City moving ahead with priority bus lanes

Torontosun.com
July 9, 2020
Bryan Passifiume

Toronto is moving ahead with plans to build a network of priority bus lanes along high-use routes.

Announced Wednesday at a bus stop along the project’s first leg -- Eglinton Ave. E. in Scarborough -- Mayor John Tory called the initiative, part of the TTC’s 2019 five-year service plan and 10-year outlook, “a good idea then, and an even better idea now.”

When complete later this year, the 8.5-km corridor will run along Eglinton Ave. East, Kingston Rd. and Morningside Ave. from Brimley Rd. and through the University of Toronto Scarborough campus.

The project will convert existing High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on Eglinton into bus-only throughfares, and take over curb lanes along Kingston and Morningside, marking the route with high-visibility red lane markers.

Four existing routes would use the lanes -- 86 Scarborough, 116 Morningside, 905 Eglinton East Express, and 986 Scarborough Express -- a weekly ridership of about 42,000 along the project route.

Creating the Eglinton East corridor will cost $7.8 million, and is expected to save upwards of two to five minutes per trip -- equating to about $2.5 million in annual operating cost savings and a one-time capital cost savings of $6.3 million, according to the city, owing to fewer buses being used to maintain service levels.

According to a report on the agenda for next week’s TTC board meeting, Eglinton East was chosen to be first as it’s seen to be the easiest -- HOV lanes were already in place, extensive consultation had already taken place as part of the Eglinton East LRT, and with construction beginning in 2021 for the Scarborough Subway Extension, dedicated transit lanes would lessen that project’s long-term construction impact.

Once complete, work will begin on a corridor along Jane St. between Eglinton W. and Steeles Ave., expected to open next spring.

Corridors are also planned along Dufferin St. from Dufferin Gate to Wilson Ave., Steeles Ave. from Yonge St. to Pioneer Village Subway and Finch Ave. E. from Yonge to McCowan.

Lawrence from east of Victoria Park to Rouge Hills Dr. is being considered as a sixth possible route.