How would you fix traffic in Toronto?

[PCC]

Do people not listen to the radio anymore?

You mean AM radio, right?

 

[jje1000]

Queen and King are not the only streets in Toronto that utilise street cars, and they very well may be quite effective for the downtown core. However, there are lots of places where streetcars can be replaced by buses effectively. Broadview is one such example.

Buses can effectively be replaced with nothing if the budget needs to be trimmed (or if room needs to be made for cars). Streetcars systems still nag you with their rails and overhead lines even if the trains are gone.

If replacing streetcars is on the menu, I'd much rather have trolleybuses instead.

 

[nfitz]

Queen and King are not the only streets in Toronto that utilise street cars, and they very well may be quite effective for the downtown core. However, there are lots of places where streetcars can be replaced by buses effectively.

For the most part, outside of the core, the lines are running into the core. If you remove the parts of the line running into the core, it makes them, uh ..., rather difficult to use. Also you don't really see the congestion issues outside of the core as much ... a car might be briefly slowed at one streetcar stop ... but the effect is less than a traffic light. A bus signalling to turn from the stop, back into the active traffic lane creates a similar effect.

Broadview is one such example.

Where then do you suggest the King car go after getting to the Don River? I walk up and ride up and down Broadview all the time ... in rush hour! I don't see traffic congestion there ... except at Danforth ... and the issue there is the traffic trying to turn at the light onto Danforth ... not the streetcars. Where on Broadview do you see congestion.

Do people not listen to the radio anymore?

I live near the streetcar tracks ... heck, I used to live right in front of the streetcar tracks, with the radio in the front of the house. I've never heard any radio issues.

Now, if one is driving along a streetcar track, one gets a bit of static on the AM band ... but why would anyone drive down a streetcar track for more than a couple of minutes?

I have to say, someone who doesn't drive ... suggesting that we get rid of streetcars because of the interference to AM radio signals of drivers is ... well I've never heard that before!

If replacing streetcars is on the menu, I'd much rather have trolleybuses instead.

But what about all the poor drivers trying to listen to the rage on CHAT-AM?

 

[Admiral Beez]

And your telling us that the inbound tunnel wasn't congested on a Friday in the daytime?.

I find it amusing how incredulous people are here that anyone finds the traffic in NYC easy to navigate.

I was in NYC last month for work. Flew Porter to Newark and took a cab at 3:30pm on a Monday to my hotel in Times Square. The taxi slowed down a little in the tunnel, but we had no problems with city gridlock. NYC is not the traffic chaos others seem to be implying here.

 

[nfitz]

I find it amusing how incredulous people are here that anyone finds the traffic in NYC easy to navigate.

It's the approaches that I find surprising. In particular the bridges and tunnels to New Jersey are legendary - and my experiences have always been similar. Once your into Manhattan, it's normally clear sailing except at rush-hour - like downtown Toronto, there is little reason to be driving.

The taxi slowed down a little in the tunnel

In the tunnel ... sure ... but what about the spiral approach? That's usually my downfall.

but we had no problems with city gridlock.

From the exit from the Lincoln Tunnel (40th and 9th) to Times Square (42nd and 7th) ... no gridlock. What's that ... 2 whole blocks? (writer looks out window to see 3 blocks of Front Street as he types ... no congestion out there either ...)

 

[GraphicMatt]

To play devil's advocate, is Toronto's traffic on downtown streets really a problem? Yes, it frustrates people, but what's the argument that says we'd be doing better as a city if, for example, it was faster to drive across Queen Street at 4:30 p.m. on a Friday?

I think Toronto's actual traffic problems relate more to facilitating movement into and out of downtown from the suburbs.

 

[nfitz]

I think Toronto's actual traffic problems relate more to facilitating movement into and out of downtown from the suburbs.

Indeed ... though the west end from Spadina/Bathurst to the Humber seems much poorer east/west than I see on the east end; I'm not sure if it has improved any now the Dufferin jog bottleneck has been eliminated.

Not that it has much to do with streetcars. Personally I find Bloor-Danforth the worst street to drive along - and it's wider and has no streetcars; coming from the east, I usually drop down to Dundas or Gerrard. It's ironic that Gerrard moves better in rush-hour with streetcars, than Bloor-Danforth without them.

 

[doug]

the power lines for them cause a ton of radio interference which unrelated to traffic is another annoyance.

Why would you make up such garbage to bolster your case?

 

[GraphicMatt]

Yeah, I've never noticed any issues with my car's radio while driving in Toronto along streetcar routes. I do notice that sometimes my iPod audio gets crackly when I pass by the CN Tower on the Gardiner, though.

 

[cgguy]

Between the traffic-halting streetcars, cyclists, and paid parking all vying for the same road space on major arteries it's no surprise we have rush hour gridlock.

Sadly there's no simple solution. Streetcars aren't going away anytime soon. Replacing them with buses would free up the left lane but it's not financially viable for the city. Cyclists would benefit from dedicated bike lanes on secondary arteries, but again, there's not a whole lot of love for bikes in this city. And removing paid parking on King and Queen would cost the city a fortune in lost revenue.

At the end of the day I'm not sure there's much the city can do even if they had an endless budget to tackle the problem. The Gardiner/QEW, DVP and 400 highway bottlenecks need to be addressed before anything can start moving downtown and that's a provincial matter.

 

[TrickyRicky]

My solution, do nothing.

Traffic in central Toronto is not really that bad. I agree with the observation that NYC traffic flows better because it is one way. However, I would argue that you can only create a one-way network without destroying street-life if the area has already densified and matured. I would argue that one-way grids do kill streetlife, it's just that Manhattan is so dense that it can handle the negative impacts of one-way grids. In essence one-way grids kill streetlife but that is a good thing in a place as dense as Manhattan.

On a side-note someone mentioned the traffic on Bloor-Danforth. In reference to Manhattan I was surprised how few districts there were with similar diverse strips. Much of Manhattan to me resembles University Avenue more than Bloor or Queen streets here. I was actually able to park my car on the street overnight inexpensively if you believe it when I was in Manhattan. So not only is it not hard to drive in Manhattan, it is not hard to park either. I'm not necessarily issuing this statment as a compliment to that city.

 

[MetroMan]

^ I noticed the same thing with parking. I found street parking everywhere I went and was able to park overnight for free. You don't expect this in a city of this size.... in THE city of this size.

 

[nfitz]

You don't expect this in a city of this size.... in THE city of this size.

Read the signs carefully though ... in New York if you park overnight where you shouldn't, they don't ticket ... they tow!

NYC isn't what you expect sometimes ... left my car parked on a street in the Bronx for a few days (and nights) without needing to move it once ... no problems; came home and discovered someone had broken into the other car in the parking lot in Kitchener while I was gone.

 

[unimaginative2]

The only real way to dramatically reduce traffic in Toronto would be to move to a European-style street system in which there aren't the same kind of arterial and local roads. All roads can be and are used for through traffic. That would, of course, dramatically change a lot of the city's neighbourhoods and in most cases I wouldn't support it. Traffic in Toronto is annoying, but it's not really that bad beyond a few choke points. I think it's one of the acceptable side-effects of living in a great city. Obviously better transit, in particular real regional rail on all the current GO corridors, would make a difference. The Gardiner really isn't all that busy during the peak, all things considered. In fact, it's often busier coming into downtown than going out in the evening peak, obviously because there is little or no GO service inbound.

I don't think one-way streets have any impact at all on street life. This is one of the weirder planning ideas that have developed over the past decades. Obviously Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Laurent in Montreal, among others, are just as lively as any two-way street. In fact, I'm quite sure that most pedestrians don't even think about their direction of traffic, other than that it makes jaywalking easier.

 

[MetroMan]

However, I would argue that you can only create a one-way network without destroying street-life if the area has already densified and matured. I would argue that one-way grids do kill streetlife, it's just that Manhattan is so dense that it can handle the negative impacts of one-way grids. In essence one-way grids kill streetlife but that is a good thing in a place as dense as Manhattan.

I think that bike lanes, wide sidewalks and streetcar transit can prevent this deterioration of street life. Queen St. and King St. can handle it as they're already built up.