Major intersection closure will divert 3 downtown streetcar routes all summer
Diversions to add roughly 5 minutes to average streetcar trip on impacted routes, TTC says
Toronto's construction season is officially here, and with it comes new headaches for transit users on some of the city's busiest streetcar routes.
On Sunday, a major rehabilitation project will get underway at the intersection of King Street E. and Church Street. The city will be tearing up the road and sidewalks to replace aging watermains, and the TTC will use that opportunity to do upgrades to streetcar tracks and other critical infrastructure.
The work is expected to last until early September. That means diversions for three streetcar routes: 504/304 King, 503/303 Kingston Road and 508 Lake Shore. Collectively, more than 100,000 people ride these routes daily.
"We absolutely understand that there is going to be inconvenience and that is frustrating, we get that," TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said Tuesday.
The transit agency estimates the closure of the intersection will add roughly five minutes to the average trip on those streetcar routes for riders heading into and out of the downtown core, though that figure could fluctuate depending on the time of day.
"As I say, it's that short-term pain for the longer-term gain that gives stability to both city infrastructure and TTC infrastructure," Green told CBC Radio's Metro Morning.
Streetcars on the three impacted routes will be diverting in both directions on Queen, Richmond and Adelaide streets via York and Church streets. The diversions are in place between Spadina Avenue in the west and Broadview Avenue in the east.
For the first six weeks or so of the project, the intersection of King and Church will remain open to vehicle traffic, so replacement buses will run along King from both the Distillery District and Broadview Station, all the way west to the Dufferin Gate Loop.
If this is all a bit confusing, you can learn more from the TTC about the project timeline and diversions here and here.
Green said the city will provide traffic wardens during the initial phases of the project to help avoid streetcar "bunching" (that's when a whole load of streetcars start stacking up at a particular stop) and keep traffic flowing as best as possible.
"This will particularly be an issue during the afternoon and morning rush hours when we have more vehicles on the road," he said.
"If things just aren't working, we will go in and we will readjust. We have the ability to be a bit flexible and we will keep an eye on things at the beginning."
Asked why the TTC doesn't spread out its infrastructure upgrades over a longer period of time to limit the duration of any single closure or diversion, Green said it's become clear that finishing the complex work in one go is preferable for everyone.
"It's inefficient. It infuriates people," he said of multiple closures. "So we're doing to do it all at one time. But it does mean that we have a significant disruption, but it's a shorter period of time that we're doing it."