For TTC riders of the 512 St. Clair streetcar route, summer will be marked by a months-long service shutdown from June 19 until December.
Just six years after the 6.6-km right-of-way route opened, it will be closed once more to upgrade the line to make way for the new fleet of accessible streetcars, which are slated for service on St. Clair in 2018.
With the construction of the right-of-way still fresh in his mind Don Panos, chair of the St. Clair Gardens BIA, remains positive about the service disruption and construction.
“It’s going to be an inconvenience but at least we’ll have parking and it’s not as bad as when they tore up the road,” said Panos.
“They probably could have picked better months than the summer-time and it will probably have an impact on people’s business,” he said.
“It may not hurt as much as before,” said Panos.
The modifications to the line will include retrofitting the height of platforms along the route to be able to accommodate ramps on the streetcars for riders using mobility devices, said TTC spokesman, Brad Ross in a video the TTC released on June 16.
From June 19 until Sept. 4 replacement buses will operate along the entire line.
Following Labour Day, streetcar service will return to the western strip between St. Clair West Station and Gunns Loop from Keele Street.
Temporary buses will continue to operating between St. Clair Station and St. Clair West Station until the end of the year.
Regular commuters of the 90 Vaughn bus will also be impacted by the construction as it will not operate along St. Clair West but will begin and finish at Bathurst Station for the months-long work.
The service shutdown has spurred debate within the Toronto forum of the popular user-generated content site, Reddit.
Some users have taken to the site to voice their concerns on St. Clair Avenue’s traffic congestion issues, advocating for the elimination of on-street parking in response to the absence of the 512 streetcar.
Some residents on the site are concerned traffic congestion on St. Clair deters people from visiting the area.
In an effort to minimize traffic congestion the TTC will be adjusting traffic light times to accommodate increased mixed traffic, said Ross.
Even with traffic light adjustments TTC chief executive, Andy Byford still suggests customers “leave themselves a little extra time throughout this period.”
