corridors on arterial roads are reliant on walk-up traffic, and should therefore be as easy and safe as possible to walk up to the transit service. This means effective and quick snow removal at crosswalks, pedestrian priority (there should be no beg buttons to push to access BRT/LRT stops), and proper pedestrian infrastructure and a walkable realm. The Viva Rapidways and the Laval Boul. Le Corbusier fail this basic criteria, while Montreal does a better job.
As Greater Toronto area plans more arterial LRT and BRT corridors, such as on Dundas Street in Mississauga/Oakville, and on Queen Street in Brampton, it would be wise to put transit and active transportation first, even if it means sacrificing a few left turn lanes.
Curb lanes closed for condominium construction have defeated the purpose of Jarvis Street’s fifth reversible lane
Over a century ago, Jarvis Street was Toronto’s most fashionable address, and home to prominent families including the Masseys, who made their wealth from the farm equipment industry, and whose names live on through Massey Hall, Hart House, the Fred Victor Mission, and Massey College. The wide boulevards allowed for lush street trees to flourish, and without streetcars, there was no need for a wide roadway, despite the generous right-of-way.
Jarvis Street looking south towards Carlton Street in the 1880s. City of Toronto Archives: Fonds 1478, Item 12.
By the 1920s, though, Jarvis was no longer fashionable, with Forest Hill, North Rosedale, and Moore Park taking its place. Many of the old mansions fell into disrepair or were converted into apartments or businesses. The street became lined with low-rise apartment buildings, budget hotels, and missions to the poor and unhoused. After the Second World War, the city government decided to extend Mount Pleasant Road south of St. Clair Avenue to Bloor and Jarvis Streets and widen Jarvis Street to accommodate the increased traffic. Along with building the Dundas Street East extension, widening Dufferin Street, and pushing through Eastern Avenue, the City of Toronto was bending to the whims of the automobile, several years before the creation of Metropolitan Toronto in 1954.
Jarvis Street looking north from Carlton Street, January 1947, just before the street trees were removed and the street widened. City of Toronto Archives, Series 372, Item 1725.
By the 1960s, Jarvis Street became the preferred address of federal institutions such as the Moss Park Armoury, the regional Unemployment Insurance offices at Dundas Street, and the brutalist Ontario headquarters for the RCMP. The provincial government expanded the old Juvenile Court with a new modernist building, and Simpsons-Sears, the predecessor of Sears Canada, built a new imposing office building at 222 Jarvis, adjacent to the Simpsons warehouse on Mutual Street.
Victorian rowhouses stand next to the brutalist RCMP building on Jarvis Street, north of Shuter Street in 1979. The RCMP building later became the home of the Grand Hotel, which installed a glass veneer over the imposing west façade. The Unemployment Insurance office, at the corner of Dundas Street appears in the far left. Both the RCMP/Grand Hotel and the UIC (later Hilton Garden Inn) building were recently demolished, but the rowhouses still stand. Photo by Harvey R. Naylor. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1526, File 61, Item 27.
Jarvis Street was also the home of several of the CBC’s scattered radio and television studio spaces until they were consolidated at the CBC Broadcasting Centre on Front Street, and it was also the location of the first Four Seasons Hotel, when it started out as a chic motor hotel.
Jarvis Street looking south from north of Carlton Street; the Four Seasons Motor Hotel at 415 Jarvis Street and St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church are visible in the background. Note the centre lane indicator above. Creator: Skinner, Dorothea Skinner. City of Toronto Archives Fonds 492, Item 170.
By the early 1960s, Jarvis Street was reconfigured further to include a new reversible centre lane between Queen Street and Mount Pleasant Road at Charles Street. Then, as now, the centre lane was designated for southbound traffic, except during weekday afternoon rush hour, when the flow is reversed. Parking is prohibited at all times on the east side of the street, while on the west side, street parking is permitted except during the morning and afternoon peak periods. This, at least in theory, allows for two lanes of unobstructed traffic in both directions at all times, and in the rush hours, three lanes of peak-direction traffic. This, of course, depended on strict enforcement of parking and stopping prohibitions, and the lack of construction or other obstructions.
As Jarvis Street rebounded and new residential development and commercial development began to line the street between the mid-1980s and the present day, the five-lane traffic arterial layout became less suitable. In 2009, City of Toronto staff recommended, with extensive public input, that it was desirable to remove the reversible centre lane, narrow the roadway, and widen the sidewalk on the east side of the street to improve the public realm and address the needs of the thousands of new residents who were moving into the east end of Downtown Toronto. The additional space would have allowed for tree planters and wayfinding signage that would highlight the street’s history. Studies conducted by city staff found that there was no need for the fifth lane to provide adequate traffic movement along the street.
Cyclists, however, were unhappy that the road redesign did not include cycling lanes and they were able to convince council to alter its plans. As a result, in 2010, the road was not reconstructed, but the reversible lane was removed, with new painted cycle lanes on both sides of the street.
When Toronto elected Rob Ford as mayor that October, he promised an end to “the war on the car,” even inviting now-disgraced hockey commentator Don Cherry to give the inaugural speech, which turned out to be a controversial rant against “pinko cyclists” and “left wing kooks.” In 2011, with the support of suburban councillors, Rob Ford reversed the decision to install bike lanes on Jarvis Street (along with Pharmacy Avenue and Birchmount Road in Scarborough), and the reversible lane was re-installed.
Ironically, the demand by cyclists for bike lanes made it easy to restore the auto-oriented configuration, while widened sidewalks would have been much more difficult to remove.
Between Dundas and Gerrard Street, the lanes shift to accommodate a lane closure for a new condominium tower on the east side of Jarvis Street.
With much needed watermain and road reconstruction in the last few years, the traffic advantage provided by the reversible lane was negated because of the construction barriers. Several condominium towers being constructed along the street, at Carlton, Gerrard, and Shuter Streets, have further affected the ability of that fifth lane to move motorists quickly, effectively, or safely. Between Dundas and Gerrard Streets, the lanes temporarily shift for a long-term lane closure on the east side, just south of Gerrard. This lane shift adds additional confusion to an already confusing road layout.
Looking north to Shuter Street, with the curb lane temporarily marked for right turns only.
At Shuter Street, the construction of the Hyatt Place hotel and condominium apartment development has seen the northbound curb lane closed for several years. Approaching Shuter, the curb lane is marked as a right-turn lane, but it is used as an illegal bypass of traffic waiting at the light or turning left onto Shuter towards St. Michael’s Hospital and the Eaton Centre. This, combined with the hidden sightlines caused by the construction hoarding on the northeast corner, makes it especially dangerous for southbound motorists as well as pedestrians and cyclists crossing at this point. Beyond the construction hoarding, the right lane is used for construction crew parking, as well as staging for vehicles such as cement trucks.
Looking down towards the Hyatt Place development, showing the obstructed northbound curb lane, as well as a grey SUV crossing into the centre lane, which was reserved for opposing traffic when this photo was taken.
The long-term closure of lanes on Jarvis Street should make it clear to city officials that the outdated and unsafe middle lane is of no practical use, and it finally has got to go.
At Jarvis and Shuter Streets, the northbound right turn lane is used by impatient motorists, including a City of Toronto garbage truck, a taxi cab, and the driver of a speeding Lincoln Navigator.
Collisions are common on Jarvis Street because of the reversible centre lane — which exists nowhere else in Toronto, and in only a few places elsewhere in Canada — because of driver confusion, impatience, negligence and incompetence. As Jarvis Street becomes home to thousands of more residents in the next few years, is beyond time that the street becomes safer and more attractive to live, work, and enjoy life on.
GO Transit buses stuck in Downtown Toronto gridlock in July, 2022
While travelling through the Northeastern United States this spring and summer, I found myself feeling lucky to be living in Toronto. Though the New York City Subway and the PATH trains between New Jersey and Manhattan were operating pretty much as I remember them, in other big cities, the mass transit systems were in rough shape. In Washington, underfunding and incompetence led to the long-term withdrawal of over half of its Metro cars. During our visit in April, we were treated to long waits and crowded trains, though at least the system was clean. When we visited Philadelphia in late June, it was clear that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) had given up: poor communications, lengthy waits, unsafe subway stations, and general apathy among staff and passengers made my spouse and I resort to driving on our last day there.
In Toronto, at least, the subway was still running frequently (with only minor service cuts due to the pandemic), the buses and streetcars as (un)reliable as ever, and despite more anti-social behaviour on some of its surface routes, I almost never felt afraid for my well-being when riding the Rocket, compared to my experience in Philly. GO Transit responded to the pandemic very well. Though it was forced to suspend many of its train and bus trips due to a sudden plunge in ridership, it maintained a basic service level on nearly all of its routes, slowly restoring certain services in 2021 as ridership slowly rebounded. Some corridors, like the Kitchener Line, had more service in the early Fall of 2021 than it did prior to the pandemic. As Metrolinx continued planning and construction of major transit projects like GO Expansion, the Ontario Line, and several LRT corridors, the future looked bright. In Spring 2022, GO Transit introduced a special weekend day pass for $10 per day or $15 per weekend, to help grow ridership.
Unfortunately by late June 2022, GO began to fall apart.
