The City of Toronto issued a press release outlining a contingency plan in the case of a TTC strike starting on April 1 (does anyone find any irony of the TTC’s original strike day starting on April Fool’s Day?). It includes converting bus lanes into carpool lanes, no parking on certain arterial roads that currently contain on-street parking, and encouraging businesses to reconsider delivery times. A special meeting of City Council has been called to amend current bylaws for the duration of any “TTC service disruption,” as the City likes to call it.
From the release:
Today, Toronto Mayor David Miller called a special meeting of City Council for Monday, March 31, in order to approve bylaw amendments to establish emergency routes and improve traffic flow in the event of a TTC service disruption.
The City of Toronto remains hopeful that a negotiated settlement can be reached in the ongoing TTC contract discussions. The Amalgamated Transit Union has given assurance that a 48-hour notice period would be given before a disruption occurs.
Should transit be disrupted, the City will immediately adopt certain contingency plans and emergency traffic measures that will remain in effect throughout the disruption. This will ensure that all city roads and services will continue to operate as efficiently as possible. In addition, all City services and programs will continue to operate.
To ensure the highest degree of mobility for emergency vehicles, the changes that would be made to the bylaws allow the City to establish emergency routes where parking will be prohibited between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday to Friday as follows:
* Avenue Rd./University Ave. between Lawrence Ave. and Front St.
* Bloor St./Danforth Ave. between Jane St. and Victoria Park Ave.
* Yonge St. between Front St. and Steeles Ave.
* Eglinton Ave. between Allen Rd. and Brentcliffe Rd.
* Bayview Ave. from Eglinton Ave. to Lawrence Ave.
* Finch Ave. from Highway 400 to Jane St.
* McCowan Rd. from Eglinton Ave. to Ellesmere Rd.
* Lawrence Ave. from Markham Rd. to Brimley Rd.
* The Queensway from Roncesvalles Ave. to Parkside Dr.
In addition to the emergency routes, the City would also temporarily designate reserved bus lanes on Eglinton Ave., Bay St., Fleet St., King St. and Pape Ave. as car pool lanes for the duration of any transit disruption. Parking lots at 14 designated City community centres and arenas would be available free of charge, primarily for car pooling.
The City is encouraging employers to proactively consider flexible work hours, car pooling and any other arrangements that may help reduce road congestion during peak periods.
All businesses are encouraged to review their scheduled delivery times to ensure that they have the least impact on traffic on major roadways.
photo by Stephen Gardner
8 comments
Maybe when the transit strike is over we can still declare some kind of emergency to kick parking and cab stands off streetcar routes… just a thought 🙂
What about the streetcar rights-of-way on Spadina, St. Clair, and Queen’s Quay?
this looks potentially very ugly for cyclists.
Hello City of Caronto. How about encouraging a little bicycling for a change .. hmmm?
Let’s see how many TV and radio stations discover… cycling! Let’s see how many seconds into Miller’s first speech during the strike that he suggests… cycling!
Great idea. Let’s suggest that people dust off their poorly maintained hybrids and join the roads crowded with more car commuters. That might be dangerous on regular routes, so good thing the bike plan is fin…
Oh yeah, about that: let’s try to get a focused cyclists voice out there that the city needs parking/dangerous driving enforcement year round. That’s what will make cycling safe for commuters and their children!
I had the same thought, geoffrey. All these strategies to make it easier for people to drive to work, and not a word about biking. Designated bike-only routes would be nice too, given the number of potholes and leftover snow at the edges of the streets.
A Toronto bylaw states that the only organisation that is allowed to offer transit service within Toronto is the TTC (with a special exception for GO). It makes sense to me that this law should be considered null and void during the duration of a strike as during that time there simply is no TTC. Any company that has a provincial license to operate buses should be allowed to carry passengers within Toronto and charge what they wish. It would be one way to keep the city moving. A Laidlaw school bus certainly wouldn’t be as nice a ride as the subway, but for those who need to get to their jobs and have no other alternatives it would be something to be thankful for.
Hi everybody!
Does anybody know how can we find out tomorrow if there is a strike or not ? Please, let me know if you do 🙂
I agree with Christopher L.
This by-law needs to be disregarded during a strike.
It is exam time at school, and I have no other way to get to school (I would bike, except it is 32 kilometers and Toronto does not provide safe, clear or clean routes to attempt this).
This better get resolved soon, because it will spread unnecessary havoc on the city of Toronto.
Not to mention, that the TTC is not exactly the most efficient public transportation compared to other big cities around the world. In fact, other transportation services in cities of the same size are much better with communication and organization. (I have been to over 30 cities in U.S.A and Europe whose systems have put the TTC to shame.
By the way, Joanna: we are supposed to get 48 hours notice of a strike, and as far as I can tell, there is no notice yet, so I think we are okay for tomorrow
Thanks