TTC adjusting bus service on Spadina Avenue after traffic times tripled
The TTC will no longer run buses along Spadina Avenue during weekday afternoons after travel times on the route tripled following the suspension of streetcar service last month.
The TTC began replacing streetcars with buses on June 23 to allow crews to complete “critical” track work that is expected to take until December.
However, because buses cannot operate in the dedicated lane used by streetcars it has worsened gridlock along the busy corridor and the TTC is now taking action.
In a news release on Friday, the TTC said that 510 Spadina replacement buses will no longer operate between Front Street West and Queen’s Quay from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, with the change taking effect next week.
Instead, buses will turn left on Front Street and right on Blue Jays Way to loop back around to Spadina Avenue. They will then continue their route northbound to Spadina Station.
“In the first week of this planned six-month service change, the TTC has seen southbound afternoon travel times triple to more than an hour from approximately 20-25 minutes at other times of day. Buses running south of Front Street are getting caught in congestion and gridlock as motorists attempt to get on the Gardiner Expressway,” the TTC noted in its release. “This change is the result of on-going monitoring of the route since June 23 when buses replaced streetcars to accommodate essential infrastructure work.”
The TTC says that it continue to monitor the situation along Spadina Avenue and “is looking at other possible improvements and modifications” as well.
The change to service along the route comes after former One Direction member Niall Horan posted a video last week which showed him walking to the Scotiabank Arena for a performance because the city’s traffic was “too bad.”
In the video, which was sped up and had The Proclaimer’s “I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)” playing in the background, Horan was seen walking from just west of Yonge Street to an underground entrance of Scotiabank Arena past Bay Street.
“In all the years I’ve been playing shows, I don’t think I’ve ever walked into a venue,” Horan said in the video.
The changes to service along the 510 Spadina route take effect July 8.
The TTC says that accommodations will be made for customers with mobility needs who need to travel south of Front Street and they will be picked up by another bus.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6951886.1720127955!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
ANALYSIS Why are Trudeau and Singh avoiding Stampede this year?
This year, only Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre will be saddling up for the event, while both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh will stay away.
Protesters smash windows at McGill University; police use tear gas to disperse crowd
Montreal police deployed tear gas as they dispersed a crowd of protesters participating in a pro-Palestinian demonstration after members of the group smashed windows at McGill University Friday evening.
Canada's Davies scores shootout penalty to bury World Cup demons
Canada captain Alphonso Davies banished memories of his penalty miss at the 2022 World Cup by confidently converting a spot-kick in a shootout victory over Venezuela in the Copa America quarter-finals on Friday.
Stay away from hogweed: What you need to know about these pesky and dangerous plants
Hogweed is harmful to humans and, experts say, the invasive species has become a growing problem in southern Ontario.
Reformist Pezeshkian wins Iran's presidential runoff election, besting hard-liner Jalili
Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran’s runoff presidential election Saturday, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic.
Everything Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said publicly about Donald Trump
While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a measured tone when talking about Donald Trump during his first presidency, the Canadian leader has been a little more direct since. As we head closer to a U.S. election this fall, CTVNews.ca takes a look at everything Trudeau has said publicly about the presumptive Republican nominee.
Beryl set to strengthen on approach to Texas due to hot ocean temperatures
With its unprecedented tear through the ultrawarm waters of the southeast Caribbean, Beryl turned meteorologists’ worst fears of a souped-up hurricane season into grim reality. Now it’s Texas turn.
2 teenagers die while swimming at New York's Coney Island Beach, police say
Two teenagers died while swimming at New York's Coney Island Beach in Brooklyn, police said.
Hamas clears the way for a possible ceasefire after dropping key demand, officials say
Hamas has given initial approval for a U.S.-backed proposal for a phased ceasefire deal in Gaza, dropping a key demand that Israel gives an up-front commitment for a complete end to the war, a Hamas and an Egyptian official said Saturday.