RECOMMENDATIONS
It is recommended that the Commission:
1. Approve the conceptual design for
bus-only lanes from Downsview Subway Station to York University, via Allen
Road-Dufferin Street and the hydro corridor north of Finch Avenue, as described
in this report;
2. Note that staff will issue a contract
change to the design for the Downsview Commuter Parking Lot project, following
the authorization for expenditures policy,
to avoid construction in the area immediately south of the bus terminal
that is now proposed to be used for a new signalised bus driveway onto Allen
Road;
3. Approve a further allocation of $200,000
for completion of a more-detailed evaluation of the property requirements
within the hydro right-of-way, and at the Sheppard/Allen intersection;
4. Request Toronto City Council to approve
the recommended design for bus-only lanes and authorize staff to submit the
associated more-detailed Environmental Study Report to the Ministry of
Environment, requesting their approval of this project; and
5. Forward this report to Councillors
Peter Li Preti, Michael Feldman, and Maria Augimeri for information.
FUNDING
Funds in the amount of
$500,000 were approved for studies under Program 9.2 Service Planning – Bus
Rapid Transit from Spadina Subway to York University/Steeles Avenue, as
outlined on pages 1339-1340 of the Commission’s 2004-2008 Capital Program
budget, approved by City Council on April 21, 2004. Efforts will be made to accommodate the
additional $200,000 within the 2004 budget allocation, and funding recoveries
will be addressed once senior level government funding agreements have been
finalized.
Funding towards the
study was announced by the previous Provincial government under the Golden
Horseshoe Transit Investments Partnership (GTIP) Program in August 2002 and
under the current Provincial Government funding is now being proposed under the
renamed program known as the Provincial Transit Expansion Fund (PTEF). Work is
in progress on a draft agreement.
On March 31, 2004, a
joint announcement was made of a Federal-Provincial-Municipal TTC Capital
Funding Agreement of $1.050 billion over five years, of which this Bus Rapid
Transit project was included with joint funding of $42.5 million from the
Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, and the City of Toronto at 1/3
each; however, the Memorandum of Understanding has not yet been executed and no
discussions have commenced on the formal agreement.
BACKGROUND
At its meeting on June 20, 2001, the
Commission approved the staff report entitled, “Expanding Transit Priorities in
Toronto”. The recommendations in that report included the creation of dedicated
bus lanes between Downsview Subway Station and York University to make public
transit a more-competitive option to the private automobile in that corridor.
On November 15, 2002, the Commission
approved $500,000 to fund an environmental assessment study of this proposed
improvement under the 2003-2007 Capital Program budget. This was confirmed by City Council on
February 23, 2003.
At its meeting on March 19, 2003, the
Commission approved the staff report, “Ridership
Growth Strategy”, which recommended that high priority be given to
implementation of Bus Rapid Transit to York University.
In support of the above initiatives,
the TTC and City of Toronto have jointly undertaken an Environmental Assessment
(EA) study of an improved surface transit connection between Downsview Subway
Station and York University. A working
committee made up of representatives of the TTC, City of Toronto Planning, City
of Toronto Transportation, York Region Transit, and GO Transit guided the
study, with URS Canada Inc. as the primary consultant.
This report provides an
overview of the Environmental Assessment study, and describes the key decisions
that led to the recommendation for bus-only lanes from Downsview Subway Station
to York University.
DISCUSSION
The new
Official Plan for the City of Toronto calls for transit to have much-greater
priority on city roads to attract people out of their cars, so that the City
will grow in an environmentally-sustainable way.
The Plan
identifies the corridor from Downsview Subway Station to York University for
“higher-order transit”. In addition to
the current study of bus-only lanes to York University, the TTC has recently
initiated an Environmental Assessment study of an extension of the Spadina
Subway line to Steeles Avenue, including York University. However, even under
the most optimistic scenario, it would take nine years to study, design, and
construct a subway extension. Significant improvements to transit service in
this corridor are required now, to offer a more-attractive alternative to the
automobile and to build up ridership in advance of a subway.
The main objective of the current
Environmental Assessment study discussed in this report was to determine how to
provide a much-faster and more-reliable transit connection between Downsview
Subway Station and York University and, ultimately, the new regional bus
terminal and commuter parking lot planned for the north side of Steeles Avenue,
east of Jane Street. This would allow
York Region Transit and GO Transit -- who plan to operate express service
between Vaughan and Downsview Subway Station -- to also offer
higher-quality transit service.
Current Conditions
The 196 York University
Rocket currently provides express
bus service between Downsview Subway Station and York University. This is one
of the TTC’s busiest bus routes, carrying over 10,000 people per day on service
which is as frequent as every 2-½ minutes in the morning peak period. The
routing is illustrated in Exhibit 1. In
the morning, the route operates northbound via Allen Road-Dufferin Street, west
on Finch Avenue to Keele Street, and north on Keele to the entrance to York
University at York Boulevard. In the
peak direction, there is only a single mid-route stop, at the Finch
Avenue/Dufferin Street intersection. On
the southbound trip, buses provide a local service along Sentinel Road to Finch
Avenue, then return express to Downsview Station via Finch Avenue, Dufferin
Street-Allen Road, and Sheppard Avenue to Downsview Station. In the afternoon, the operation is reversed,
with northbound buses operating west on Finch Avenue to Sentinel Road, and
southbound buses returning on the more-direct express routing.
On the section
of the route between Sheppard and Finch Avenues, there are relatively few
delays. This section of Allen Road-Dufferin Street has three through-traffic
lanes in each direction, with the curb lanes reserved, during peak periods, for
buses and for cars with at least three occupants. The route has relatively
little delay on Keele Street, from north of Finch Avenue, to York Boulevard,
where it enters the university campus.
However, on
other sections of this route, buses are often delayed by chronic traffic
congestion in the rush hours. As shown in Exhibit 2, the worst areas are Finch
Avenue, and the southbound left turn from Allen Road onto Sheppard Avenue. The northbound turn through the
Dufferin/Finch intersection uses a special turning loop, but still takes
1½-to-2 minutes to complete.
The delays
encountered in the problem areas cause the whole route to operate slowly and
unreliably, making transit less attractive as a travel choice for the large
number of people travelling to and from York University. The northbound trip between Downsview Station
and York University is scheduled to take 18 minutes in the morning and the
southbound trip in the afternoon is scheduled to take 20 minutes; surveys show
the actual trip times in the peak direction are as long as 24 minutes, and
customers have reported the trip taking as long as a half hour.
The Solution to Current Operating
Problems - “Bus-Only Lanes”
The Environmental Assessment Study team looked at
different ways of improving the quality of transit service offered in this
corridor. They examined measures such as
widening roads to improve traffic flow for all road users, giving priority to
buses at traffic signals, replacing the bus service with streetcars in their
own right-of-way, and buses with their own traffic lanes.
The team concluded that the best way to dramatically improve
the quality of service, in advance of a subway extension, would be to provide
“bus rapid transit”, that is, operating a fast bus service in lanes that are,
to the greatest extent practical, separated from other traffic, and with
infrequent stops. While the term “bus
rapid transit” is relatively self-explanatory, many of the public are not
familiar with the term. The term
“bus-only lanes” was used instead because it is easily understood but still
differentiates this facility from the “reserved bus lanes” in place at other
locations in Toronto which are normally in the curb bus lane and which,
typically, have so many motorists using the lane – both legal right turns and
illegal through traffic – that they don’t work.
Future Demand on an Improved Bus Connection
to Downsview Station
Given that a subway extension to York
University is probably at least ten years away, a 10-to-15-year time horizon
was used when projecting future transit demands for bus-only lanes. While there
is significant development expected on the York University lands, most of the
growth in transit demand on an improved bus connection in this corridor will
come from growth north of Steeles, in Vaughan.
As a result of future development, and
with an improved surface transit connection to Downsview Station in place,
there would be potential for the ridership to grow from the current 10,000, to
as high as 20,000, trips per day.
This
increase in passenger volumes will result in a significant increase in the
total volume of buses travelling between Downsview Station and York University
or beyond. During the morning peak hour,
the volume of buses will more than double from current volumes, from 24 to 50,
broken down as:
Bus Volumes – Morning Peak Hour
|
Existing |
Projected
|
|
24 (TTC) |
28 (TTC) 12 (York Region buses) 10 (GO Transit) 50 (Total) |
Recommended Routing South of York
University - The Dufferin/Hydro Alignment
The EA study
team evaluated a variety of routing options for bus-only lanes from Downsview
Station to the York University lands.
Ultimately, the analysis identified that the two alternatives shown in
Exhibit 3 would allow the greatest improvement to transit speeds and
reliability.
Alternative 1 –
the Dufferin Street/Hydro Corridor Routing
From
Downsview Subway Station, buses would travel north on Allen Road-Dufferin
Street. Two of the six traffic lanes on this road could be converted to
bus-only lanes over most of the section between Sheppard and Finch
Avenues. Two design concepts were
considered in this section: i) bus-only lanes in the middle of the road, with
some road widening to accommodate new concrete curbs or medians to separate the
bus-only lanes from other traffic; and ii) a design that makes use of curb
bus-only lanes, shared with right-turning traffic. In either case, Dufferin Street, north of
Finch Avenue, is only four lanes wide and would require a major widening.
When
the buses reach the hydro corridor north of Finch Avenue, they would turn left
to travel west in the hydro corridor, on a new two-lane bus-only roadway which
would be constructed in the corridor between Dufferin Street and Keele Street.
Alternative 2- the Sheppard Avenue/Keele Street Routing
From
Downsview Station, buses would travel west on Sheppard Avenue to Tuscan Gate,
then via a new bus-only roadway to Keele Street along the north side of the
vacant land west of Tuscan Gate.
Sheppard Avenue, from Downsview Station to Tuscan Gate, is only four
lanes wide, and any design on this street would require a major road widening
and a major reconstruction of the CN rail overpass bridge. Keele Street is also a four-lane road, and
bus-only lanes here would also require a major widening.
Only one design for bus-only lanes would
be viable on Keele Street and that would be in the middle of the road. There are a high number of commercial
driveways on this section of Keele Street, most of them of the east side of the
street. There are two unsignalised
side-streets and 38 driveways, serving high-activity developments such as
fast-food outlets, retail plazas, food stores, tire stores, and banks. This results in a high level of activity in
the curb lane as motorists turn into, and out of, these driveways. Under these
conditions, there is no workable design for bus-only lanes at the side of the
road.
Comparison
of the Two Final Routing Alternatives
The technical evaluation concluded that
either option would reduce the peak period scheduled travel times on the 196 York University
rocket to about 13 minutes in the peak direction. This would result in a reduction in the
scheduled travel times of five minutes, or 28 percent, in the northbound
direction in the morning, and of seven minutes, or 35 percent, in the
southbound direction in the afternoon.
More importantly, given the huge variability in actual trip times, the
savings would often be much greater. The one-way trip time of 13 minutes would
be achievable on a consistent basis.
With no clear distinction between the two
options on the key objective of service reliability and speed, the EA team
focused on other criteria. The factors
that ultimately had the greatest influence on the final decision were capital
cost, and the extent to which each would support planned development, minimize
the extent of road widenings required, and avoid impacts on driveways and
unsignalised side-streets.
Alternative 2, via Sheppard Avenue and
Keele Street, was ranked higher in the category of supporting planned
development. Bus-only lanes via Sheppard
and Keele could incorporate an express stop on the northern perimeter of a
future 2000-person residential development planned for the area north of
Sheppard Avenue, between Keele Street and Tuscan Gate. This area is already
well-served by frequent transit service on Keele Street and on Sheppard Avenue,
and transit ridership in this area would be high in any event. However, an
additional high-quality service would have the potential to positively
influence the pace or nature of this future development.
Alternative 1, via Allen Road-Dufferin
Street and the hydro corridor, was ranked higher in three other criteria:
i)
Road
Widenings - Two of the existing six lanes on Allen Road-Dufferin Street,
between Sheppard and Finch Avenues, could be converted to bus-only, hence
requiring much less road widening than the Sheppard/Keele routing option.
ii)
Impacts
on Left Turns at Unsignalized Driveways and Side Streets – When the comparison
was made between the two routing options, the actual design for bus-only lanes
on Allen Road-Dufferin Street had not yet been decided. Since a centre-of-the-road, that is a
“centre-median”, design would prevent left turns at unsignalized locations, it
was used as a “worst case” to compare against the effects of a centre-median
design on Keele Street. In a weekday count in November, 2002 there were 1600
left turns to and from unsignalised driveways and side streets on Allen
Road-Dufferin Street, between Sheppard Avenue and the hydro corridor. The comparable number on Keele Street,
between Grandravine Drive and the hydro corridor, based on a weekday count in August
2003, was 4900.
iii)
Capital
Costs - The capital costs of centre-median bus-only lanes on Allen
Road-Dufferin Street, and a new bus-only roadway in the hydro corridor, would
not be much different than the cost of the Sheppard/Keele option with its major
road widenings and the reconstruction of the CN overpass on Sheppard
Avenue. However, the capital cost of a
curb lane design on Allen Road-Dufferin Street would be $8‑to$10 million
less than a centre-median design.
In summary, Alternative 1 – the Dufferin
Street-Hydro Corridor – is recommended because it would provide the same
dramatic improvement in transit speeds and reliability, but with fewer
impacts. Since a design using the curb
lanes on Allen Road-Dufferin Street was a viable alternative, this routing also
had the potential for significantly lower cost.
Comparison of Routing Options
|
Criterion |
1.DufferinStreet/ Hydro Corridor |
2.SheppardAveneue/ Keele Street |
|
Transit speed/ Reliability |
Not a
significant difference |
|
|
Proximity to
future developments |
|
4 |
|
Least road
widening |
4 |
|
|
Left turns no
longer possible with a centre-median design (per day) |
4
1600 |
4900 |
|
|
|
|
|
Lowest Cost |
4 (depends
on option) |
|
Selecting a Design for Bus-Only Lanes for
Allen Road-Dufferin Street
After
the Dufferin Street/Hydro Corridor option was identified as the preferred
routing, a thorough comparison was made of the two potential design options for
Allen Road-Dufferin Street: i) bus-only lanes in the middle of the road, or
“centre-median” design, and ii) a design with bus-only lanes in the curb lane,
shared with right-turning motorists.
The
Centre-Median Design
This design would have the bus-only lanes
in the middle two lanes on Allen Road-Dufferin Street, from the south limit of
the Downsview Station bus terminal to the hydro corridor. The bus-only lanes
would have some form of physical feature, such as curbs or medians, to separate
the bus operation from other traffic. New traffic signals would provide buses
with exclusive access at the new bus terminal driveway at Downsview Station and
to and from the middle of the road at the hydro corridor. Road widenings would
be required at the Sheppard/Allen intersection to maintain sufficient capacity
for general traffic. North of Sheppard Avenue, to Finch Avenue, two of the six
traffic lanes would be converted to bus-only, although minor widenings would
still be required to accommodate curbs or medians on either side of the
bus-only lanes. Between the
Finch/Dufferin intersection and the hydro corridor, Dufferin Street is only four
lanes wide and would be widened to construct the bus-only lanes.
Motorists would no longer be able to make
left turns across the middle of the road at unsignalised driveways. Instead, they would drive to the next traffic
signal where they would make a U-turn on a special signal phase, and then drive
back and make a right turn into their intended destination.
Bus-Only
Lanes in the Curb Lane - The “Hybrid” Design
This
design for Allen Road-Dufferin Street would have bus-only lanes in the curb in
the northbound direction and, in the southbound direction, would have some
sections with the bus-only lane in the curb, and others with the bus-only lane
in the middle of the road. The combined features of this design result in it
being called the “Hybrid” design. This is shown in Exhibit 4.
Northbound:
The northbound curb lane on Allen
Road-Dufferin Street, from south of Downsview Station to just south of Finch
Avenue, is currently reserved for buses, right turns and High Occupancy
Vehicles (HOV’s), which are vehicles with at least three occupants. The number
of right turns and HOV’s using this lane is relatively low and the lane
operates with relatively little delay in spite of some illegal use by through
motorists. The operation could be improved by designating the lane as bus-only
while still allowing motorists to enter the lane only to make right turns.
There are two unsignalised intersections on the east side of the street, 18
driveways to private homes, and one driveway to a low-rise apartment complex, 
and these all have very low use on a
daily basis.
At the Sheppard Avenue intersection with
Allen Road, there are special signal phases for left-turning traffic in both
directions, and this leaves insufficient green time to accommodate existing
peak period traffic volumes in the two general northbound traffic lanes. There
is already congestion in the northbound direction and it would worsen,
marginally, with this design, since the relatively low volumes of HOV’s that
are now in the curb lane would be added to use these two lanes. At the
signalised intersections between Sheppard and Finch Avenues, two traffic lanes
are sufficient for general traffic, because the signal operation at these
intersections is simpler and this leaves more green time available for
northbound traffic.
Currently, at Finch Avenue, only
northbound buses are permitted to continue through the intersection from the
curb lane. The Hybrid design includes
the construction of a new northbound right turn lane to the right of the bus
lane at Finch Avenue. North of the intersection, the road would be widened to
create a new bus-only lane on the east side of the street. At the hydro corridor, a new traffic signal
would detect the presence of a bus, and stop northbound and southbound traffic
on Dufferin Street to allow buses to quickly cross into the hydro
corridor. This design is shown in more
detail in Exhibit 5.
Southbound:
There is a traffic “bottleneck”
southbound on Dufferin Street at Finch Avenue.
There are two southbound traffic lanes and they operate at capacity
during peak periods. Traffic flows very
well south of Finch Avenue where there is an additional lane provided for
buses, HOV’s and right turns. Since
there is no significant development expected north of the Allen/Sheppard area,
and with this bottleneck preventing any increase in southbound traffic south of
the Finch intersection, there should be very little increase in traffic volumes
south of Finch Avenue in the foreseeable future.
In order for buses to overcome the traffic
congestion north of Finch Avenue, a new southbound bus-only curb lane would be
constructed from the hydro corridor to the existing southbound right turn lane
at Finch Avenue. This would allow southbound buses to by-pass the “bottleneck”
at Finch Avenue. South of Finch Avenue,
there are three southbound lanes and the curb lane, now designated for HOV’s,
would be converted to bus-only to just south of the signalised intersection at
the Canadian Tire complex. At this point, the bus-only lane would end, and all
traffic would use all three southbound traffic lanes. Buses would then
transition from the curb lane into a new southbound bus-only lane which would
be located in the middle of Allen Road, beginning just south of Rimrock Road,
continuing across Sheppard Avenue, to a new signalised entrance to the
Downsview Station bus terminal.
Recommendation
- the Hybrid Design
The EA study team recommends the hybrid
design because it would provide much-improved transit speeds and reliability
which are comparable to a centre-median design, but at $8‑to‑$10
million less capital cost. In the event of a very significant traffic problem
caused by a snowstorm or serious collision, motorists could illegally use the
bus lanes, which could cause bus delays.
However, such incidents should be infrequent and can be tolerated.
While the Hybrid design does not convey
to the user a perception of exclusivity, there is little empirical data
available to suggest that this perception would affect transit use.
Additional
Elements in the Dufferin Street-Hydro Corridor Design
Accommodating
Regional Buses at Downsview Station
York Region
has plans, in advance of these bus-only lanes being constructed, for a York
Region Rapid Transit (YRTP) express bus route to operate into Downsview Station
to pick up customers destined to north of Steeles Avenue. This service is
scheduled to begin in mid-2005, with an initial frequency of six buses per
hour. The current plan is for their
customers to alight at a new bus stop on Sheppard Avenue, in front of Downsview
Station, so that YRTP buses would be
empty when entering the station. These buses would not be permitted to carry
customers into the bus terminal, because it is a fare-paid area which allows people
to transfer between buses and the subway without any fare transaction.
On April 14,
2004, the Commission authorized staff to negotiate and execute agreements to
allow YRTP to use Downsview Bus Terminal in this manner. A formal agreement to implement this is
currently being negotiated.
GO Transit
also has plans to connect to the subway at Downsview Station. This current EA project includes a new
regional bus platform within the station complex, as shown in Exhibit 6, to
provide a single identifiable location for regional customers. At the same time, TTC staff are working with
YRTP, York Region Transit, and GO Transit to establish a fare collection
arrangement that would allow these operators to use the spare bays in Downsview
Station to both pick up and drop off their customers. This would defer or
eliminate the need for a new regional bus platform area.
Discussions
will be required, in any event, with respect to a cost-sharing agreement for
the use of these TTC facilities.
Impacts
on the Downsview Commuter Parking Lot
A new signalised driveway to/from
Downsview Station off of Allen Road would require a minor modification to the
parking lot being constructed in area south of the bus terminal. This driveway
would conflict with the landscaping planned for the north-west corner of the commuter
parking lot. This landscaped area would
have to be shifted to the south, and this would require the elimination of
about 10 parking spaces. It is not
possible, given the schedule for construction of the parking lot, to delay
construction in this area and await a decision from the Ministry of Environment
on the Bus-Only Lanes project. For this
reason, given the expectation that this environmental assessment will receive
approval, it is recommended that a change order be issued for the commuter
parking lot project to alter the design and avoid any construction in the area
that is proposed for a new bus driveway.
A
Staged Design Northbound at Sheppard Avenue
From a transit operations perspective, it
would be better if the northbound curb bus-only lane on Allen Road were to
begin at the new bus driveway to/from Downsview Station, with only right turns
permitted to share the lane. This is the
operation that was in place when the road was constructed in the early 1980’s,
and this project includes approval to return to that design if necessary. However, a staged approach is recommended in
the interest of improving traffic operations, while still providing high
priority for buses at this intersection.
Currently, the northbound curb lane at
the Allen/Sheppard intersection is reserved for High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV’s)
and right turns. However, the other two northbound lanes on Allen Road at
Sheppard Avenue cannot accommodate all of the remaining northbound traffic,
even though HOV’s are now allowed in the curb lane. Delays to traffic in these lanes are less
than expected only because many non-HOV motorists illegally use the curb lane
to travel through the intersection.
The EA team wanted to avoid such delays
to traffic, if practical, in this developing area. An option was developed for implementation in
the short-term that opens up all three northbound lanes to general traffic,
with the bus-only lane beginning north of the intersection. As shown in Exhibit
6, a short distance north of Sheppard Avenue, the northbound traffic lanes on
Allen Road would be reduced, from three lanes to two. Buses would by-pass this
point, via a separate bus-only lane on the east side of the road that connects
with the existing northbound curb lane.
At Sheppard Avenue, the signals would be
timed to ensure that northbound through traffic, stopped at that intersection
on a red signal, did not interfere with buses exiting the station at the
signalised bus driveway. As necessary,
the northbound traffic signal at Sheppard Avenue would be held on green, to
clear out much of the northbound queue. This operation would ensure that delays
to northbound buses at the Sheppard Avenue intersection are manageable and
predictable.
The ultimate design, with the northbound
bus-only lane beginning at the bus driveway to Downsview Station, could be
implemented if problems arise in the future with this staged approach. However,
if the subway extension is in place within 10 years, the ultimate design may
not be necessary.
Design
for Bus-Only Lanes in the Hydro Corridor
A new two-lane roadway would be
constructed in the hydro corridor, reserved for buses and emergency vehicles
only. It would require a new at-grade
crossing of the CN line, and this requires modifications to an existing spur
line which accommodates rail service to the adjacent Imperial Oil “tank farm”.
Hydro One, CN Rail, and Imperial Oil have provided approvals in principle for
this concept. However, technical
approval and negotiation of the necessary agreements is still required.
At Keele Street, on the north side of the
hydro corridor, there is a signalized intersection, with Murray Ross Boulevard
on the west, and a driveway to the Shell “tank farm” on the east. As the Shell driveway is very lightly used
and already signalized at Keele Street, the bus-only roadway in the hydro
corridor should connect with that driveway, just east of Keele Street.
Discussions with Shell Canada regarding a shared access at Keele Street have
been favourable, but not yet completed. If shared access is not agreed upon,
then a “fifth leg” for buses would be created at the signalised intersection,
making the hydro corridor bus-only lanes part of the intersection.
Design for Bus-Only Lanes at York
University
There
is relatively little delay to buses on Keele Street, between the hydro corridor
and the entrance to the campus at York Boulevard. However, in contrast to Dufferin Street,
traffic on this section of Keele Street is expected to worsen as this area is
developed, and it is difficult to predict, with certainty, future delays to
buses.
To
provide an operating environment that is predictable and to, thereby, ensure
that transit service is reliable, the bus-only lanes should be separated from
the effects of future traffic congestion.
Centre-median bus-only lanes on Keele Street, from Murray Ross Parkway
to York Boulevard, were considered, but were costly, at $6 million, and would
still require buses to make the northbound left turn into the York University
campus at the busy Keele/York Boulevard intersection. A bus-only roadway within
the university lands, on the alignment of a planned future roadway which is
part of the current secondary plan for this area, is recommended. The
recommended alignment is included in Exhibit 7.
It would allow buses to operate quickly and reliably, would avoid the
busy Keele/York Boulevard intersection, would provide better service to future
developments in the university lands west of Keele Street, and would have a
capital cost of $3-to-$4 million.
Buses
would cross Keele Street from the hydro corridor to Murray Ross Parkway,
operate in mixed traffic on Murray Ross Parkway to a new bus-only roadway, and
then travel on the bus-only roadway to York Boulevard. Buses would turn onto York Boulevard and
operate in mixed traffic a short distance to the current bus stops in the area
known as the “Common”.
A
new bus-only connection between the “Common” and Steeles Avenue would provide
improved access to the Common for TTC, GO Transit, Brampton Transit, and York
Region buses from the north.
York
University staff have advised that they are not currently in a position to
endorse the recommended bus-only lanes on their lands, south of York Boulevard,
because they are planning a major review of the secondary plan for this area,
and this may alter the location of proposed roadways and adjacent land
uses. They strongly favour an option
which would improve the capacity for all traffic on Keele Street, between the
hydro corridor and York Boulevard, and would include specific sections reserved
for exclusive bus use - for example, one of the two existing northbound
left-turn lanes at York Boulevard would be designated as bus-only. This would cost roughly $3 million to
implement. This would improve future
operations for both buses and general traffic and accommodate the improvements
for future traffic volumes at the intersections on this section of Keele Street
that will be required in the future in any event.
The
EA study team does not prefer this option because it would not ensure that bus
operations would be separated from future traffic congestion, and it would
result in buses operating on the perimeter of the development parcel west of
Keele Street instead of through it.
York
University has advised that they are willing to examine the recommendation for
bus-only lanes on their lands within the planned secondary plan review
process. This approach would require
that this section of the bus-only lanes project be excluded from this current approval
and be subject to another EA process in the future. In a recent meeting with York University
President Lorna Marsden, Chair Howard Moscoe requested that the University approve the
recommendation of the EA study in principle, and commit to ensuring that this
bus-only roadway, and complementary land uses, are incorporated in any changes
to the Secondary Plan for this area.
York University will be preparing a response to this request. Therefore, the EA study is seeking approval
for the recommended routing on the University lands, conditional on the
University’s approval in principle for this alignment.
If
the bus-only lanes on the University lands are approved in principle, buses
would operate in mixed traffic on this section of Keele Street until the larger
review of the secondary plan for the university lands is completed.
Summary of
Recommended Design: Bus-Only Lanes - Downsview Station to York University
The
recommended design concept for bus-only lanes, from Downsview Station to York
University, is illustrated in Exhibit 7, and summarized as follows.
Northbound:
Buses would exit
Downsview Station onto Allen Road via a new signalised bus driveway. The
“ultimate” design is for the northbound curb lane to be designated as bus-only,
beginning at the new signalised bus driveway.
However, initially, a staged operation would be implemented which would
permit general traffic in all three northbound lanes, with the bus-only lane
beginning just north of the Allen Road/Sheppard Avenue intersection.
The bus-only lane
would continue to Finch Avenue, where a separate right-turn lane would be
constructed so that northbound buses are not delayed behind right-turning
traffic. North of Finch Avenue, a new bus-only lane would be constructed on
the east side of the street and, at the
hydro corridor, a new traffic signal would be provided to allow buses exclusive
access from the east side of Dufferin, into a new two-lane-wide bus-only
roadway in the hydro corridor. A new
at-grade crossing would be implemented at the CN tracks. The bus-only road would intersect Keele
Street at the existing signalised intersection.
Buses would operate in mixed traffic across Keele Street and for a short
distance on Murray Ross Parkway, before turning north onto a new bus-only
roadway. Buses would turn onto York Boulevard,
and operate in mixed traffic for a short distance to their current stop
location in the bus-only roadway around the “Common”.
If the York Region
commuter parking lot were to be constructed in the hydro corridor, north of
Steeles Avenue, as planned, buses could proceed to Steeles Avenue to serve park
‘n ride customers who would use that lot and are destined for the subway.
Southbound:
From the Common,
southbound buses would travel east on York Boulevard, south on the new bus-only
roadway to Murray Ross Parkway, and across Keele Street into the new two-lane
bus-only roadway in the hydro corridor.
Buses would exit the hydro corridor into a southbound bus-only lane,
which would end a short distance south of the first signalised intersection
south of Finch Avenue. At this point,
buses would merge from the curb lane into a new southbound bus-only lane in the
middle of the road which would begin north of Sheppard Avenue and continue
south, through the Sheppard intersection, to the new signalised entrance to
Downsview Station.
Use of the Bus-Only Lanes
The
bus-only lanes would provide a reliable, high-speed connection to the subway
for the 196 York University Rocket, York
Region Transit, and GO Transit. As with
the current 196 York University Rocket operation,
service would be provided to the residential area along Sentinel Road in the
off-peak direction.
TTC staff are also
analyzing the pro’s and con’s of re-routing other TTC routes to take advantage
of the increased speeds which would be provided by this new facility. These
include:
-
the 117 Alness route, which now operates on
Dufferin Street, north of the hydro corridor, to Martin Ross Boulevard, could
by-pass the congestion on that section of Dufferin Street by operating via the
bus-only lanes in the hydro corridor, from Dufferin Street to Alness Street,
and then travel along Alness Street, to Martin Ross Boulevard;
-
the 107 Keele North route, which serves the
areas north of Highway 7 would have much-improved travel times if some, or all,
of this service were re-routed to operate along the bus-only lanes between the
Keele–hydro corridor intersection and Downsview Station.
-
the 105 Dufferin North route, which now
operates on Wilson Heights Boulevard, from Dufferin Street to Sheppard Avenue
to avoid the congested Allen/Sheppard intersection, could instead remain on
Dufferin Street and Allen Road, and have direct access to Downsview Station to
improve travel times for customers.
Costs and Benefits
Based
on the preliminary design work to date, the capital costs for bus-only lanes
between Downsview Station and York University are in the order of $25-to-$30
million.
The bus trip from
Downsview Station to York University, now scheduled to take 18 minutes in the
morning in the peak direction, would be reduced to by 28 per cent, to 13
minutes, and would be much more reliable, with little chance of the current
situation of long and unpredictable trip time owing to congestion. Similarly, the southbound trip time in the
afternoon, now scheduled at 20 minutes, would be reduced by 35 percent.
Overall,
the travel time savings to the 196 York
University Rocket service would result in an increase in capacity worth
in the order of $1 million annually.
Input from the Public
Formal
public meetings were held at two stages of the study. In June 2003, an “open house” meeting was
held at York University, and a formal public meeting was held in the
Sheppard/Allen area. At these initial meetings,
the EA team explained the problems being experienced on the 196 York University Rocket and the need
for a faster express bus connection using bus-only lanes to allow the buses to
be free of the effects of traffic congestion.
The meetings also presented the bus-only lane routing options that were
on a short-list for further study.
A
second set of meetings were held, consisting of an open house at York
University on April 22, 2004, and a formal meeting, with a presentation and
question-and-answer period, in the Sheppard/Allen community on May 4, 2004. These meetings explained the analysis which
had been done and the recommended routing and design for the bus-only lanes.
The
response from the meetings at York University were very positive, particularly
from those students and staff who use the 196 York University
Rocket service and who recognize
the significant benefits which this proposal could bring to their daily
travel. The project is seen as necessary
improvement in advance of a subway. Most of the attendees at the May 4, 2004,
meeting lived in the Sheppard/Allen area.
Some area residents understood the merits of the bus-only lanes, as an
interim to a subway extension, while the more-common comment was that the
subway should be built as quickly as possible and that money should not be
“wasted” on bus-only lanes.
Specific Design Issues
At
the May 4, 2004, meeting, staff presented a design that had northbound buses
exiting Downsview Station onto Sheppard Avenue, and then connecting to Allen
Road. Many of the attendees at the
meeting did not support that previous recommendation. In response to these concerns, the EA team
eliminated this aspect of the design in favour of buses exiting directly onto
Allen Road.
A
few people at the meeting expressed concern about an increase in the number of
buses using Downsview Station; they suggested that southbound buses should
continue south to Wilson Station and avoid using Downsview Station altogether.
Mr.
Gerrit de Boer, who owns the property on the north-west corner of the
Sheppard/Allen intersection, voiced concerns at the meeting, and in subsequent
discussions with the EA team, regarding the recommendation to widen Allen Road,
on the basis that the road is already very wide and “unfriendly” to
pedestrians. He expressed concern with
the potential negative effect of the road widening on the City’s future urban
design concepts for this area. In
response, the EA team revisited this matter and confirmed that a widening of
Allen Road at Sheppard Avenue, to incorporate the southbound bus-only lane is
necessary in this instance. However, in
response to Mr. de Boer’s concerns with respect to urban design, the road
widening along the frontage of his property will be done in a manner that
leaves sufficient public right-of-way on the west side of the road to
incorporate a boulevard, sidewalk, and a row of trees. The possible exception is at the north-west
corner of the Allen/Sheppard intersection, immediately adjacent to Mr. de
Boer’s property line, where the public road right-of-way is very narrow and any
widening to the west will require that the City obtain a small corner of Mr. de
Boer’s property.
Mr.
de Boer also expressed concern with the design, shown at the public meetings,
which had all of the widening on the west side of the road right-of-way,
adjacent to his property. Mr. de Boer has plans to develop his property, and
has approval for a new east-west road on his property that would intersect with
Allen Road about 170 metres north of Sheppard Avenue. He will be seeking approval for a new
signalized intersection at that location, including a northbound left-turn
lane. He has requested that the widening
be done in a manner that leaves sufficient width within the public right-of-way
adjacent to his property so that this future left-turn lane – if it is approved
by the City – does not result in an encroachment on his property.
The
EA team has not incorporated Mr. de Boer’s proposed future intersection design
in the current plans because his proposal does not have approved status. The
team has developed conceptual designs to ensure that this future intersection
is not precluded. However, at this conceptual stage of the design process, the
team cannot make a commitment that other future plans would not have an effect
on his lands. Staff will continue with
further development of designs for this area to determine exactly how much of
the south-east corner of Mr. de Boer’s property would be required for any
intersection widening. This design work
will also examine options where the widening is entirely on the east side of
the road, avoiding Mr. de Boer’s land.
Next Steps in the Approval Process
Following
approval of this report by City Council, Provincial and Federal environmental
assessment approvals are required, prior to seeking Commission and City
approval to proceed with detailed design and construction. Staff are working with the Ontario Ministry
of the Environment (MOE) and Transport Canada on these approval processes.
i)
Issues
to be Resolved Prior to Submission to the Ministry of Environment (MOE)
This
EA study followed the requirements of the Municipal Class Environmental
Assessment process, a more streamlined process that was established for certain
types of projects. The Municipal Class EA process may be applied to “linear
paved facilities” which are defined as “…facilities
which utilize a linear paved surface including road lanes, HOV lanes, bus lanes
or transit lanes. (Note: new busways or
transitways, including system elements such as stations and park’n ride, are
subject to an individual EA requirements).“
There are no further definitions of these terms in the document. City and TTC staff had interpreted that all
aspects of the recommended bus-only lanes are a form of “bus lanes” and that,
therefore, this project could be evaluated under the Municipal Class EA process.
However, MOE staff have said that the bus-only roadways being recommended to be
built in the hydro corridor and on the York University lands, are busways, not
bus lanes, if they do not also allow general traffic. As a result of the MOE staff position, City
and TTC staff have requested a minor amendment to the Municipal Class EA to
clarify the issue and allow the Class EA process to apply to this project. This request is included in Appendix 1.
The
MOE forwarded this request to the Municipal Engineers Association Monitoring
Committee for comment. MOE comments on
the matter are expected in the near future. If problems arise with the
requested amendment, staff would seek approval from the Minister of the
Environment through a “Request for a Declaration Order” (formerly called an
Exemption).
ii)
Canadian
Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA)
The
federal government is expected to provide 1/3 of the funding for this project,
and this contribution “triggers” federal Environmental Assessment
requirements. Staff met with Transport
Canada representatives to initiate this process and were advised that the
federal process would be able to take advantage of much of the work that has
already been done to satisfy provincial EA requirements.
JUSTIFICATION
Immediate improvements
are needed to the bus service operating between Downsview Subway Station and
York University. Bus‑only lanes on
Allen Road-Dufferin Street and a bus-only roadway in the hydro corridor, from
Dufferin Street to Keele Street, as well as on the York University lands, would
achieve that improvement. The design
recommended in this report would provide dramatic improvements to the speed and
reliability of this bus service with relatively little effect on other users of
these roads and with the lowest cost of any of the short-listed options that
were considered.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
July 7, 2004
11-84-42
Attachment:
Appendix 1: Request for amendment to Municipal Class EA