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MEETING DATE: February 19, 2003

SUBJECT: TRANSIT BENEFITS OF A NEW BUS EXIT

AT FINCH STATION

It is recommended that the Commission:

1. Receive this report for information, noting that:

• the most-significant problem for the 65 buses per hour which currently exit the north end of Finch Station is the large amount of time wasted combating traffic congestion while travelling 40 metres on Bishop Avenue to get to Yonge Street;

• in the peak periods, it can take buses up to four minutes to travel this 40 metres on Bishop Avenue due to the local and commuter-parking traffic on Bishop Avenue;

• congestion on Bishop Avenue also delays buses entering the station and, in turn, buses circulating within the station;

• a new bus exit from Finch Station via Pemberton Avenue would allow buses to completely avoid this problem and would, therefore, increase service reliability and quality for all bus customers at Finch Station, and reduce congestion for all vehicles on Bishop Avenue approaching Yonge Street;

• the improved operations possible with a new bus exit via Pemberton Avenue would allow efficiency improvements equal to two morning peak buses and one afternoon peak bus, and operating efficiencies equal to $194,000 per year, through reductions in delays; and

1. Forward this report to the City of Toronto’s Administration Committee for consideration together with an upcoming City of Toronto staff report which will request authority to expropriate land to replace the parking spaces which would be displaced by the proposed TTC Pemberton bus exit to Yonge Street, and to the City’s Planning and Transportation Committee for information.

Sufficient funds for the new bus exit project are included under Program 3.3 Yards and Roads – Bus Roadway Improvements Finch Station (pages 483-489) in the TTC’s 2003-2007 Capital Program, as approved by the Commission on November 15, 2002.

The construction of an additional exit for buses, destined from Finch Station to Yonge Street northbound, was recommended in the 1991 Transit Priority Study undertaken jointly by TTC, and then-Metro Toronto and City of Toronto staff. The concept was justified as a means of improving the operation of several major transit routes by addressing the ongoing difficulties that buses have exiting Finch Station, particularly at the north end of the station via Bishop Avenue, due to vehicular congestion.

Over the past two years, TTC staff have been working with City and Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) staff to implement this new bus exit, which will use the former Pemberton Avenue right-of-way, west of Finch Station, to provide access to the northbound lanes of Yonge Street (see attached exhibit). The former Pemberton Avenue right-of-way is currently under the jurisdiction of the TPA and is used both for paid public parking (14 spaces) and for public access to the rear of the buildings that front on Yonge Street.

In a recent meeting with Commissioner Shiner regarding an overall approach to resolving parking and transit issues in the area, TTC staff were asked to report to the Commission on the transit benefits of this new bus exit. This report responds to that request.

Finch Subway Station is the busiest bus station in the TTC system and one of the busiest in Canada. The Finch Station bus terminal currently has two access points, located at the north and south ends of the terminal, and each accommodates both entering and exiting buses. Buses on the 36 Finch West and 39 Finch East routes, which travel on Finch Avenue, enter and exit the station via the south driveway at Finch Avenue. Approximately 57 buses per hour use this driveway in the morning peak period and 50 buses per hour in the afternoon peak period. The remaining five bus routes (42 Cummer, 125 Drewry, 53 Steeles East, 60 Steeles West, 97 Yonge) which serve this station travel northbound on Yonge Street and, therefore, use the north driveway, entering and exiting the station via Bishop Avenue. These routes generate approximately 65 buses per hour in the morning peak period and 51 buses per hour in the afternoon peak period.

Traffic volumes on Bishop Avenue approaching Yonge Street are such that traffic often queues back beyond the bus driveway, and this causes severe congestion for both entering and exiting buses. Based on extensive field surveys, buses require an average of 1’58", during the morning peak hour, to travel approximately 40 metres from the Bishop Avenue exit to Yonge Street. The delays can be much greater than the average, with some buses experiencing delays of over 4’00". Similarly, in the afternoon peak hour, the average delay is 1’32", with some buses incurring delays of over 3’30". In addition to these delays, buses trying to exit via Bishop Avenue block other buses behind them that are trying to circulate within the terminal, as well as those trying to enter the station from Bishop Avenue, causing a form of "gridlock" for buses.

In addition to queuing of local and commuter-parking traffic, extensive automobile "kiss-n-ride" activity in the westbound lanes on Bishop Avenue significantly reduces the capacity of these lanes and makes the situation worse. Exiting is so problematic that buses often queue side-by-side and block the eastbound lanes to all traffic while trying to get into the westbound curb lane.

Construction of a new bus exit to Yonge Street via Pemberton Avenue (see attached exhibit) would allow those buses destined to northbound Yonge Street to avoid the traffic congestion problems at Bishop Avenue, thereby significantly reducing delays in the morning and afternoon peak periods. Average delay reductions of 1’30" per bus in the morning peak period and 1’00" per bus in the afternoon peak period are conservatively estimated for those buses which would use the new bus exit. The improved operations possible with a new bus exit via Pemberton Avenue would allow efficiency improvements equal to two morning peak buses and one afternoon peak bus, and operating efficiencies equal to $194,000 per year, through reductions in delays.

In the off-peak periods, when there is less congestion on Bishop Avenue, buses destined to northbound Yonge Street would have access to both of the exits. Even though off-peak delays are less significant, the new exit would still offer the advantage of avoiding the need to turn left onto Bishop Avenue.

In addition to the cost efficiencies, bus operations within the terminal and the overall reliability of service would improve significantly by providing an alternate exit via Pemberton Avenue. By reducing the number of buses exiting via Bishop Avenue, delays to buses trying to enter the station at the same time would decrease, as would delays to buses trying to circulate within the bus terminal. Such improved bus terminal operations would not only reduce the amount of total delay and associated operating costs, but would also address the high variability of delays, resulting in more-predictable and reliable service to customers on all bus routes using Finch Station.

A reduction in the number of bus movements at Bishop Avenue would also benefit auto traffic on this street by reducing somewhat, the level of congestion close to the Yonge/Bishop intersection.

The transit benefits and operating efficiencies of a Pemberton bus exit would be realized immediately upon opening of the new exit. These benefits can be achieved with relatively little structural change or disruption to the existing Finch Station bus terminal facility and operations (see attached exhibit). Public access to the rear of the retail buildings on Yonge Street would be maintained with the new exit in place. Also, the new exit could co-exist with any future re-development in this block of Yonge Street, and would not jeopardize the potential for future intensification in the area. The new exit would function well with, or without, the reserved busway currently being studied for Yonge Street north from Finch Station.

The new bus exit via Pemberton Avenue would displace fourteen parking spaces on Pemberton which are used by patrons of the retail stores north and south of Pemberton Avenue. The councillor for this area -- David Shiner -- has asked that these parking spaces be replaced to maintain retail parking in the area. The Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) is currently proposing to replace these spaces, as well as spaces in the northbound lanes of Yonge Street (Pemberton Avenue to Bishop Avenue), with a new short-term parking lot on the south-east corner of Yonge Street and Bishop Avenue. The TPA, through the City of Toronto, would expropriate the land for the replacement parking lot, and operate the lot upon completion. Property acquisition and construction costs for the new lot would be borne by the TPA, with a capital contribution from TTC as compensation for the TPA’s lost revenue currently generated by the Pemberton Avenue parking spaces. The details of the TTC’s contribution toward the new lot have not yet been finalized, and will be the subject of a separate future report to the Commission.

This current report should be forwarded to the City of Toronto’s Administration Committee, for its meeting of March 25, 2003, as technical support for a separate City staff report which will request approval to expropriate the replacement parking lot.

The most-significant current problem for buses exiting Finch Station via Bishop Avenue is the large amount of time wasted trying to manoeuvre the 40 metres from the station exit to Yonge Street. Buses have to force their way into the westbound queues and, while trying to do so, block eastbound traffic, including buses trying to enter the station, as well as buses trying to circulate within the station. A bus exit from Finch Station via Pemberton Avenue would significantly reduce these delays, would result in immediate, significant operating efficiencies for the TTC, would improve overall bus terminal operations, service quality and reliability for customers, and would reduce congestion on Bishop Avenue near Yonge Street for all vehicles.

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February 4, 2003

11-84-53

Attachment: Exhibit: New Bus Exit at Finch Station