As Line 6 Finch West approaches three months of TTC passenger operations, City of Toronto staff confirm transit signal priority measures have been installed at three intersections so far amid early complaints of slower trip times.
In a statement to CityNews, municipal officials confirmed the technology that gives Line 6 trains priority at intersections over left-turning cars has been installed on Finch Avenue West east of Islington Avenue at Milady Road, Pearldale Avenue (Pearldale station) and Duncanwoods Drive (Duncanwoods station).
Transportation services general manager Ashley Curtis said design, testing and installation work on the new transit prioritization technology is still ongoing. An exact date for full completion wasn’t provided.
Line 6 Finch West opened to the public on Dec. 7 after an extensive commissioning process. While many welcomed the addition of light rail service along Finch Avenue West, complaints about trip times quickly arose.
Provincial officials said the responsibility for traffic signals and train operations falls to the TTC and the City of Toronto while local officials noted the building of the Finch West LRT line was overseen by the provincial transportation agency Metrolinx.
According to a Metrolinx website on the Finch West LRT project, light rail vehicles “will take approximately 33-34 minutes to travel from end to end, for an average speed of 20 to 21 km/h (including stops).” It also said the top speed will be around 60 km/h.
In a speed test conducted by CityNews the day after the line opened, a camera operator drove west between Finch West and Humber College stations (the two endpoints of the line) in 23 minutes while it took a reporter 47 minutes riding a train. For the eastbound trip back to Finch West station from just outside Humber College station, it took the reporter just over 31 minutes to make the trip aboard a Line 6 shuttle bus while it took the camera operator around 29 minutes to do the same trip by car.
Toronto city council adopted a motion by Mayor Olivia Chow in mid-December that directed staff to install transit signal priority measures on Line 6 Finch West and Line 5 Eglinton.
During an unrelated news conference on Tuesday, Chow said the first wave of transit signal priority on part of the above-ground Eglinton Crosstown corridor should be in place by the end of February while the second and third waves should be operational in one to two months.
“It’s really tough for transit riders when they’re stuck behind a red light and one car passes and they have to wait, so there’s 80 people packed waiting for just one car,” she said.
“It’s important that public transit has the signal priority.”
City of Toronto officials say three intersections on Finch Avenue West, east of Islington Avenue, now have transit signal priority technology. Local
As Line 6 Finch West approaches three months of TTC passenger operations, City of Toronto staff confirm transit signal priority measures have been installed at three intersections so far amid early complaints of slower trip times.
In a statement to CityNews, municipal officials confirmed the technology that gives Line 6 trains priority at intersections over left-turning cars has been installed on Finch Avenue West east of Islington Avenue at Milady Road, Pearldale Avenue (Pearldale station) and Duncanwoods Drive (Duncanwoods station).
Transportation services general manager Ashley Curtis said design, testing and installation work on the new transit prioritization technology is still ongoing. An exact date for full completion wasn’t provided.
Line 6 Finch West opened to the public on Dec. 7 after an extensive commissioning process. While many welcomed the addition of light rail service along Finch Avenue West, complaints about trip times quickly arose.
Provincial officials said the responsibility for traffic signals and train operations falls to the TTC and the City of Toronto while local officials noted the building of the Finch West LRT line was overseen by the provincial transportation agency Metrolinx.
According to a Metrolinx website on the Finch West LRT project, light rail vehicles “will take approximately 33-34 minutes to travel from end to end, for an average speed of 20 to 21 km/h (including stops).” It also said the top speed will be around 60 km/h.
In a speed test conducted by CityNews the day after the line opened, a camera operator drove west between Finch West and Humber College stations (the two endpoints of the line) in 23 minutes while it took a reporter 47 minutes riding a train. For the eastbound trip back to Finch West station from just outside Humber College station, it took the reporter just over 31 minutes to make the trip aboard a Line 6 shuttle bus while it took the camera operator around 29 minutes to do the same trip by car.
Toronto city council adopted a motion by Mayor Olivia Chow in mid-December that directed staff to install transit signal priority measures on Line 6 Finch West and Line 5 Eglinton.
During an unrelated news conference on Tuesday, Chow said the first wave of transit signal priority on part of the above-ground Eglinton Crosstown corridor should be in place by the end of February while the second and third waves should be operational in one to two months.
“It’s really tough for transit riders when they’re stuck behind a red light and one car passes and they have to wait, so there’s 80 people packed waiting for just one car,” she said.
“It’s important that public transit has the signal priority.”