The Spadina Sprint: A CityNews experiment

With buses replacing streetcars on Spadina Avenue, one of the busiest stretches of downtown Toronto is even more congested.

Unlike streetcars, buses do not have a dedicated right-of-way on Spadina, which means they are sharing the road with other drivers. The commuters on those buses are now also sitting in traffic, slowing everyone down in what feels like a lose-lose situation for anyone in a vehicle on that road.

So would it be faster to walk or bike down the road instead of taking the bus? CityNews put the street to the test and the short answer is – yes.

It was no surprise that two wheels claimed victory. CityNews’ Michael Talbot reached Spadina and Queen’s Quay first in the race on a bike in around 23 minutes, Dilshad Burman on foot finished second at the 50 minute mark, while Melissa Nakhavoly came in last riding the 510 replacement bus, taking almost an hour and a half to make it down the length of Spadina.

As predicted, the majority of those who voted in the poll below were right on the nose, voting that the bicycle would win.

Streetcars have been replaced by buses on Spadina Avenue since June 23 to accommodate a number of upgrades including critical track work, modernizing overhead powerlines and work to prep for a future platform extension at Spadina Station.

With about three buses replacing each of the 12 streetcars that were servicing Spadina, traffic congestion increased almost overnight and cyclists have expressed concerns about their safety.

The TTC says it is actively looking for solutions to ease the pain of traveling down Spadina.

Spokesperson Stuart Green has said they might consider short turning some buses at King Street, as much of the congestion seems to be concentrated between King and Queens Quay.

“So, every other bus or every third bus might make a U-turn at King Street and start going back up so it doesn’t get caught in that traffic. Particularly on days where you have a Jay’s game or a large concert or some other event,” he told CityNews last week.

He also offered some alternatives for people needing to get to various spots along Spadina.

“We’ve got some enhanced service on Bathurst and we’ve also got Line One available. So if people need to get north-south, those are still options. And then perhaps use College, Queen or Dundas to get across if you’re going to Chinatown, for example,” he said.

He asked people to remain patient as they conduct the “real-time exercise” and gave assurances that they will change and adapt operations as necessary to ease the situation.

He’s also said that people should give themselves and all other road users time to adjust.

“We know from having done other large scale diversions and projects like this, sometimes it takes a bit of time for traffic to adjust. People will adjust to the patterns. We are continuing to work with the city now on other mitigating measures,” he said.

Councillor for Spadina-Forth York Ausma Malik previously said that she has “been pushing TTC to look at all options to speed up construction timelines and keep transit moving on this route.”

On Friday, she posted on X that she is continuing to look for solutions.

“The 510 Spadina Construction has left too many of us stuck, and I share your frustration. I’m keeping the push on TTC to speed up construction on this critical work, look at a dedicated bus lane, and add traffic wardens to the route to manage impacts,” she said.

The work along Spadina is expected to last until December.