Roncesvalles Reconstruction

[EnviroTO]

The tracks are below street level. That guarantees more work will be done on the traffic lanes and sewer grates for sure.

 

[drum118]

[video=youtube;BO1VF54STQA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO1VF54STQA[/video]l

 

[W. K. Lis]

Watching the video and photos of Roncesvalles without the streetcar tracks tells me how "ordinary" and quiet the street is without the tracks. It does not draw me in, just a road to get me from A to B, nothing else.

Roncesvalles with the streetcar tracks becomes more unique and alive. Roncesvalles needs the streetcars tracks and the streetcars that run on it, else it will slowly become just an "ordinary" street.

I just wonder how the street will look with the bumpouts when the construction is completed, and with the new low-floor streetcars.

From other cities with bumpouts at streetcar/tram stops:

 

[Dan416]

Okay I'm not very familiar with Roncesvalles and am too lazy to read through the whole thread. So Roncesvalles never had streetcars before? And now it will? Is it a new route?

 

[urbandreamer]

Ok, I shan't reply to that. Silly.

So I heard Mississauga still has trams on Lake Shore, correct? I always take the tram to my Clarkson cottage!

 

[junctionist]

Okay I'm not very familiar with Roncesvalles and am too lazy to read through the whole thread. So Roncesvalles never had streetcars before? And now it will? Is it a new route?

What? A power user like yourself (3855 posts at the time of writing) couldn't figure that out? I'll tell you, if only because Roncesvalles is such a great street and lovable neighbourhood. No matter the foolishness of your post....

Roncesvalles has always had streetcars. The 504 King car travels down Roncesvalles to Dundas West Station and there's a carhouse at Queen/King. Now it will also have "bump outs" extending the sidewalk to the streetcar lane, allowing seniors and the disabled, as well as the respectable citizens with their collapseable carts of groceries to conveniently board low-floor streetcars. The streetcar helps make Roncesvalles a walkable, cyclable, vibrant yet laid back street instead of some congested west-end traffic trap linking Dundas and Bloor with such arterials such as Queen, King and the Queensway.

Roncesvalles is a street where Polish is typically heard on the sidewalks amidst the Polish businesses and dignified monuments with candles and flowers, but also one of hipsters, older burghers who look like they haven't owned a car in at least a generation, affordable Asian grocery markets on corners, an urban Sobey's, many beautiful churches, rooming houses beside restored mansions, a recently saved cinema called the Revue, and this rare Toronto example of an early twentieth century midrise apartment building. Some might compare it to something from Montreal or Chicago but with CLRVs rolling by it has been quintessential Toronto for generations. The atmosphere is warm even amidst the chaos of construction and it's safe into the night. You should visit.

 

[Jonny5]

Okay I'm not very familiar with Roncesvalles and am too lazy to read through the whole thread. So Roncesvalles never had streetcars before? And now it will? Is it a new route?

Another front in the war on cars.

 

[StIdes]

Wait the bump out idea is actually happening? Yay lets make more traffic! You wanna pass a streetcar? Forget it! That's way to dangerous! I mean it's way too dangerous for people to board streetcars the traditional way like 95% of the rest of the street car lines. Once again the government/TTC makes life on drivers harder to protect morons who dont look before they step on to the street before boarding a streetcar. I'm not a car fanboy either. I have a car and a metropass.

 

[SlickFranky]

First off, you can't pass a streetcar when it's stopped anyway, bump-out or no bump out. Secondly, last plans I saw had the majority of the outer lanes taken up by parking, so you couldn't pass anyway. Roncesville isn't mean't to be dragstrip.

 

[Swarley]

Once again the government/TTC makes life on drivers harder to protect morons who dont look before they step on to the street before boarding a streetcar.

You've got that backward. The morons are the drivers who nearly run people over every DAY who are trying to board streetcars, despite the streetcars having been here for longer than cars. Based on your post, I'm guessing you're one of those people.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Okay I'm not very familiar with Roncesvalles and am too lazy to read through the whole thread. So Roncesvalles never had streetcars before? And now it will? Is it a new route?

It almost always had streetcars, there were carhouses on Roncesvalles since January 22, 1895.

The streetcar tracks were removed to replace the lead watermains with modern non-lead watermains, new sewers and other underground utilities. The roadway was asphalt for a few months to allow the ground to settle and to check for leaks before continuing.

 

[catcher_of_cats]

Before the construction started two springs ago, it was virtually impossible to pass streetcars running along Roncesvalles. Passing happens only near Queen or Dundas. This is because of all the parked cars along the street which some members already mentioned. Roncesvalles is not designed to be a major thoroughfare between Bloor and the lake, that would be Parkside (Keele). Yahoos that use it as such harm the streetlife of this strip.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Before the construction started two springs ago, it was virtually impossible to pass streetcars running along Roncesvalles. Passing happens only near Queen or Dundas. This is because of all the parked cars along the street which some members already mentioned. Roncesvalles is not designed to be a major thoroughfare between Bloor and the lake, that would be Parkside (Keele). Yahoos that use it as such harm the streetlife of this strip.

For those who use Parkside Drive and have not noticed because they are being very good drivers and keeping their eyes on the road ahead of them, High Park is actually all that green stuff (I think they are called trees and grass) to the west between The Queensway and Bloor Street West.

Parkside Drive used to be Keele Street and had the same width as Indian Road (which merged just north of the railway underpass), but the city took part of High Park to widen Keele Street to Parkside Drive.

 

[Dan416]

Watching the video and photos of Roncesvalles without the streetcar tracks tells me how "ordinary" and quiet the street is without the tracks. It does not draw me in, just a road to get me from A to B, nothing else.

This picture doesn't show any streetcars or tracks. So I'm confused.

(And I know very well about Roncesvalles being where Polish people eons ago used to centre around)

 

[EnviroTO]

Once again the government/TTC makes life on drivers harder to protect morons who dont look before they step on to the street before boarding a streetcar.

Yes, lets blame the pedestrian and not the driver ignoring the streetcar and the laws that say they shouldn't be passing. The morons are the pedestrians exiting the streetcar, not the drivers. How can we make things harder for those poor drivers who will have to wait longer. Lets not have sympathy for the people who got hit by the law breaking drivers, lets have sympathy for the driver that hit the pedestrian while in the cool comfort of his automobile.