COMMISSION REPORT MACRO

RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that the Commission:

1. Request Toronto City Council to reinstate the prohibition of the east-to-north left-turn into the LCBO store at 1654 Queen Street East;

2. Convey to Toronto City Council its displeasure regarding City staff’s failure to protect transit services against unnecessary delays and disruptions; and

3. Forward this report to the City of Toronto.

FUNDING

There are no funding implications associated with this report.

BACKGROUND

In correspondence dated November, 2000, City Planning requested TTC comments on a proposal for an expansion of the LCBO store, and an increase in the associated parking spots, at 1654 Queen Street East. The 501 Queen, 502 Downtowner, and 503 Kingston Road streetcar services operate on this section of Queen Street. At the TTC’s request, the left turns to and from this site were prohibited as a condition of approval of this development so that left-turning traffic would not create additional delays to these frequent streetcar services.

However, in March 2005, City staff contacted TTC staff and advised that they had been asked to re-evaluate the need for the prohibitions. They indicated that they had conducted a survey at this location which showed that a significant number of motorists were disregarding the east-to-north left-turn prohibition into the site, and that these left-turns were not negatively affecting streetcar operations on Queen Street East.

City staff asked if TTC had any objections to rescinding the east-to-north left-turn prohibition from Queen Street East into this LCBO store. TTC staff advised City staff of their opposition to this proposal. However, in a May 6, 2005 report to Toronto and East York Community Council, attached as Exhibit 1, City staff recommended the elimination of the prohibition of the east-to-north and south-to-east left-turn to and from this site. In that report, City staff noted that “We have consulted with staff of the TTC and in their opinion, the eastbound left-turn prohibition should remain”. Toronto City Council approved the rescission of the prohibitions at its meeting of June 14, 15 and 16, 2005.

DISCUSSION

In an effort to slow the deterioration of the quality of TTC services caused by increasing vehicular traffic volumes, TTC staff routinely request City staff to require, as conditions of approval for new developments, measures to mitigate or prevent delays to transit service. In reviewing the site plan application for the expansion of the LCBO store at 1654 Queen Street East, TTC staff requested that left-turn prohibitions into and out of the site be required as a condition of approval.

It is essential to protect streetcar routes from additional delays because they are typically the TTC’s most heavily-used routes and, owing to their fixed-rail operation in mixed-traffic, are the most vulnerable to disruptions of scheduled service of all the surface transit routes operated by TTC. The combination of very-frequent service, and the constant, highly-variable and unpredictable traffic-related delays characteristic of the central areas in which streetcars operate, cause gapping, bunching, overcrowding, and extensive short-turning on these routes.

The “instability” of streetcar routes is not the result of any single delay; is the result of the cumulative effect of many small, random delays over the entire length of the route. Streetcars on Queen Street have, for years, been subject to many delays, on a daily basis, along the route. On a typical weekday, 501 Queen streetcars are short-turned 65 times in order to overcome the delays and disruptions of mixed-traffic. Of the 65 daily short-turns, 29 are made at Connaught Avenue or Kingston Road, which means that the route segment east of Kingston Road receives 14 percent less service than is scheduled. The result is that, on a typical weekday, hundreds of eastbound transit riders are forced to get off the streetcar on which they are travelling and wait to board a following streetcar to complete their trip.

The City’s report suggests that delays caused by autos waiting on the tracks to turn left into the LCBO site are not a problem for transit. This conclusion is erroneous and demonstrates a lack of understanding of how transit operates. For example, the City report states that the recommendation was based on the results of a one-hour survey in the off-peak and a one-hour survey in the afternoon peak, intended to measure the effects that illegal left-turns at this location were having on eastbound streetcars. However, this survey period is not sufficient to support the conclusion that rescinding the left-turn prohibitions would not affect these streetcar services.

TTC staff conducted a further delay survey at this location for an entire afternoon peak period, after the left-turn prohibitions were rescinded. This survey showed an average of 92 autos per hour making the east-to-north left-turn into the LCBO store, which is more than double the 45 autos that were observed by City staff in the PM peak hour, before the prohibitions were rescinded. During the peak hour, one streetcar was delayed for over one minute and two others were each delayed over 30 seconds. While these delays do not sound dramatic, the fact is that, when seemingly “small” delays of 30 seconds or one minute are allowed to be introduced at a number of locations along a route, the cumulative effect is that a streetcar can fall 5-6 minutes behind schedule on a single trip.

The City report does not include a discussion of this cumulative effect of “small” delays along a route. In the TTC survey, the effects of the various individual small delays along the route were clearly evident. For example, during the afternoon peak period, the average time between eastbound streetcars on the three streetcar routes is scheduled to be 3’40”. The gaps in service actually observed were often much greater; on four occasions, the time between streetcars was over 10 minutes. So, the result of allowing “small” delays to happen on transit routes, is a service that is unstable and prone to bunching, gapping, and overcrowding and, ultimately, unreliable for customers.

The first step in providing attractive transit service is to look for opportunities to ensure that it does not get any worse. TTC staff request turn restrictions to avoid the continuing deterioration of the quality of service on streetcar routes due to the cumulative effect of such “small” delays over the length of the route. The request for such a restriction at this location is justifiable and warranted, if the City is serious about its Official Plan objectives to increase and encourage the use of public transit.

JUSTIFICATION

The decision to rescind the east-to-north left-turn prohibition at this location contributes to the increasing problem of traffic-related delays to transit and is, therefore, contrary to the intent of the City’s new Official Plan to promote the use of public transit and to improve public transit by reducing delays associated with operation in mixed-traffic.

In keeping with the intent of the Official Plan, and to avoid the ongoing deterioration in the quality of streetcar service on Queen Street, the east-to-north left-turn prohibition at the LCBO store at 1654 Queen Street East should be reinstated.

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September 8, 2005

11-55-78

Attachment: Exhibit 1