Graphics by Nico Zucco.
New billion-dollar light rail lines shouldn't wait at red lights.
After years of construction and billions of dollars spent, transit riders expect new transit to be as fast and reliable as possible. But without signal priority, it won't be!
Waiting at red lights will be built into the Eglinton Crosstown’s schedule, according to the Toronto Star, because the Crosstown will not have active Transit Signal Priority (TSP) where it operates on street, largely in Scarborough. And we've already seen this in action on Line 6 Finch West, where trains are running slower than the bus it replaced during most time periods! After years of construction, riders deserve new rapid transit that is meaningfully faster than taking the bus.
Toronto's streetcars are the slowest in the world.
Think you can walk faster than the streetcar? This year, a runner was able to beat five streetcar routes (and Line 6) travelling terminal-to-terminal on-foot!
The data confirms it - a 2024 study found that Toronto's streetcar system is among the slowest in the world. According to the TTC last month, only 61% of streetcars showed up on time.
It's time to speed up streetcars and LRTs.
We've been heard, but the job isn't done yet. Mayor Olivia Chow is pushing a motion for signal priority and speeding up LRTs and streetcars to City Council this week. It's time to urge City Councillors to vote YES to giving transit the green light.
We're calling for a real signal priority system that will:
- Actively detect approaching trains and insert a transit phase before a left-turn phase as needed so trains aren’t held up by left-turning cars
- Shorten red lights and extend green lights as much as possible to guarantee trains can cross intersections with minimal delay
We're also calling for other measures to speed up transit along our streets:
- Lifting speed restrictions through intersections and along the route of Line 6 Finch West
- Addressing state-of-repair and lifting speed restrictions across the streetcar system
- Banning left-turns where the highest delays to transit occur