This TTC route is getting some major changes to 'improve service' during construction

Commuters run towards a TTC stop at Bathurst and King Street West in Toronto on November 13, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

The TTC announced one of its routes will be seeing some service changes starting this Thursday.

On Tuesday, the TTC said it will be changing the 506 Carlton streetcar’s route “in order to speed up trip times and improve customer service.”

According to the transit agency, the change in service will bypass the construction on Carlton and College streets between Ossington Avenue and Parliament Street. The construction here includes TTC and City-run projects like streetcar track replacement, and cycling and pedestrian infrastructure upgrades.

“We know the diversion along the 506 route [has] been inconvenient and confusing for our customers,” TTC’s CEO Rick Leary said in the news release.

In order to bypass construction, the TTC will be running replacement buses by the nearest parallel corridors. Plus, it will redirect streetcar service to Dundas Street.

These buses will run from Ossington and Castle Frank stations via Ossington Avenue, Harbord Street, Hoskin Avenue, Queen’s Park, University Avenue, and Gerrard and Parliament streets.

Both buses and streetcars will not be stopping at College Station at this time, and instead, transit users are recommended to board either the 505 Dundas or 506 Carlton streetcars at Dundas and St. Patrick stations. There will also be a 506C Carlton replacement bus running from Queen’s Park Station.

The TTC also recommends transit riders use the north-south service by either taking Line 1 to reach their destination or hopping onboard any of the following buses or streetcars: 63 Ossington, 65 Parliament, 75 Sherbourne, 510 Spadina and 511 Bathurst.

All of these service changes will stay until the end of the year, according to the TTC, depending on whether construction is finished.

The TTC says it will have a dedicated Wheel-Trans service through the diversion area for anyone, and transit ambassadors will help direct customers at the boarding and offloading locations along the route.