unimaginative2
Senior Member
The speed limit on King, Queen, College and Dundas is 50 km/h and I don't think I've ever seen a streetcar go that fast in mixed-traffic during the day through the core.
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- Thread starter MetroMan
- Start date
The speed limit on King, Queen, College and Dundas is 50 km/h and I don't think I've ever seen a streetcar go that fast in mixed-traffic during the day through the core.
SlickFranky
Active Member
The stop spacing in the core is pretty tight, so even when they're not being blocked by cars, the streetcars are only able to cruise for a few seconds before getting ready for the next stop. In the off-peak hours, when the roads are clearer and the passenger loads lighter, streetcars can (and do) move at a pretty good clip. In other words it's not the vehicles that are slow, it's the implementation. Several others have explained ways to fix this.
cruzin4u
Senior Member
I don't know if this has been mentioned, but I would first re-configure the traffic lighting system. I am a firm believer that this is one of the causes of traffic in Toronto. If traffic is to 'flow', why then are some traffic lights green, while others are red. Head over to Bloor Street East and watch the traffic from Church to Sherbourne.
You'll notice one light is green, then the next light is red, then the next light is green. It clogs up the traffic completely. You are waiting at a red light and notice the light a head of you is green and then the light a head of the green is red. So by the time your light turns green, the next light is red and you are stuck. Once your light turns green, the next light turns red. You are stuck again. How is traffic suppose to flow with such a system? I am sure there are other instances in the downtown core and all around the GTA where the traffic lights are not properly configured to keep traffic flowing. Does it cost too much to reconfigure the sytem? Is it just not possible to do? New York City can do it, why can't we?
You'll notice one light is green, then the next light is red, then the next light is green. It clogs up the traffic completely. You are waiting at a red light and notice the light a head of you is green and then the light a head of the green is red. So by the time your light turns green, the next light is red and you are stuck. Once your light turns green, the next light turns red. You are stuck again. How is traffic suppose to flow with such a system? I am sure there are other instances in the downtown core and all around the GTA where the traffic lights are not properly configured to keep traffic flowing. Does it cost too much to reconfigure the sytem? Is it just not possible to do? New York City can do it, why can't we?
lead82
Senior Member
I think the mixed red-green-red signals are a huge problem. Bloor is not the only problem with this, it's endemic in this city. My biggest pet peeve is University Avenue. They purposely jam traffic to slow it down I believe. The bigger issue is the fact that Toronto's lights are overly generous to tiny little streets. In many US cities, the main street gets a huge portion of the green. When a small street gets the green often it is for mere seconds to let a few cars through. In Toronto, a small side street could get 30 secs of green with just 1-5 cars utilizing it, while 80 cars are stuck waiting. It's a question of balance. I think Toronto needs to put priority on the key thoroughfares that carry traffic over long distances such as Steeles, Bayview, Don Mills, Leslie, Jarvis, University, etc.. These streets should get increased green time. Also, I think it's high time we remove the wasteful 2 seconds of green each cycle. It would make sense to have longer cycles as it would reduce the dead zone time and improve efficiency since it would force less people to stop and allow for better flow.
Then again, a big problem is that traffic is jammed in both directions on many streets so it's very hard to get waves going in both directions at the same time. Toronto's streets were simply not designed for this amount of traffic. The system works pretty well during holidays when traffic is down by 20-25% while half the city is away up at the cottage or travelling abroad.
Then again, a big problem is that traffic is jammed in both directions on many streets so it's very hard to get waves going in both directions at the same time. Toronto's streets were simply not designed for this amount of traffic. The system works pretty well during holidays when traffic is down by 20-25% while half the city is away up at the cottage or travelling abroad.
Dan416
Senior Member
As a Mississaugan, I have to dispute that traffic in the GTA is not bad.
1. I was driving home from a friend's in CityPlace a few weeks ago (Spadina & Bremner) at 12/1 am and Spadina was jammed, Lake Shore was jammed, because the Gardiner was inexplicably closed. So I took Lake Shore for a bit, before I saw others doing U-turns, so I copied them, turned onto Yonge, drove up to Eglinton, then took the Allen to the 401 and got home that way.
2. Another time, going home from CityPlace again, again around the same time, and this time the Gardiner was fine, but the 401 after the 410/403 interchange was a nightmare, with the two right lanes closed I believe. It was for additional Hurontario bridge demolition I believe. Didn't go anywhere fast on the 401 at that time either.
3. Last night I drove myself and a couple friends downtown to see Harry Potter at Scotiabank. Left Square One around 9:30 pm. Traffic on the Gardiner was a nightmare. Turn on the radio: Gardiner was closed between the Humber and Jameson. I hadn't even thought to check what the traffic was on a Thursday evening. By the time we arrived downtown around 10:something, we noticed the downtown core was overrun with cars. It appeared to have been caused by Blue Jays fans. It drove me mad.
On the whole, I find traffic in off-peak times to be worse that peak times. (e.g. my drive to work at 6:30/7:00 401/410 is pretty quick around 15 min; back home by Tomken/Derry/Mavis is more like 30 minutes; but in either case traffic at least moves at a decent clip, aside from the 410 south/401 east on my way home if I make the unfortunate choice to "try" them out again).
1. I was driving home from a friend's in CityPlace a few weeks ago (Spadina & Bremner) at 12/1 am and Spadina was jammed, Lake Shore was jammed, because the Gardiner was inexplicably closed. So I took Lake Shore for a bit, before I saw others doing U-turns, so I copied them, turned onto Yonge, drove up to Eglinton, then took the Allen to the 401 and got home that way.
2. Another time, going home from CityPlace again, again around the same time, and this time the Gardiner was fine, but the 401 after the 410/403 interchange was a nightmare, with the two right lanes closed I believe. It was for additional Hurontario bridge demolition I believe. Didn't go anywhere fast on the 401 at that time either.
3. Last night I drove myself and a couple friends downtown to see Harry Potter at Scotiabank. Left Square One around 9:30 pm. Traffic on the Gardiner was a nightmare. Turn on the radio: Gardiner was closed between the Humber and Jameson. I hadn't even thought to check what the traffic was on a Thursday evening. By the time we arrived downtown around 10:something, we noticed the downtown core was overrun with cars. It appeared to have been caused by Blue Jays fans. It drove me mad.
On the whole, I find traffic in off-peak times to be worse that peak times. (e.g. my drive to work at 6:30/7:00 401/410 is pretty quick around 15 min; back home by Tomken/Derry/Mavis is more like 30 minutes; but in either case traffic at least moves at a decent clip, aside from the 410 south/401 east on my way home if I make the unfortunate choice to "try" them out again).