TORONTO
STAR - Fri October 17, 2003
St.
Clair streetcars provoke tense debate
Right-of-way
just one option for city
Changes to line seen as test case
KEVIN
MCGRAN
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
One
way or another, St. Clair Ave. W. is getting torn up.
A
standing-room-only crowd of about 300 gathered last night at a
lively public meeting to discuss whether the city's budgeted $25
million worth of improvements will include a dedicated streetcar
right-of-way.
"If
they build that from Yonge St. to Keele or beyond, it will be
bedlam," said Jeff Gillan, chief spokesperson for the Corso Italia
Business Improvement Area, a business group that has been lobbying
against streetcar lanes. "The
street will basically die."
On
the other side are people like Carmelina Macario, one of the 30,000
people who use the 512 St Clair car every day and favours improving
transit.
"It
meets the needs of transit riders who are increasingly frustrated
at the lack of service. It will mean faster service and more reliable
service," she said.
St.
Clair, for the most part, is a six-lane road from Keele to Yonge
Sts. — ample room for four lanes of traffic and two for parking,
or two for streetcars
In the middle of the debate is Toronto's official plan, which
is supposed to guide development, roads and transit for the next
20 years. A million more people are expected to arrive in the
city in that time and they've got to be able to get around.
So
the city identified a number of key avenues where improvements
are in order.
First
on that list is St. Clair W., which is being viewed as a test
case for the official plan.
"St.
Clair West is a very viable and vibrant street," said Rod McPhail,
the city's director of transportation planning. "We have good
transit service on it, but what we are finding on St Clair, we
don't believe the transit is providing as good of service as it
could.
"What
we found through the whole official plan process is that people
will use transit if it's fast, efficient. It basically has to
compete with the car."
Other
options include limiting left-hand turns, signal priorities, or
simply replacing the decaying streetcar tracks.
McPhail
hopes council will make a decision by next June.
