Sean Marshall

Tag: Ontario

  • Safer streets need more than just speed cameras

    Safer streets need more than just speed cameras

    Dearbourne Boulevard, a four-lane collector street designated a community safety zone

    Last week, while visiting Brampton, I came across one of the hundreds municipal speed enforcement cameras that Premier Doug Ford’s government wants to rip out across the province. The camera, on a four-lane collector street in Bramalea, is in a residential area, adjacent to several parks, including a pathway to a local public school, in an area designated a community safety zone. This is precisely the type of place that the government intended speed enforcement cameras would go when they were permitted under provincial legislation in 2019.

    In a September 2025 government press release touting the move as “protecting taxpayers,” Ford, whose government was in power when these cameras were permitted, claimed that the program became “a cash grab;” supporting quotes included those from former Liberal leader and current Vaughan mayor Steven Del Duca, a representative of the province’s municipal police unions, and a spokesperson from the right-wing Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

    If only there was a simple, effective way for taxpayers to avoid the so-called “cash grab.”

    It was interesting who was not quoted in that press release, including doctors, educators, safety advocates, and even police brass. Ontario police chiefs support automated speed enforcement. It is also worth noting most municipalities support the cameras; Vaughan is one of only a few municipalities that recently rejected the road safety program; Del Duca was joined by just two other conservative-leaning mayors.

    Of course, the arguments against the cameras, which in Toronto, were repeatedly vandalized or stolen, never held water. There were no tickets mailed out to drivers going just a few kilometres over the limit. Furthermore, speed enforcement was never a “cash grab” as the fines collected went to pay for the administration of the program, to “Vision Zero” works, such as the installation of speed cushions and improved pedestrian crossings, and to the province, which the collects the victim surcharges added to every Highway Traffic Act fine. The City of Brampton found that not only were the cameras effective in reducing speeds, they had the support of a majority of its residents.

    Municipal speed camera

    That said, while visiting Dearbourne Boulevard, I realized that speed enforcement cameras on their own are not effective in creating safer streets.

    Dearbourne Boulevard serves one of the oldest parts of Bramalea, established in the early 1960s as a self-contained satellite town, where residents were expected to drive to most destinations. After amalgamation into the City of Brampton, traffic increased and more transit became available. Nearby, several newer high-rise apartment buildings were built, walking distance to Bramalea GO Station. A bus route, 16 Dearbourne, runs along the street, connecting the neighbourhood with several shopping plazas, the GO Station, and the transit hub adjacent to Bramalea City Centre.

    Despite having low traffic and serving a residential area (an industrial area is just to the south, but it is inaccessible from Dearbourne), it is still a wide four lane street. The only traffic signal is at Bramalea Road; there are two all-way stops at Delamere Drive and Dorchester Road. At the east end of Dearbourne, the T-intersection with Balmoral Drive is controlled only be a stop sign, with two long and gentle right turn slip lanes. The speed limit is 50 km/h, and there are no speed cushions, curb extensions, or even painted buffers to indicated that drivers should go slower. In October 2022, a pedestrian was struck and seriously injured at one of the two all-way stop intersections; the driver fled the scene.

    Though to its credit, the City of Brampton has been improving many suburban streets and roads to reduce speeds and promote walking and cycling. Charolais Drive, Vodden Street, Central Park Boulevard, and Vodden Road saw traffic lanes replaced by new cycling lanes, with little pushback from residents. Dearbourne Boulevard was also slated for improvements in 2021-2022, but that work was not yet started.

    Central Park Boulevard, Howden Boulevard, and Vodden Street were among several four-lane collector roads tamed with new cycling infrastructure in the last five years, creating a new through east-west cycle route

    Now, it might be too late. Not only will the speed camera be prohibited under a bill being rushed through the provincial legislature (going around the consultation process where concerned citizens, advocates, or safety experts could depute to MPPs), but another omnibus bill was just introduced, which if passed, would prohibit all Ontario municipalities from removing general traffic lanes to install cycling infrastructure, or even transit lanes and on-street patios.

    Given the provincial government’s increasing hostility to anything that inconveniences drivers, be it road tolls, vehicle license renewal fees, automated speed enforcement, or bike lanes, it leaves municipalities fewer options to protect their most vulnerable road users and promote sustainable and healthy transport options. Though Doug Ford claims that alternatives like flashing lights and more signs would do the trick, they do not do much to deter aggressive and dangerous drivers, unlikely to get caught.

    For streets like Dearbourne Boulevard, there are a few options. Lowering the speed limit to 40 km/h should be a first step. The redundant outer two lanes could be converted to parking-only spaces, with curb extensions and bollards at intersections. The slip lanes at Balmoral Drive should be ripped out.

    Roads designed in the 1960s and 1970s for traffic that never really materialized need to be rethought, with or without Queen’s Park’s support.

  • Napanee’s precarious transit links

    Napanee’s precarious transit links

    Deseronto Transit bus in Napanee, October 2025

    A few weeks ago, I wrote about several new intercommunity transit services in Eastern Ontario. I went out to Brockville to ride River Route, which follows the St. Lawrence River between Brockville and Cardinal. I also noted the introduction of a new bus service between Kemptville and Ottawa, as well as services in Pembroke and Loyalist Township.

    Unfortunately, another Eastern Ontario service, Deseronto Transit, will come to an end on November 28, 2025. Deseronto Transit is operated by the small town located on the Bay of Quinte between Belleville and Napanee; its single route runs between these three communities, while also stopping at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and Shannonville.

    Early in 2025, the Town of Deseronto moved to end service by December 1, 2025, citing increasing expenses and ageing equipment and the end of provincial grant funding. As Deseronto is a very small town, population 1,750, the continued operation of a regional bus service is especially challenging. Despite the planned closure of service, it is commendable that the town was willing to give it a go, connecting its residents to employment areas in Belleville, as well as medical, educational, and shopping destinations in both Napanee and Belleville.

    Laying over at Deseronto Transit’s garage

    At its peak, Deseronto Transit was able to average 12-15 passengers per trip, thanks largely to its schedule and route that operates to important destinations in Belleville including Quinte Mall, Belleville General Hospital, and an industrial park in the northeast part of that city. But with the wind-down, ridership has fallen; I was one of only two passengers headed west to Belleville from Napanee and Deseronto on Friday, October 17.

    In Belleville, there are still connections to Prince Edward County (which introduced a summer weekend service in 2025) at the Downtown Terminal, and to Trenton via Quinte Transit at Loyalist College. There is also an informal on-demand service to various communities north of Belleville within Hastings County.

    One of the challenges operating small inter-community services is that they need long-term, dedicated funding, rather than a one-time grant. They also need to be publicized better, with proper bus stop signage, integrated websites, and easy connections to local transit and other intercity services.

    A smart provincial government would not only ensure that these connections are funded and maintained; it would help to better integrate, brand, and advertise inter-community services, touting their benefits to residents and visitors alike. It already does this in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GO Transit) and in Northern Ontario (Ontario Northland); there really should be more to ensure rural and small town connections are sustainable and sustained in Southern Ontario.

    Why going to Napanee is so complicated

    To get to Napanee and to take a ride on Deseronto Transit, I had to take the only weekday morning departure from Toronto: a Maple Bus trip from Yorkdale Station to a gas station drop off north of Highway 401 in Napanee. The town is also served by Megabus (on the Pearson Airport-Kingston Route) and two daily VIA Rail trains, but these all leave the city in the PM hours. Maple Bus, a new entry not yet added to my intercity map, operates several buses a day between the Toronto area and Ottawa, with stops at most cities and towns along Highway 401 between Oshawa and Brockville.

    The main Toronto stop for Maple Bus and Flixbus is the passenger pick-up/drop-off area of Yorkdale Station, a curbside stopping zone under the Allen Road/Highway 401 ramps next to Yorkdale Subway Station. GO Transit, Megabus, and Ontario Northland use a nearby purpose-built bus terminal. Though the area is sheltered from rain by the overpasses, there is only one small bench to sit at. It is not a great place to wait for a bus, especially when it is nearly 40 minutes late, as my bus was.

    Waiting under highway ramps at Yorkdale Station

    At least the Maple Bus vehicle was comfortable. The bus assigned was a mid-sized body-on-truck-chassis coach, which sits 25 in comfortable bucket seats (I have rode in smaller, less comfortable vehicles before). However, it does not have a toilet on board, and food and beverages are not allowed to be consumed. There was a rest stop, where the driver also refueled, at Tyendinaga First Nation off Highway 401 between Belleville and Napanee. When we made this stop, we were only ten minutes from my destination.

    Maple Bus vehicle, during a rest break/refueling stop at Tyendinaga First Nation near Belleville

    The most challenging part was the walk from the Maple Bus stop at a Petro-Canada/A&W north of Highway 401 towards the town centre. Megabus stops across the street at a Flying J truck stop. Presumably, these bus stop locations are chosen because of their ease of access on and off the highway, and because the property operators are cooperative with the bus operators, but they make things difficult for anyone without a pre-arranged ride.

    The Maple Bus route stops at a Petro-Canada north of Highway 401

    Though there are signalized pedestrian crossings at Highway 41 and Community Road, next to the Flying J and Petro-Canada, complete with crosswalks and “beg” buttons, there are no sidewalks continuing in any direction. Many push-button panels still have their installation instructions visible, rather than a “push button to cross” message.

    Instructions for beg button installation still visible on two panels in Napanee
    A dirt path continues south where there should be a paved sidewalk. The Flying J truck stop is on the right.

    My walk south into the town centre required a precarious crossing of Highway 401 in a dark underpass alongside four lanes of traffic with very little clearance, as seen in the video below. Just further south of the interchange, there was another squeeze point at a drainage culvert. In snow, ice, or wet conditions, this would be especially dangerous.

    Navigating the walk along Highway 41 south towards Napanee

    The VIA Rail station, located at a historic Grand Trunk Railway structure, is a short walking distance to Napanee’s downtown core, and to much of the populated urban centre. However, with a very limited train schedule and higher fares, many will still opt for the bus.

    Napanee Railway Station

    Unfortunately, the last-mile problem is common with intercity bus services, where bus stops are chosen out of convenience rather than passenger access and comfort, with distant truck stops favoured in places like Napanee, Chatham, and Cornwall. In major centres such as Toronto and Ottawa, carriers will choose more central, transit-accessible stops, but in smaller cities and rural areas, passengers are left on their own.

  • The end of the line at Porcupine

    The end of the line at Porcupine

    Sign says "Porcupine" near the new Ontario Northland terminus.
    The end of the line for the restored Northlander train

    Timmins, a resource town of 40,000 in Northeastern Ontario, is known for a few things: gold mines, beer parlours, the birthplace of country musician Shania Twain, and the place where folk musician Stompin’ Tom Connors got his start. If Connors — a travelling musician who delighted small town crowds with songs about their communities (like the hard working and hard drinking times of a “Sudbury Saturday Night”) — was still around, he’d probably write and perform a new song about getting kicked off an overnight train in the sparse environs of Porcupine, Ontario. After all, the song would quickly rhyme itself.

    Porcupine is a small community of about 1,000 on the far eastern edge of the populated area in the geographically gigantic City of Timmins. Before the wave of municipal amalgamations across Ontario in the 1990s and early 2000s, Timmins was the largest city or town in the province by geographic area; it was formed through the amalgamation of the smaller City of Timmins with adjoining Mountjoy and Tisdale Townships (along with the town of South Porcupine) in the 1970s.

    Until 1990, when the devastating cuts to VIA Rail took place, there were two daily trains between Toronto, North Bay, and Northeastern Ontario. The Northlander, a daytime train operated by Ontario Northland Railway, terminated at a downtown station in Timmins. The Northland, a joint VIA/ONR train, ran overnight between Kapuskasing and Toronto, with a bus connection to downtown Timmins. Famously, for a short period the daytime Northlander operated using former Trans-Europ-Express (TEE) cars, purchased used from Dutch and Swiss rail operators.

    Northbound Northlander TEE set at St. Clair Avenue in Toronto, by HardHatMak on Flickr

    After 1990, Timmins was only connected by bus, with one daily bus to North Bay (and onwards to Toronto), and one bus, six days a week, to Sudbury (with connections to Toronto). The new daily overnight train — discussed earlier on this site — promises to restore a new daily trip, along with a more comfortable journey, even if sleeping accommodations will not be provided.

    Timmins Station with transit bus
    The Timmins Station is now a bus terminal serving local transit and Ontario Northland intercity coaches

    Unfortunately, the train will not be returning to Downtown Timmins. The end of rail is at Highway 101 at Porcupine, 13 kilometres to the east. Since abandonment of the passenger rail service, the railway was torn out west of South Porcupine; the railway overpass over Algonquin Boulevard (Highway 101) near the old Timmins Station was removed last year. Ore collected at the open-pit gold mines, previously loaded onto railcars, is now sent on massive dump trucks for processing at a plant at Hoyle, east of Porcupine.

    The Northlander train departs Timmins on the now-demolished railway bridge over Algonquin Boulevard in the early 1980s

    Happily, the Timmins station building remains in use as a transit terminal and Ontario Northland coach stop; it will likely serve a bus shuttle to the new Timmins-Porcupine Station now under construction.

    The end of track at Highway 101 in Porcupine; construction has started on the new terminal station for the Northlander

    Since I last wrote about the promised return of the Northlander, there have been a few updates. The new station building will be somewhat more substantial than first proposed; it will include washrooms, a waiting area, and a service counter for ticket sales and bus parcels. This is welcome, as there is very little around the Porcupine station site. Nearby, there are only a few dozen houses, a propane depot, a small park, and a gas station across the street.

    Rendering of new Timmins-Porcupine Station

    Most other stations will still just get enclosed shelters, though at Matheson, Swastika, New Liskeard, and Temagami, the construction of new platforms is well underway. Even though there are heritage passenger stations at Matheson (which just escaped demolition), Temagami, South River, Huntsville, and Gravenhurst, there will just be shelters for Northlander passengers at these stops. Shelters depicted on the Ontario Northland website resemble those at BRT stops or GO Transit station platforms, with lighting and overhead heat.

    Fencing protects the construction of a new platform beside the handsome Temagami ONR Station. The station building will not be used for passenger services; it currently hosts a café and gift shop.
    Rendering of passenger shelter for Northlander stops

    It will be nice to see the return of passenger rail to Northeastern Ontario when it launches in two years. Unfortunately, I remain unsure whether it will attract enough riders to be seen as viable after a year or two of service.

  • Buses to the big box

    Buses to the big box

    Timmins Transit bus headed west from downtown to Wal-Mart

    Last month, I found myself intrigued by American transit consultant Jarrett Walker’s observations about the difficulties of getting to Walmart stores by public transit in US cities. On Bluesky, Walker examined the long walks through hostile environments between Walmart stores and the nearest bus stops, and it is an interesting thread.

    In many US cities, Walmarts are often some of the busiest transit destinations.Here is the typical relationship between a Walmart (far right) and its nearest bus stop (far left).Note the details of the pedestrian experience between one and the other. 1/🧵

    — Jarrett Walker (@humantransit.bsky.social) 2025-07-19T18:33:32.331Z
    Jarrett Walker’s BlueSky thread on US Walmart locations

    In response, I noted the more typical experience in midsized Ontario cities. Though American and Canadian land use policies are similar in many ways, complete with the post-1990s proliferation of “big box” retail developments, there are some significant differences. For example, local transit systems will often make an effort to serve big box retail clusters, particularly Walmart stores.

    This is something we do a bit better here in Canada. Below are Google Map screenshots of four Walmarts in small Ontario cities.

    — Sean Marshall (@seanyyz.bsky.social) 2025-07-19T18:48:29.558Z
    BlueSky post that shows Walmart stores and bus stops in four small Ontario cities: Orillia, St. Thomas, Belleville, and Brockville

    Walmart stores are important to transit riders, especially in smaller urban centres that have few or no other major shopping centres. Most Walmart stores now have an in-store pharmacy, carry a full selection of groceries, and have ancillary services, such as medical clinics, haircutters, and opticians. Walmart itself will typically anchor a larger commercial development with other big-box retailers such as Home Depot or Canadian Tire. These commercial developments and surrounding areas will have up to have several hundred employees, some of which may also rely on transit.

    From the 1960s to the early 2000s, regional shopping malls were often major transit hubs in mid-sized cities and suburban municipalities in Canada, typically located in space set aside in the mall parking lot. For the most part, Canadian commercial landlords were willing to provide the space; in some cases, the terminal was even right outside one of the main entrances.

    In my hometown of Brampton, for example, two of the three major transit terminals were Bramalea City Centre and Shoppers World. Mississauga’s main transit hub is at Square One mall; Hamilton has large bus loops at Limeridge and Eastgate malls, and London has transit hubs at Masonville Place and White Oaks Mall. Smaller cities and towns such as Belleville, Orillia, and Peterborough would also be sure to serve the local shopping mall with at least one route stopping on the mall property, typically in a space set aside on a mall driveway.

    Sometimes, these mall terminals become too small or too difficult for buses to get in and out of. Brampton Transit grew, the Shoppers World and Bramalea City Centre terminals were moved to larger facilities off-site with better road access, but still close to the malls. In smaller cities, where the importance of enclosed shopping malls (anchored by traditional retailers such as Sears Canada, Zellers, and Hudson Bay) declined in favour of big-box retail, often located on the urban outskirts, the buses followed where their passengers needed to go.

    St. Thomas (Railway City Transit) and Middlesex County Connect minibuses wait for passengers in front of Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore

    In St. Thomas, a small city of about 45,000 people, the main transfer point is in front of the Walmart store parking lot, meaning that every bus rider gets a one-seat ride to the SmartCentres-managed property, which also includes a Loblaws grocery store, Canadian Tire, and over a dozen smaller stores, restaurants, and banks. The recent relocation of the transit hub from a struggling downtown to the big box centre to the west — which is actually closer to the city’s geographic centre — makes sense. It now also serves as the transfer point to the regional bus service to London.

    In Brockville, another small city in Eastern Ontario, the two transfer points are in the downtown and at “Box Stores Transfer” in the northeastern corner of the municipality. The latter is also the transfer point to the inter-municipal River Route to Prescott and Cardinal. In other smaller Ontario cities, including Belleville, Chatham, Orillia, Sarnia, and Timmins, there is at least one bus route extending to the end of the urbanized area to serve the Walmart and/or other large big box retailers. Often the stop will simply be called “Walmart” or “SmartCentres.”

    Sometimes, larger cities will have transit terminals in the middle of big box parking lots. On the south end of Sudbury, GOVA’s Route 1 Mainline terminates in front of a Walmart parking lot, with connections to three local feeder routes. A similar set up can be found in the north end of Guelph. In Waterloo, a large big box complex on the edge of the region’s urban boundary, Boardwalk, was designed with a central transit hub.

    Though the examples here are all Ontario examples, the pattern generally holds across Canada, from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Nanaimo, British Columbia, though there are many exceptions. It also helps that many Canadian Walmart stores are located in shopping malls as they are in renovated and/or expanded former Woolco or Zellers stores.

    Despite these attempts to provide transit services to retailers like Walmart, these are not ideal set ups. Shopping malls were designed as pedestrian environments within large parking lots. As long as there is a convenient, safe, and short walkway to the mall entrance, transit riders could be well-served. This is much harder with contemporary big box retail, as they are designed completely different. With malls, parking lots surround a cluster of stores. Most big box developments have the stores surround gigantic parking lots. Even if walkways and bus facilities were included in the site plan, there are still long, unsheltered walks between the bus stops and store entrances.

    Trinity Common Shopping Centre at Highway 410 and Bovaird in Brampton. The red lines mark where the buses stop.

    An early attempt to create a more transit and pedestrian site plan in a big box centre was Trinity Common in Brampton, which opened in stages in the early 2000s. There were distinct roadways, complete with sidewalks and street lighting; in the centre, surrounded by restaurant pads, were several bus bays and a transit terminal office. Several busy Brampton Transit bus routes converge here rather than simply stop on the adjoining multi-use roadways. Even so, the distances between retailers — which include Canadian Tire, a Metro supermarket, Home Depot and Brampton’s only multiplex cinema — make walking unpleasant.

    But at least, unlike the American examples Jarrett Walker highlighted, there’s an attempt at doing better. Hopefully, the next generation of retail centres — mixed use developments with residential uses on upper levels — do better with incorporating the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users.

  • BRT comes to London

    BRT median under construction on Wellington Street at South Street, London

    The City of London, Ontario has been quietly constructing a new bus rapid transit (BRT) system over the last few years, which will extend south and east of the downtown core. By the end of April 2025, the first major section of this network will begin operation.

    The Wellington Road and Fanshawe College segments are two of the four rapid transit routes originally proposed under London’s SHIFT. At first, a north-to-east line, connecting Masonville Place Mall, Western University, Downtown London, and Fanshawe College, was to be a light rail corridor, featuring a short tunnel under Richmond Street to avoid a busy freight railway crossing. A BRT line would have connected the west end of London, at Oxford Street and Wonderland Road, continued downtown, and head south towards the Victoria Hospital campus and White Oaks Mall near Highway 401. The map below shows the initial proposal.

    The original rapid transit proposal called for a light rail (orange route) connecting Western University, downtown, and Fanshawe College and a BRT (blue) corridor to the west and south of downtown

    Due to budget constraints, the project was revised to a BRT-only scheme. The Richmond Street leg, leading north to Western University, was cut when the bus tunnel under the CPKC railway and the Oxford Street intersection was deemed to cost $220 million in 2017. Business owners along Richmond Street, a busy restaurant, nightlife, and shopping district known as Richmond Row, were also opposed to the reduction in traffic lanes that the transit tunnel would have required.

    This section of Richmond Street — used by eight London Transit routes — is a severe bottleneck as it is not only a busy traffic corridor, it crosses CPKC’s mainline connecting Toronto, Windsor, and the US Midwest.

    Several buses cross Richmond Street north of Downtown London
    Several buses cross the CPKC tracks on Richmond Street north of Downtown London

    The pared-down BRT project consists of a curbside bus-only lane encircling the downtown core, following King Street, Wellington Street, Queen’s Avenue, and Ridout Street. At each turn, buses must wait for a dedicated signal to make the left turn to continue on the loop. Right now, buses do not have any signal priority, and can wait a full light cycle (up to two minutes) to get the dedicated left turn signal.

    Example of a left turn from the right curb lane in London. The dedicated transit signals allow left-turning buses to remain in the right lane without traffic conflicts.

    New enlarged shelters and long platforms allow multiple buses to pick up and drop off at each stop; most routes heading through downtown will serve at least one of these new bus stops on their routes. All buses were removed from Dundas Street, which has been re-landscaped to create a more pedestrian-friendly commercial environment called Dundas Place.

    New enlarged bus shelters along the BRT corridors; this is at Wellington and King Streets

    On April 28, Route 94, a weekday express route between Argyle Mall in London’s east end, Downtown London, and Western University, will begin operating in both directions on King Street, and will be the first route using the bus infrastructure outside the downtown loop. King Street was originally a one-way, two-lane-wide roadway east of Downtown London, but was recently widened to allow for painted bus lanes in both directions.

    Contraflow bus lane on King Street, previously a two-lane, one-way street

    Work is far from complete. Utility work and road reconstruction continues on Dundas east of Ontario Street (at the Western Fairgrounds) and on Highbury Avenue north to Oxford. Construction of the BRT median on Wellington Street/Wellington Road south is also ongoing.

    Looking south on Wellington Street at the South Thames River bridge crossing, which is being widened as part of the BRT project

    The cost of the BRT project has risen to at least $454 million, and that does not include the north or west segments. Service levels have yet to be determined, along with transit route restructuring once the east and south segments are complete. The new station shelters will not have off-board fare payment equipment, so unless policy changes, all transit riders will still have to enter the bus from the front door.

    Concept rendering of Wellington Road with new BRT median lanes near White Oaks Mall

    Entering and leaving downtown along Wellington Street, south BRT buses will still have to squeeze through an older four-lane railway underpass in mixed traffic, limiting bus throughput. The lack of a northern segment between Downtown, Western University, and Masonville Place Mall is another major downfall.

    Bottlenecks, like Richmond Street North, will limit how fast and how attractive transit will be to prospective riders

    Though it is hoped that London’s Rapid Transit project will help shape development — much in the same way Waterloo Region’s Ion LRT has — the cost-cutting will limit this potential. The Wellington Road BRT median might help improve bus reliability along a congested traffic corridor, but the lack of signal priority — plus the railway underpass bottleneck — will not help. Western University students will still have to endure a slow ride north from downtown, reducing the attractiveness of Wellington Street, currently littered with big-box stores and strip plazas, as a place to build up with private mixed-use development. Perhaps the eastern segment on King and Dundas Streets, serving the regenerating Old East Village neighbourhood, will be more successful.

  • Dysfunction junction: permanent obstructions at Union Station

    Dysfunction junction: permanent obstructions at Union Station

    New blocks installed in front of Union Station at Front and York Streets

    When I learned that Union Station was finally getting permanent bollards to replace the haphazardly-placed Jersey barriers that have sat in front of the transport hub since 2018, I was relieved. I wrote about these barriers several times on this website, criticizing their appearance and their placement, blocking the way for the thousands of people who cross Front Street every day. But when I went to see them in person, after seeing criticism online, I was dismayed.

    The new permanent barriers might even be worse than the temporary obstructions they are meant to replace.

    The Jersey barriers were hastily placed after a tragic attack on Yonge Street in North York, where a man intentionally drove a rented van on to the sidewalk, killing ten pedestrians and injuring and traumatizing many more.

    Vehicular assaults on crowds of pedestrians are a major concern; tactics used at mass gatherings — such as the winter light show and New Years Eve events at Nathan Phillips Square and major concerts and playoff games at Skydome and Scotiabank Arena — now include blocking closed streets with heavy vehicles such as snow plows, dump trucks, and city buses. However, Union Station is the only place in the city where officials have decided that new permanent barriers were necessary.

    Union Station is one of the busiest pedestrian areas in the city

    The new permanent barriers are not the sturdy, yet narrow, bollards that are used elsewhere. Instead, they are large, undecorated concrete blocks anchored into the ground and are knee-high. The plain concrete colour does not match the stone sidewalks or plaza. They are placed very close together, impeding access for those using large carts, strollers, or wheeled mobility devices. Despite all the money spent renovating Union Station, these blocks look cheap.

    Concrete blocks at the corner of York and Front Street at Union Station

    The total cost of installing the “Custom Anti-Terror Concrete Barriers,” as the city described the bid, was $2,438,238, including HST. The lowest bid, by South Central Inc., came over a $1 million cheaper than the other two bids. It is worth noting that there are no public documents that describe the city’s specifications for the contract, nor was there any public consultation before the city solicited bids.

    The result? An esthetic failure and an accessibility challenge.

    Video showing pedestrians going around the concrete blocks in front of Union Station

    I cannot understand the city’s decision to go with these blocks where more elegant and pedestrian-friendly alternatives are typically used elsewhere. For example, the Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna, which faces the famous and busy Ringstrasse, is protected by smaller concrete bollards, which are also more widely separated, making it much more pleasant for pedestrians to get by. In Great Britain, metal bollards are common on busy commercial streets and in front of important buildings, but they are easy for pedestrians to pass, and generally blend in.

    Thick concrete bollards in front of the Austrian Parliament Building, 2023
    Metal bollards in front of the Royal Courts of Justice in London

    In the United States, government buildings are also protected by heavy anti-vehicular barricades (especially since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing), but they are generally more permeable for pedestrians.

    Metal bollards protect the federal courthouse in Downtown Manhattan (Google Streetview)

    It is also worth noting that other popular pedestrian areas, such as the Yonge-Dundas intersection, are not protected from a potential vehicular attack — or an unintentional collision. It is beyond comprehension why the city only focused on protecting one pedestrian area, using such a poorly thought-out design. Toronto can — and should — do better.

  • From Hamilton to Haldimand: a new transit link fills a major gap

    From Hamilton to Haldimand: a new transit link fills a major gap

    Southern Ontario Transit minibus in Dunnville, October 2024

    Earlier in October, I got to meet Rae Rivard, owner-operator of Southern Ontario Transit (SOT), a new intercity transit operator currently serving Hamilton and Haldimand County. The route, which launched on September 16th, offers three weekday round trips between Downtown Hamilton and Dunnville, serving the communities of Caledonia, Hagersville, and Cayuga.

    Haldimand County, along with the neighbouring Six Nations and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation reserves, remained unserved by intercity or local bus services since the early 2000s; in 1990, United Trails operated a daily bus between Port Dover, Hagersville, Caledonia, and Hamilton. Cayuga and Dunnville were served by a Greyhound route on Highway 3 between Niagara and London. More recently, as Niagara Region was building a regional transit service and Norfolk County successfully applied for provincial funding for a new service between Simcoe and Brantford, Haldimand County refused to take part. Enter SOT.

    SOT, which charges a $10 one-way fare, operates without the support of the municipal government, and is unable to put up bus stop signs or actively promote its service at municipal facilities such as libraries or community centres. For this reason, ridership remains low, despite growing populations in Caledonia and Hagersville and convenient links to Hamilton Airport, Mohawk College, St. Joseph’s Hospital, and to GO Transit and HSR services.

    Rivard will tell you that “the primary challenge we face today is slow uptake. Due to a number of limitations and challenges currently out of our control, the number of regular and new riders trends up every week, but not as fast as we need to cover expenses…. Many of the limitations we are dealing with right now can easily be addressed at no expense, but these choices are out of our control.”

    Rivard reached out to businesses and social service organizations, but was turned away, adding that “the entire operation has been entirely funded out of me and my wife’s savings, and we are really struggling to keep up with expenses at this rate.”

    Without approved bus stop locations with curb access, SOT is not able to provide fully-accessible service, though it already has a wheelchair-accessible vehicle. The lack of physical bus stops and publicity has made it difficult to attract riders, though while riding with Rivard on a beautiful October afternoon, it was clear that a demand exists as several residents came up to the minibus to find out more information.

    My hope is that word spreads about this unique and essential operation and that the local communities provide the needed support to make this service work. If this initial route succeeds, SOT would like to expand service in Haldimand and take on other gaps in the Ontario network.

    At the Hamilton terminus, at Main Street and MacNab, across from the HSR terminal
    A new version of my Ontario Intercity Transport Map is now available

    I updated my Ontario Intercity Transport Map to add Southern Ontario Transit’s route. Commuter Connect in Northumberland County ended service not long after VIA Rail finally resumed its early morning train from Kingston to Toronto. East Zorra-Tavistock Transit in Oxford County did not last long either, and service there has ended.

    Added to the map:

    • Southern Ontario Transit between Hamilton, Caledonia, and Dunnville
    • Red Arrow’s daily Toronto-Western University express, which replaces its Toronto-Niagara Falls run
    • A new daily Flixbus route between Toronto, Hamilton, and St. Thomas
    • A new OnexBus route between London, Goderich, and Port Elgin, operating Friday through Monday
    • OnexBus’s London-Pearson Airport-Brampton route, which operates several trips a day
    • Ourbus’s Toronto-Ottawa route
    • Kasper’s daily Winnipeg-Kenora-Sioux Lookout service
    • Revisions to on-demand services in Niagara Region
    • Some revised routings and service levels across the province

    Removed from the map:

    • Commuter Connect in Northumberland County
    • East Zorra-Tavistock Transit
    • Kasper’s on-demand service to Red Lake/Balmerton

    Though it is good to see Bruce County — particularly rapidly growing Saugeen Shores — get another link, that part of Ontario is still poorly served; there should be daily services between larger Bruce County communities like Saugeen Shores, Kincardine, and Walkerton at least to Owen Sound and Hanover. Lindsay is also left without any intercity services, after TOK ended service from Toronto to Haliburton last year. where a Peterborough-Lindsay-Pontypool service, perhaps extending to Durham College/Ontario Tech University in Oshawa could prove to be a very useful route.

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  • Deadcatting: Doug Ford’s big dig

    We need a Highway 401 Tunnel like we need a dead cat on the dining room table

    On Wednesday, September 25, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, along with transportation minister Pradmeet Sarkaria, announced that the provincial government would fund a feasibility study on building a new highway tunnel under Highway 401 from Peel Region to Durham Region, along with an unspecified new transit facility.

    Earlier this week, Doug Ford exclaimed that those living in homeless encampments and anyone else without housing who he thought could work should “get off their a-s-s and start working like everyone else.” The day before that, we learned that Ford’s Progressive Conservative government would prohibit new bicycle infrastructure if it took road space away from motorists.

    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.

    The strategy is thought to come from Lynton Crosby, an Australian conservative strategist who worked on Johnson’s mayoral and UK Conservative leadership campaigns, as well as Canada’s Conservative Party in 2015.

    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.

    TRBoT post on September 25, 2024

    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.

  • A heartbreaking end for the Ontario Science Centre

    A heartbreaking end for the Ontario Science Centre

    A family enters the Science Centre for the last time on Friday June 21, 2024

    When I was growing up, our family would make a trip every year to the Ontario Science Centre, a 45-minute car drive from our home in suburban Brampton. Invariably, these trips would take place on the first PA day of the school year, typically on a Friday in late September or early October, when the ravine was still lush and green, with only the first hints of the changing season.

    Because it was early in the school year, and since the Toronto school boards typically had different PA days than the Dufferin-Peel Catholic board, the Science Centre would be mostly empty; my father would run with my brothers and I along the corridor over the ravine between the entrance hall and the great hall. At the end of our visit would be an hour spent at the Science Arcade, the highlight of any child’s visit to the once-great institution. I marveled at Raymond Moriyama’s wonderful harmony of concrete, glass, and natural beauty as one descended into the West Don Ravine by means of glass walkways and escalators.

    Later visits in high school and in my early adulthood, however, were not as great. The exhibits were getting old, and the place started feeling worn out. The Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne-led governments did not value the Science Centre enough to invest in its relevance or its long-term maintenance. Doug Ford’s PC government continued the neglect, favouring a private redevelopment of Ontario Place (closed under the previous Liberal government) with a new, downsized Science Centre to take its place.

    In 2022, that once-wonderful double-deck bridge between the entrance hall and the exhibition space was closed due to the risk of structural failure, with no plans to fix or restore the link. Instead, $2 million a year was spent on shuttle buses ferrying visitors between the upper parking lot (after they paid admission) and the lowest level at the bottom of the ravine. That year, the planetarium (a smaller version of the McLaughlin Planetarium that operated next to the Royal Ontario Museum until the 1990s) also closed due to deterioration.

    A December 2023 report from the provincial Auditor General’s office took issue with the government’s management of the Ontario Science Centre and the flawed business case for moving it to a new location on Toronto’s waterfront, in a location much less accessible to school groups.

    Loading Ontario Science Centre visitors on shuttle buses, June 21, 2024

    The most recent development in which engineers warned of sections of the roof in danger of failure and collapse in a report to Infrastructure Ontario (linked in full on the CBC Toronto website) after October 31, 2024, with repairs costing between $22 million and $40 million. The immediate closure, announced on a Friday afternoon, would provide time to allow the exhibits to be removed, possibly to an interim location. However, most of the roof was found to be in good or fair condition in an the engineer’s report, making the immediate closure suspect.

    Globe and Mail architecture critic Alex Bozilkovic questioning the government’s sudden closure on X/Twitter.

    On Friday morning, gates were already being installed at the parking lot entrances to the Science Centre, before the official announcement, even before the Toronto Star published the first story about the closure on its website around noon.

    Workers install rigid gates at the staff parking and bus exit at Ontario Science Centre. Local Liberal MPP Dr. Adil Shamji speaks to a reporter in front.

    One cannot help but be skeptical about the sudden decision to close the Science Centre, despite the demolition by neglect by the Liberal and PC governments. Had an announcement been made, but with the closure taking effect two weeks later after the long weekend, it would have given visitors one last time to appreciate the Science Centre and its unique architecture. But that might also be the point. By making the closure a done deal without the opportunity for the community to rally to save the Ontario Science Centre, Doug Ford’s PCs have shut down debate. By the time the legislature meets again in October, their hope is that opposition to the destruction of Ontario Place and the Ontario Science Centre will have dissipated. The Friday afternoon news dump also fits this strategy.

    Though I made it up on Friday to document the closure, I am sad that I did not make it for one last visit, just as with the sudden closure of the Scarborough RT last year.

    The most heartbreaking thing for me was watching a young family walk from Flemingdon Park into the Science Centre just as the news media was assembling for a press conference with Don Valley East MPP Dr. Adil Shamji and Floyd Ruskin of SaveOSC. The young child looked so excited for a day at the science centre, unaware that it would be the last day it would ever be open.

  • Another bus to London

    Another bus to London

    Intercity Bus minibus on York Street at Royal York Hotel, February 13, 2024

    In late 2023, yet another intercity bus operator started serving the busy Toronto-London corridor, operating between Toronto and London. With the rather unimaginative name of “Intercity Bus,” this new company operates up to four trips a day between Toronto and London. It has since added a route between London and Sarnia; it also plans to run the much-needed link between London and St. Thomas.

    There are now five bus companies on the Toronto-London route: Intercity Bus, Onex Bus, Trailways, and Megabus (in a partnership with local coach operator Badder Bus). Those five companies compete with VIA Rail, which operates up to six daily trips between the two cities, with up to 28 round trips daily between them.

    Onex Bus departing Downtown Toronto, photo kindly provided by Chris Whitfield

    VIA Rail remains the fastest and most comfortable option, with full-service staffed stations in Downtown London and Downtown Toronto, but its fares are typically the most expensive. The private coach companies offer cheaper fares, and several of them directly serve Western University and/or Fanshawe College. Megabus has partnered with Trailways; its booking website includes both the Toronto-London-Detroit Trailways trips and the Toronto-London trips operated by Badder Bus. Otherwise, one must go to the individual companies’ websites to figure out the complete schedule and where each service stops at.

    The schedule below, saved as a PDF, includes all regular weekday trips between Toronto and London along with intermediate stops.

    Complete schedule showing all regular weekday trips between Toronto and London

    In Toronto, Flixbus, Trailways and Megabus/Badder call at the Union Station Bus Terminal, where connections can be made to other Flixbus and Megabus services, along with GO Transit and VIA Rail in the adjacent railway hub. Onex and Intercity Bus make use of a curbside stop on York Street next to the Royal York Hotel, which is shared with the Toronto Island Airport shuttle. These three stops are all within a few minutes’ walk from each other. Some Flixbus runs to London begin and end in Scarborough, and many buses also make a stop at Pearson Airport.

    In London, every bus carrier makes a curbside stop at Western University, the terminus of all bus trips from Toronto except Trailways, which continues to Windsor and Detroit. All carriers except Badder/Megabus also serve Downtown London. However, each has a different stopping location, with Flixbus and Trailways opting for a curbside stop on York Street near CitiPlaza (London’s downtown mall), and Onex utilizing the driveway at the VIA Rail station.

    Curbside stops are convenient for bus operators, as they’re easy to pull up to and depart from, there’s no rent, staffing, or maintenance costs. With smartphones and online ticketing, there is no need for a ticket agent, and passengers can be notified by text and/or email of any delays or changes. But curbside stops have no shelter and no washrooms.

    Interestingly, Intercity Bus has taken over the old Greyhound terminal in Downtown London. At its peak, London’s terminal had dozens of daily departures to cities and towns all over Southwestern Ontario, serving multiple carriers at a time when intercity carriers acted more like a unified network.

    The old London Greyhound terminal

    The terminal offers seating, washrooms, and is staffed by an agent, a rarity in the post-Greyhound world. The washrooms are especially essential if — as on my recent trip — the bus does not have an on-board lavatory. These new smaller carriers save fuel and labour costs by operating smaller vehicles and matching capacity with demand. They often operate older coaches and minibuses.

    Inside the Intercity Bus terminal

    I recently took Intercity Bus from Toronto to London to try out Ontario’s newest carrier. Though the 12:10 departure from Toronto was on a minibus similar to those used by rural transit operators (there were only 10 passengers on that Tuesday afternoon run), the ride was comfortable enough, with cloth bucket seats. It was a fast trip: it skipped stops in Woodstock and Fanshawe College, and the driver made very good time on Highway 401, at times exceeding the posted speed limit by 25 or 30 kilometres per hour. Even with a stop for fuel (the driver asked if it was okay), we arrived 15 minutes early at the London terminal.

    At its peak in the 1980s, there were over two dozen daily departures from the London bus terminal. There were frequent Greyhound routes to Toronto via Kitchener and via Brantford and Hamilton as well as to Chatham, Windsor, and Detroit; there were also daily Greyhound routes to Niagara Falls via St. Thomas, Simcoe, and Welland and to Strathroy, Sarnia and into Michigan. Regional coach operators also ran from the Greyhound terminal to Stratford, Goderich, Rodney, Walkerton, Leamington, and Port Stanley. Today, there are just four — three to Toronto and one to Sarnia.

    Detail from 1990-1991 Ontario Intercity Transportation Guide, showing bus routes from London to points throughout Southwestern Ontario

    My hope for the next year is for more stability in the intercity bus industry, perhaps even mergers between some of the smaller players. Onex and Intercity Bus, which compete on the Toronto-London route and offer a similar service, could be beneficial, especially if it results in a network of routes radiating out of London, starting with Intercity Bus’s London-Sarnia service, its planned St. Thomas route, and Onex’s London-Stratford-Kitchener run.

    I updated my map of Ontario’s intercity transport services for March 2024, including the new Onex Bus and Intercity Bus routes in Southwestern Ontario. There are new services in East Zorra-Tavistock, connecting to Stratford and Woodstock, and in North Grenville. Unfortunately, Lindsay and Haliburton lost their TOK coach service, Prescott & Russell ended its on-demand service, and gaps remain in Bruce, Elgin, and Haldimand Counties.

    Updated Ontario Intercity Map

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