Daryl Gonsalves –
This February, Toronto’s transit system found itself at the mercy of two relentless forces: a true Canadian winter and drivers who could not park properly. The result? Streetcars were stalled as operators struggled to navigate blocked tracks. In extreme cases, frustrated Torontonians took matters into their own hands and lifted terribly parked cars themselves.
As the seasons change, another hurdle is coming for some Downtown East streetcar routes.
From May to October, King Street East and Church Street [1] [2] will close for essential water main repairs and streetcar track maintenance. Thousands of daily commuters will be sent on altered paths, as key streetcar lines like the 504 King, 503 Kingston Avenue and 508 Lakeshore will be rerouted to Adelaide and Richmond.
These diversions will affect approximately 103,000 transit users and intensify congestion on already busy transit corridors. The Toronto Financial District Business Improvement Area predicts that the adjustments will result in as high as 25 streetcars in the peak hour using Queen Street from Spadina Avenue to Broadview Avenue, compared with the current seven. [3]
On February 3, city staff recommended a suite of temporary technical and policy adjustments to accommodate the essential maintenance at King and Church. The staff report notes that a long-term plan and reconfiguration is in the works to reflect the new baseline conditions and lessons to be learned.
The transit priority measures that city staff recommended include:
- a dedicated transit-only lane on Queen Street East from Hamilton Street to Broadview[4] [5] .
- new parking restrictions and no stopping zones along Queen, Richmond and Adelaide Streets.
- extended turning restrictions at key intersections to prevent vehicle-streetcar conflicts.
- temporary limitations on CaféTO curb lane patios along affected streets.
- traffic agents and signal timing adjustments to optimize flow and minimize gridlock.
Not everyone is on board with these changes. The Financial District BIA warns that banning stops in key areas will disrupt truck deliveries, queuing, and general business operations. Even if transit riders may benefit, local businesses fear they will take an operational hit.
Without diligent enforcement and sufficient penalties, drivers will continue parking and stopping. Although traffic agents can dispense traffic tickets, one of them told me they have limited scope; drivers often shrug tickets off given the insignificant penalties.
The city staff report, considered by Toronto and East York Community Council on February 20, is being forwarded to City Council without recommendations. Council is to debate it at its March 26–28 meeting.
What do you think? Will these changes help ensure streetcar service, or will enforcement gaps and business concerns derail the plan? Email [email protected].
