STAFF REPORT

June 27, 2000

To: Scarborough Community Council

From: Gary H. Welsh, Director, Transportation Services, Works and Emergency Services, District 4

Subject: Transit Commission Service Improvements for 2000-2001 All Wards

Purpose:

To provide information from a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) document entitled, "Service Improvements For 2000-2001".

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Not Applicable.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that Scarborough Community Council:

(1) receive this report for information; and

(2) forward any comments respecting the “Service Improvements for 2000-2001” report directly to the Toronto Transit Commission.

Background:

At its meeting of February 29, March 1 and 2, 2000, Toronto City Council requested that the Director of Transportation Services, District 4, submit a report to Scarborough Community Council on the status of the 2000 TTC Service Plan as it affects the Scarborough Community Area.

The Toronto Transit Commission evaluates requests for new and improved transit service, which are received from customers, city councillors, TTC staff and City of Toronto staff. In this year’s evaluation, a total of 48 proposals were received. Comments:

The Toronto Transit Commission has completed its evaluation of all outstanding requests for improved transit service. The results of this analysis and the staff recommendations are contained in a document entitled “Service Improvement for 2000-2001? . This report was prepared in May 2000 and forwarded to each city councillor. The TTC is now requesting comments on these service improvements before August 18, 2000. TTC staff will then report to the Commission on September 6, 2000, and any approved service changes would then be initiated late in 2000 or early in 2001.

The TTC has indicated that 19 service changes are recommended in this document which are expected to increase ridership by ? approximately 310,000 customer-trips each year and increase fare revenue by approximately $ 450,000 each year”.

A. RECOMMENDED NEW AND REVISED SERVICES

143 Downtown/Beach Express – Extension on (page 10), Scarborough Bluffs:

TTC staff investigated the extension of the 143 Downtown/Beach Express route from the existing terminus at Queen Street near Victoria Park Avenue, to Midland Avenue. This route currently operates during peak periods from Monday to Friday.

TTC staff indicated that ridership is not projected to be high enough to justify extending the route to Midland Avenue, however, extending the route to Birchmount Road is recommended. The bus would start operating at Birchmount Road and would travel on Kingston Road to Courcelette Road and then onto Queen Street. This route would be reversed in the evening peak.

TTC staff indicated that Courcelette Road was chosen as the north/south road to connect Kingston Road and Queen Street because it has the most appropriate road geometrics to accommodate buses. Fallingbrook Road, Blantyre Avenue, Victoria Park Avenue and Kingswood Road are narrower or have curves or difficult turning radii which make them less appropriate for bus travel.

Ellesmere Road – Direct Service to Scarborough Centre Station (page 11), Scarborough City Centre, Scarborough Highland Creek, Scarborough Malvern:

TTC staff examined the feasibility of connecting service on the eastern part of Ellesmere Road with Scarborough Centre Station and, as a result, are recommending that a new route be introduced which operate all day long, from Monday to Saturday, to replace part of the 95 route.

This new route would operate between Scarborough Centre Station and Rouge Hill GO Station. Specifically, buses would run from Scarborough Centre Station, south on McCowan Road, east on Ellesmere Road to Scarborough College of the University of Toronto, then southeast on Military Trail through Highland Creek Village, east on Lawson Road, and south on Port Union Road to Rouge Hill GO Station. With the introduction of this new service, the 95 York Mills route would then operate only from York Mills Station to Kingston Road at Ellesmere Road.

It is projected that approximately 310 new customer-trips would be made on this route each day, from Monday to Friday, and that 220 new trips would be generated each Saturday.

As additional buses would be required to provide this service, a financial assessment was carried out. TTC staff have indicated that the comparison of the operating cost with the projected increase in ridership indicates that this service would meet the TTC’s financial standard and is therefore recommended.

Additional Periods of Service on Present Routes (pages 14 to 17), Scarborough Bluffs, Scarborough City Centre, Scarborough Highland Creek, Scarborough Malvern:

TTC staff investigated the following proposals to add additional periods of service on existing transit routes.

Route Additional Period of Number of Number of New Service Customer-trips Customer-trips 9 Bellamy Saturday Evening 160 40 102 Markham Daytime - Saturday, 720 110 Rd Sunday and holidays, north of Sheppard Ave. 130 Sunday, 8:30 a.m. 130 (Sunday) 45 (Sunday) Middlefield to 2:30 p.m. 131 Nugget Saturday early 500 90 evening 171 Progress Weekday evening 350 40 East 134 Tapscott Daytime – Sunday 400 100 and holidays, south of McLevin Ave.

TTC staff have determined that all of the above proposals meet the TTC’s financial standards, and are recommended.

B. CHANGES ALREADY APPROVED BUT NOT YET INTRODUCED

68 Warden - Extension to (page 21), Scarborough Agincourt:

As a result of a suggestion from TTC staff, the Commission gave approval in the 1999 Service Plan to extend the 68 Warden bus from its present on-street loop via Bamburgh Circle to a new off-street loop on the west side of Warden Avenue just north of Steeles Avenue. The advantage of this new loop is that it will provide a convenient transfer to the 53 Steeles East bus and reduce the walking distance for some customers. It is expected that the loop will be completed, and the route extension will begin, in late 2000.

C. FUTURE EXPANSION INTO DEVELOPING AREAS

Morningside Heights Residential Development (page 26) Scarborough Malvern:

Staff from the TTC and the City of Toronto have reviewed plans to provide transit service into the proposed Morningside Heights development. The preferred route would be the extension of the 133 Neilson route from its present north end at Finch Avenue. Initially this service would only operate during peak periods, but could be expanded during other time periods if ridership levels supported this.

Two additional routes are also being considered to serve the southern part of Morningside Heights. This involves extending both the 116 Morningside route and the 39 Finch East route to a new loop to be constructed near the intersection of Finch Avenue and Morningside Avenue.

For the proposed transit service to be provided into this community, the roads shown on the attached plan must be constructed of sufficient width to allow for buses to negotiate this route. Furthermore, the present underpass of Morningside Avenue at the Canadian Pacific Railway requires reconstruction, to be replaced by a new grade separation. The City is currently conducting an Environmental Assessment study which will make recommendations on the location and type of grade separation to be provided here, and accommodation for buses is one of the criteria. TTC staff have indicated, however, that the northernmost section of this development will likely never have convenient transit service based on the current plans for this sub-division.

TTC staff indicate that service could be provided to this development once the roads are complete and open and when the population is high enough to provide sufficient ridership. The service proposal is pending approval of the Morningside Heights development, but it is appropriate to consider this service at this time so that transit service can be accommodated in this community in the future. The TTC have indicated that they will provide recommendations in future years’ reports on service improvements in this area.

D. PROPOSALS EXAMINED AND NOT RECOMMENDED

12 Kingston Rd - Direct Service east of St. Clair Avenue (page 30), Scarborough Bluffs, Scarborough Highland Creek:

In the 1999 Service Plan, the TTC recommended that the service provided by the 12 Kingston Rd route be removed east of St. Clair Avenue to Morningside Avenue to reduce operating costs. In the 2000 Service Plan, although the TTC reconsidered the removal of this service, they supported their original recommendation as it did not meet the TTC’s financial standard. Nonetheless, at the request of Scarborough Community Council, the Commission directed that this service be again reviewed. The concern with the elimination of the 12C Kingston Road service is that, although this section of road is currently served by both the 102 Markham Rd and 86 Scarborough routes, to travel on Kingston Road between Morningside Avenue and points west of Brimley Road requires a transfer of three buses. Residents living even further east of Morningside Avenue have expressed frustration as they can not conveniently access service to travel on Kingston Road, as the existing bus service is all destined to and from the subway and RT stations.

By re-installing this service, approximately 380 customer-trips each day would be made with one fewer transfer. This would also increase ridership by approximately 60 customer-trips each day. However, the TTC evaluation of restoring this service indicates the service would not meet the TTC’s financial standard because an additional bus would be required in the peak periods.

130 Middlefield – Service on Commander Boulevard at Off-Peak Times (page 31), Scarborough Malvern:

At the request of a TTC customer, TTC staff investigated providing transit service on Commander Boulevard during the midday and early evening. This would involve the 130 Middlefield route travelling via McCowan Road, Commander Boulevard, and Huntingwood Drive.

Approximately 60 customer-trips would have a shorter walk, while approximately 570 customer- trips would have a longer wait for a bus. Also approximately 350 customer-trips each day would have a longer in-vehicle travel time as the bus diverts along Commander Boulevard. Because this change would cause an overall inconvenience to customers, it is not recommended.

131 Nugget – Extension north of Old Finch Avenue (page 31), Scarborough Malvern:

On February 14, 2000 the TTC began operating a new north end loop of the 131 Nugget service via Littles Road, Old Finch Avenue and Morningview Trail. The TTC also reviewed a proposal to further extend the 131 Nugget route to provide service north of Old Finch Avenue, specifically via Harvest Moon Drive, Casemore Road and Wandering Trail.

Approximately 200 customer-trips each day would have a shorter walk, while approximately 140 customer-trips would have a longer in-vehicle travel time with this proposal. Also approximately 3700 customer-trips each day would have a longer wait for a bus. This change would cause an overall inconvenience to customers and therefore is not recommended.

Port Union Road – New Service between Lawson Road and Island Road (page 33), Scarborough Highland Creek:

TTC staff evaluated the possibility of providing new service on Port Union Road between Lawson Road and Island Road as part of the 95 York Mills route. The routing would run via Kingston Road, Rylander Boulevard and Port Union Road. Service in this area was provided from February 1995 to July 1997, but was removed because of low ridership. Approximately 150 customer-trips each day would be made on this service, 50 of which would be new trips on the TTC. This change would, however, require two additional buses during the morning peak period and one bus during the afternoon peak period. A financial assessment revealed that this service would not meet the TTC’s financial standard and therefore is not recommended.

E. POST-IMPLEMENTATION REVIEWS OF SERVICE CHANGES

42 Cummer – Extension to Middlefield Road (page 37), Scarborough Agincourt, Scarborough Malvern:

The 42 Cummer route was extended to Middlefield Road from Monday to Friday during peak periods beginning in February 1998.

TTC’s recent evaluation revealed approximately 300 customer-trips were made on this service, approximately 60 of which would be new trips on the TTC. When this service was proposed, the TTC predicted approximately 400 customer-trips would be made on this service, and approximately 60 customer-trips would be new on the TTC. While the total ridership is not as high as was projected, the number of new customers has met the expectation. Therefore, the new service meets the TTC’s financial standard and is recommended as part of the TTC route network.

131 Nugget – Sunday and Holiday Service (page 38) Scarborough Malvern:

Sunday and holiday service was added on the 131 Nugget route in September 1999. The TTC’s recent evaluation revealed approximately 1500 customer-trips were made on this service, approximately 210 of which would be new trips on the TTC. This exceeds the TTC’s 1999 prediction of approximately 1000 customer-trips.

When this service was introduced, three buses were used to provide service every 18 minutes between approximately 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. The TTC has indicated that this service can accommodate the passenger demand by using only two buses, to provide service every 26 minutes. A comparison of the operating costs with these two buses indicates that the new service meets the TTC’s financial standard and it is recommended as part of the TTC route network.

324 Victoria Park – New Overnight Service (page 38), Scarborough Bluffs, Scarborough Wexford, Scarborough Agincourt:

The new 324 Victoria Park route provides overnight service between approximately 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. (7:00 a.m. on Sundays) on Victoria Park Avenue from Kingston Road to and on Warden Avenue from Sheppard Avenue to Steeles Avenue. This route replaced part of the 318 Warden and 322 Coxwell overnight service in February 1998.

The TTC’s recent evaluation revealed that the service change has resulted in a ridership increase on the TTC’s overnight service, has improved service for customers and has brought overnight transit service close to more of the population of Toronto. Therefore this service is recommended as part of the TTC route network.

Conclusions:

This report proves a summary of the 2001 Service Improvements as prepared by the TTC. Additional information on these changes can be found in the document entitled “Service Improvements for 2000 – 2001”, which has been forwarded to all councillors by TTC staff.

Contact:

Bruce D. Clayton Supervisor, Traffic Engineering, Works and Emergency Services Tel: 396-7844 Fax: 396-5681 E-mail: [email protected]

Gary H. Welsh Director Transportation Services Works and Emergency Services District 4

BDC:ca c:\work\reports\scc\2001ttc.doc D99-003

List of Attachments: (on file)

1. Plan (143 Downtown/Beach Express) 2. Plan (Ellesmere Road – Direct Service to Scarborough Centre Station) 3. Plan (Morningside Heights Residential Development)