With buses replacing streetcars on Spadina Avenue, one of the busiest stretches of downtown Toronto is even more congested.
Unlike streetcars, buses do not have a dedicated right-of-way on Spadina, which means they are sharing the road with other drivers. The commuters on those buses are now also sitting in traffic, slowing everyone down in what feels like a lose-lose situation for anyone in a vehicle on that road.
So would it be faster to walk or bike down the road instead of taking the bus? CityNews aims to find out.
Reporters Mellissa Nakhavoly and Dilshad Burman, along with content creator Michael Talbot will participate in a multi-modal race down Spadina Avenue kicking off at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Starting at Spadina Station, Nakhavoly will take the 510 replacement bus, Burman will be on foot and Talbot will bike south down Spadina Avenue to Queens Quay.
During CityNews’ live newscast, the three racers will check in from time to time to update viewers on their progress, which will also be charted on a live map.
Who do you think will win? Vote here:
Streetcars have been replaced by buses on Spadina Avenue since June 23 to accommodate a number of upgrades including critical track work, updating overhead powerlines and work to prep for a future platform extension at Spadina Station.
Traffic congestion increased almost overnight and cyclists have expressed concerns about their safety.
The TTC says it is actively looking for solutions to ease the pain of traveling down Spadina.
Spokesperson Stuart Green has said they might consider short turning some buses at King Street, as much of the congestion seems to be concentrated between King and Queens Quay.
“So, every other bus or every third bus might make a U-turn at King Street and start going back up so it doesn’t get caught in that traffic. Particularly on days where you have a Jay’s game or a large concert or some other event,” he told CityNews last week.
He also offered some alternatives for people needing to get to various spots along Spadina.
“We’ve got some enhanced service on Bathurst and we’ve also got Line One available. So if people need to get north-south, those are still options. And then perhaps use College, Queen or Dundas to get across if you’re going to Chinatown, for example,” he said.
He asked people to remain patient as they conduct the “real-time exercise” and gave assurances that they will change and adapt operations as necessary to ease the situation.
He’s also said that people should give themselves and all other road users time to adjust.
“We know from having done other large scale diversions and projects like this, sometimes it takes a bit of time for traffic to adjust. People will adjust to the patterns. We are continuing to work with the city now on other mitigating measures,” he said.
The work along Spadina is expected to last until December.