Buses to replace streetcars on TTC's 501 Queen

From May 7 to Sept. 3, streetcars on the 501 Queen route will be replaced by buses, allowing for better service through numerous construction and road works projects along Queen St. this summer.

City work at Coxwell Ave., work between Bathurst St. and Spadina Ave., and the installation of a new pedestrian bridge at the Eaton Centre west of Yonge St., would have required streetcars to divert at  all of those locations. As well, major road and track work also continues west of Roncesvalles Ave. through the end of the year.

As a result, the TTC will use buses along the entirety of Queen St. to avoid inconvenient diversions for customers.

To maintain the route's passenger capacity, 65 buses will be used at the busiest times of day.

Several other routes will see vehicle changes during the same period:

• Streetcars will return to 511 Bathurst
• Streetcars, rather than buses, will service the supplemental 504 King peak service
• Streetcars will also run on the 503 Kingston Rd. route from May 7 to July 30, when buses will return to avoid a diversion around TTC track replacement at Queen and Coxwell.

After streetcars return to the 501 Queen route on Sept. 3, some short-term diversions will still be needed to accommodate the following TTC projects:

Track reconstruction at Queen St. and Coxwell Ave. - Sept. 3 to Oct. 14:

Buses will run between the Neville Loop and Carlaw Ave., streetcars will run between Connaught Ave. and Roncesvalles Ave. Buses will continue to run between Roncesvalles and Long Branch Loop.

Track reconstruction at Queen St and McCaul St. - Oct 15 to Nov. 25:

The 501 Queen streetcar will divert around this work via Church St./King St./Spadina Ave. with a shuttle bus running on Queen St. between Church St. and Spadina Ave.

The TTC is unable to accommodate this work at the same time as City work through the summer for a number of reasons, including labour resources and the fact that some works, like water main replacement, can't be done at the same time as other projects in the same location.

For a full list of route changes effective May 7, the main page feature.