When I hear the phrase 鈥淪ufferin鈥 Dufferin,鈥 I think of the bus route that has been given that name by many of its 40,000 daily riders, but I also think of the bus stop by the northwest corner of Dufferin Street and St. Clair Avenue.
This intersection is a major transfer point on two busy routes. Commuters who get off the streetcar and want to go south walk up Dufferin a few dozen metres to a sliver of sidewalk where the bus stop is. There, a near-useless narrow shelter is pressed up against a low brick wall separating the sidewalk from a municipal Green P parking lot.
The endless, often speeding traffic passes within centimetres of those waiting, and there鈥檚 no protection from water and slush splashes or vehicle exhaust. The Green P lot is municipal, so a handful of parking spaces could, theoretically, be converted into a bigger, safer and more comfortable place to wait, but instead commuters huddle between bricks and traffic.
It鈥檚 a terrible way to treat 海角社区官网heroes, but typical of a city where the priority is so often drivers.
They are heroes because every one of those 40,000 people represents one less possible car on 海角社区官网roads everyday. By riding the bus, each of them has made traffic better than it might otherwise have been. Imagine 40,000 more vehicles on the Dufferin corridor or anywhere else in Toronto. Study after study shows that the only way to fix traffic is fewer vehicles, not by adding extra car lanes or other futile measures, such as removing bike lanes. Walking and cycling are great, but public transit is the workhorse that moves well over a million passengers through 海角社区官网everyday.
The situation could change soon on Dufferin as well as Bathurst Street with 鈥淩apidTO鈥 plans that will create transit priority lanes on those streets.聽聽would run from Eglinton Avenue down to King Street, intersecting with multiple major transit lines.聽聽but involves both buses and streetcars, extending down to Lake Shore Boulevard. City staff say the Bathurst streetcar and bus combo carries 35,000 passengers a day. At 75,000 transit riders, these two non-subway routes have more ridership than entire transit systems in many other North American cities. Again, imagine everyone in their own car.
Currently these routes must contend with traffic, often crawling along. I鈥檝e been on full streetcars waiting at lights over multiple cycles behind single occupancy cars turning left. All of this leads to slow journeys, wildly unpredictable arrivals and the dreaded 鈥渂unching,鈥 when, after a transit-free drought, a pack comes at once. It makes taking transit a less desirable option than driving, as bad as driving is.
This is the stalemate that keeps the TTC surface routes from living up to the agency鈥檚 motto, 鈥淭he Better Way鈥, but RapidTO can break that. It can make hopping on transit the faster choice than taking a car.
As a frequent Sufferin鈥 rider living along the Dufferin corridor, this would be a game-changer for north-south travel in neighbourhoods around here. More people on transit makes life better for those who must drive, like tradespeople. Transit must have priority.
Of course, there鈥檚 opposition to the plans. An anonymous website has appeared with the doomsday name 鈥淧rotect Dufferin.鈥 It refers to Dufferin as a 鈥渞esidential street鈥 and not a place for 鈥渂us shortcuts,鈥 an absurd characterization of a heavily used arterial trunk road and direct bus route.
Local businesses say a proposed dedicated bus lane would threaten their livelihoods, while city councillors and many transit riders want to see
Local businesses say a proposed dedicated bus lane would threaten their livelihoods, while city councillors and many transit riders want to see
Opponents also claim the city is 鈥渞ushing鈥 through changes, but, like most things, there鈥檚 been substantial public engagement in person and online. In fact, bus lanes on Dufferin were first proposed by the TTC in 2019,聽. The process is about as fast as 海角社区官网traffic, but it needs to get to the destination this time.
A concern with priority lanes is the TTC has a dismal record of running quick and reliable transit even when vehicles have their own lane. When the Spadina 501 streetcar line was down for months recently, the replacement bus, running in traffic,聽. That鈥檚 a condemnation of TTC management, but something that can change.
Consultations will begin later this month on proposed bus priority lanes for Dufferin and Bathurst Streets in time for 2026 FIFA Word Cup.
Consultations will begin later this month on proposed bus priority lanes for Dufferin and Bathurst Streets in time for 2026 FIFA Word Cup.
Mayor Olivia Chow聽聽can shift that institutional culture and be a loud champion of things such as RapidTO. The mayor herself also must ensure the implementation of RapidTO is wildly successful as other transit corridors desperately need it, and if Dufferin and Bathrust fail, so does potential expansion. With the 2026 civic election on the horizon, a sitting mayor is looking for big accomplishments to campaign on, and few things are bigger in 海角社区官网than getting transit moving.聽
The city is conducting online surveys until May 26.聽
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