Give Transit the Green Light

A $12.6 billion rapid transit line shouldn't get stuck in traffic

When the $12.6 billion Eglinton Crosstown and $2.5+ billion Finch West LRTs finally open after years of delay, transit riders expect them to be as fast and reliable as possible. 

But 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). The Eglinton Crosstown LRT will operate along the street and need to go through intersections with traffic signals between Kennedy and Laird, with the exception of the Science Centre Station.

TTCriders is calling for new LRTs to have active signal priority. This means when a transit vehicle approaches an intersection, a green light will get extended or a red light will be shortened, so that waiting times at traffic lights are minimized. For example, when active transit signal priority was added to the METRO Green Line in Minneapolis, only 5% of trains stopped at signalized intersections

Take action before April 9, 2025!

Use the form above to send a letter to City Councillors on the Infrastructure and Environment Committee! Ask them to give transit the green light by enabling active transit signal priority. The Committee meets on April 9, 2025 at City Hall to debate the Congestion Management Plan - 2025 Update. You can also sign up to speak at the meeting, by emailing [email protected] to register to speak on item IE20.3. (Email [email protected] for support with your speech).

The report includes an update that Toronto is continuing to expand its signal priority system, with 50 additional intersections set to be upgraded or equipped with TSP by the end of 2025. Currently, 420 signalized intersections in Toronto use TSP, mostly along seven major streetcar routes and four major bus routes. Yet despite the technology being available, transit signal priority is not being used to its fullest potential: a limited form of priority is activated only when vehicles fall behind schedule.  

Why should a few drivers hold up hundreds of transit riders? 

Mayor Olivia Chow has written a letter to the  Infrastructure and Environment Committee, urging enforcement and towing of vehicles that block streetcars. Why should one or two drivers hold up hundreds of transit riders? This same principle should be applied to new LRT projects, by using active transit signal priority.

What are the different kinds of transit signal priority?

Graphics by Nico Zucco.