Toronto could build bus lane on Spadina Avenue

Toronto City Council will debate a motion this week to temporarily create a dedicated bus lane on a section of Spadina Avenue, in an effort to cut travel times that have tripled since streetcar service on the busy route was suspended earlier this summer.

The TTC began upgrading the overhead wires along the dedicated streetcar route in June and said the work would last through December. Since the work began, buses have been running in mixed traffic to replace streetcar service along Spadina, with curbside stops.

In a letter sent to Toronto and East York City Council earlier this month, Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik wrote that travel times for riders on the route have increased and urgent action is needed.

“Travel times for the Spadina route have tripled since the replacement bus service began on June 23, 2024,” Malik wrote. “Measures such as deploying traffic officers at key intersections and turning buses around on Front Street have already been implemented.”

She said the southbound bus service in particular, south of Queen Street, is “experiencing significant congestion” and that this remains the case even after other measures have been implemented.

Malik proposes creating a temporary bus lane between Richmond Street and Lake Shore Boulevard West to reduce travel time.

The southbound bus lane would be created by temporarily removing on-street parking and a taxi stand on the west side of Spadina Avenue, between Richmond and Front streets, until streetcar service resumes in December.

City officials estimate that constructing the bus lane would cost the city a total of $240,000: $78,586 to build the lane and then remove it, and about $162,000 in lost parking revenue.

If the bus lane is constructed, two southbound lanes will remain available for other vehicles.

Last year, line 510 Spadina transported an average of 35,184 passengers per day on weekdays, making it one of the busiest tram lines in the city.

The motion was approved by the city council, but will be discussed by the city council this week.