TORONTO – Another round of TTC construction along St. Clair Avenue is just the latest scene in a “comedy of errors” according to one city councillor that Torontonians have endured since a dedicated streetcar route was installed on the road in 2009.
The TTC will soon be starting construction on some streetcar stops along St. Clair Avenue as the new, billion dollar streetcars require a different height of curbs at some stops throughout the city.
“This is another example of the St. Clair debacle. Clearly, clearly, the TTC should have known when they were ordering the streetcars, they should have accommodated for this arrangement,” Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong said. “Now the streetcars will not fit the platforms apparently and there will be more money spent unnecessarily on St. Clair that didn’t need to be spent.”
Curbs along streetcar routes will have to be a certain height to accommodate the accessibility ramps on the longer streetcars. TTC crews will now have to enter a process of “curb-cutting” to ensure curbs across the city are the proper height.
The retrofitting, TTC CEO Andy Byford, said on Monday afternoon is necessary if Toronto wants the new “state of the art” vehicles.
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Minnan-Wong says the retrofitting and inevitable construction along St. Clair Avenue is just another scar on the TTC’s already wounded reputation.
Installing the dedicated streetcar track along St. Clair Avenue was originally budgeted at $48 million but ballooned to more than $100 million by the time it was completed.
“It’s not unusual to have to make changes to infrastructure when you introduce new vehicles,” Byford said. “We will be looking to undertake these works with as little disruption possible.”
Approximately $58 million has been set aside by the city to pay for the retrofitting.
St. Clair Avenue is not the only main artery affected by the longer streetcars.
Streetcar stops along Queen Street may also been removed as a result of the new fleet of streetcars.
Councillor Adam Vaughan suggested the TTC could get around further issues by utilizing both the new, longer streetcars and the older streetcars that are currently in use.
“What’s clear here is that we need two types of streetcars. We need smaller streetcars for smaller streets and bigger streetcars for bigger lines,” Vaughan said.
“Some lines, streetcars are too long for the streets. And in making them too long, we are reducing the quality of service for people.”
Vaughan suggested that by reducing stops along some lines, the TTC’s service will be less efficient and less convenient which, he argues, will translate to a drop in ridership.
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