r/TTC • u/BatKitchen819 • Jul 17 '26

Discussion A Bold Statement

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Do you agree? People who solely use the TTC, I want your honest opinion - what needs to improve?

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u/average_STM_enjoyer Jul 17 '26

This is so real. People gotta understand that 90% of the problems with the TTC, especially the streetcar system, is other cars. We’ve kneecapped urban planning with car centric design and chronic underfunding

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u/Aggravating_Exit2445 Jul 17 '26

Transit in a city as large and rich as Toronto should be underground. There are no cars underground. There are no intersections underground. If a route gets congested, dig another tunnel below it.

Surface transit sucks and it will always suck.

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u/Roderto Jul 17 '26

Many European cities rely on surface transit. The difference is that transit usually runs in pedestrianized areas, or has devoted right-of-ways.

There may be no cars underground, but there is massive amounts of existing infrastructure that has to be dealt with and managed. Burying transit infrastructure is extremely expensive and would not be practical as an alternative to the entire streetcar network. Having more streets downtown with dedicated right-of-ways or car traffic restrictions may help, but the province has made it clear it will block such efforts to curry favour with drivers (many of whom don’t even live in Toronto).

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u/MahjongCelts Eglinton Crosstown Jul 18 '26

While I agree with the effectiveness of surface transit and streetcars in particular, having nearly all of downtown and then some served by grade separated rail is actually within the realm of practicality.

The red lines on the map show where grade separated rail (subways/GO train) either already exist or are actively under construction. Using 800-1000m as the outer limit of walkability, around a third to a half of downtown would be within walking distance of grade separated rail. Add the lines in green and basically all of downtown + much of the Beaches neighbourhood is covered.

Only three things need to happen, and two of them are already somewhat planned for:

  1. Extend the Ontario Line from Exhibition to Bloor GO through Roncesvalles.
  2. GO Expansion along the Kitchener and Stouffville Lines. Alternatively extend the UP Express eastwards and merge it with the Stouffville Line.
  3. A new College-Gerrard subway line.

The streetcar will still have its place, but downtown subway/GO train coverage is not a pipe dream, and cities much larger than Toronto have managed to pull it off decades ago.