Look around you. You’ll see condo construction crews blocking streets and sidewalks, road surfaces dug up for water and sewer pipe replacement, unfinished transit route diversions adding to road congestion, and increased car traffic on streets both residential and arterial. Everything, everywhere, all at once.
And that’s just Leaside! Earlier this year the City announced over a billion dollars for this summer’s work projects. Getting around Toronto has become more of a challenge every day, whether by foot, bike, or car. If you depend on public transit to take you to work, school, shopping, and appointments, the TTC is caught up in the same traffic problems as everyone else.
On behalf of the Leaside Residents Association (LRA) I’ve been attending quarterly TTC Annual Service Plan meetings. They focus on adjusting public transit service due to construction, and look for ways of communicating those adjustments to passengers (or would-be passengers). Other attendees live in all parts of the city.
We’ve just met to examine the 2024 Service Plan.
When you take the TTC these days you’re all too aware of routes changing unexpectedly and of buses suddenly becoming “short turn” or “out of service,” requiring riders to disembark till another one arrives. Buses and streetcars seem to travel in convoy, with subsequent lengthy waits. Congestion caused by construction pressures can require entire route changes. Our Route 88 Leaside bus seems to have developed a variable and irregular timetable, especially outside the peak travel hours. Security continues to be a concern.
The TTC depends on increasing ridership, not only to pay the bills, but literally to keep the city moving and preserve the transit routes we have. By attending the TTC Service Plan meetings, the LRA is in a position to ask, criticize, and make suggestions. If you’d like to get involved as well, please contact me at Leaside Life or through the LRA. The next round of meetings is planned to begin in August and September, with consultations and focus groups. A final draft will be presented in late fall, and submitted to the TTC board in early 2024.
The LRA board of directors meets at 7:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month, at the Trace Manes building on Rumsey, just south of the Leaside Library. You are welcome to join us – to depute on issues important to you, ask questions, have your say, or just listen. Our next meeting is on August 2nd. For more details and updates between now and then, visit www.leasideresidents.ca.
