Item - 2025.TTC2.7

The Toronto Transit Commission:

1. Endorsed the installation of transit priority measures on Queens Quay East and Front Street West.

2. Forwarded this report to City Council, through the Executive Committee, for approval of bus priority lanes and bylaw amendments to support transit priority.

3. Directed staff to expedite a review of the 114 Queens Quay East bus route that incorporates public feedback and includes focus on accessibility, frequency and continuous routing with implementation of any changes timed with the opening of the dedicated bus lanes on Queens Quay East.

TTC staff, with support from City Transportation Services, is requesting approval from City Council to install transit priority measures (TPMs) on Queens Quay East to improve travel times and reliability for transit customers. The proposed transit priority measures will benefit approximately 4,000 riders daily. No general traffic lanes will be removed and existing road capacity will be maintained by optimizing the existing curb-to-curb space on the Queens Quay East right-of-way. Local access and right-turns will be maintained.

On December 17, 2024, City Council directed Transportation Service to work with the TTC to report back on interim bus priority lane implementation along Queens Quay East between Bay Street and Parliament Street. This segment of Queens Quay East has a wide and consistent pavement width currently painted for four lanes of traffic, with generous urban shoulder. Converting the urban shoulder with red-paint into interim bus priority lanes will provide immediate improvements to three bus routes operating on Queens Quay East and may be further utilized by other bus routes for future diversion routing during construction.

Currently, the City, TTC and Waterfront Toronto are working to advance the Waterfront East Light Rail Transit (WELRT) project design which will eventually replace these interim bus priority lanes. The interim bus priority lanes are intended to provide immediate improvements to customers prior to the full implementation of WELRT and will be used as a baseline assumption when City Staff undertake the Phasing and Delivery Plan for the WELRT as approved by City Council in February 2025.

In addition to the above bus lanes on Queens Quay East, the removal of on-street parking on Front Street West, between Bay Street and Yonge Street, is proposed to allow for buses to have a dedicated layover area. This will facilitate better service reliability for customers and allow buses laying over to keep clear from general traffic. This will also simplify the customer experience for TTC bus transfers at Union Station.

The estimated capital funding required to implement the transit priority measures on Queens Quay East is expected to be $800,000 and is planned for 2025. Funds for this expenditure are included in the TTC’s 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan under program 9.2 Service Planning, Transit Priority Measures, which was approved by the TTC Board at its meeting on January 10, 2025, and by City Council on February 11, 2025.

The 10-Year Capital Budget and Plan includes a total of $32.8 million in approved funding for the Transit Priority Measures program, cash-flowed between 2025 and 2034 as presented in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Transit Priority Measures – 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan Summary ($000s)

Transportation Services has consulted with Toronto Parking Authority (TPA), who assessed that the financial impact of permanent lost revenue and operating expenses will be approximately $300,000.

The Executive Director, Finance has reviewed the report and agrees with the Financial Impact information.