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		February 2, 1999 Ms. Novina Wong Clerk City of Toronto 2nd Floor, West Tower Toronto City Hall 100 Queen Street West Toronto, Ontario M5H 2N2 Dear Ms. Wong: At its meeting on Wednesday, January 27, 1999, the Commission considered the attached report entitled, "Mississauga Transit Buses On Burnhamthorpe Road: Status Update No. 2." The Commission received the above report for information, noting: As of December 1, 1998, Mississauga Transit moved the four routes which travel on Burnhamthorpe Road, east of Highway 427, out of Islington Station, and is picking up the passengers for these routes on Bloor Street, west of Islington Avenue; Transit Customers transferring from the TTC to the Mississauga Transit pick-up area on Bloor Street have been attempting to exit Islington Station illegally and unsafely via the bus driveway in order to avoid the longer, inconvenient walk around the block from the station entrance on Islington Avenue to the Bloor Street pick-up area. This is creating a potentially unsafe situation; other than this, no significant operating problems have been identified with the current operating arrangements; This inconvenient on-street transfer for transit customers will become more significant as the weather becomes colder, and will start to drive more of these customers away from the TTC and Mississauga Transit; Mississauga Transit has applied to the City of Toronto for permission to erect shelters on Bloor Street, at their pick-up area, to protect waiting customers as much as possible from inclement weather. Toronto Works and Emergency Services has stated that it is technically feasible to install such shelters on the sidewalk but has denied this request and, so, no shelters can been erected. These actions will further contribute to the loss of transit customers at a time when transit is struggling to hold its ground in the urban travel market; On December 1, 2, and 3, 1998, the Burnhamthorpe Residents for Traffic Safety conducted walking protests on a crosswalk located on Burnhamthorpe Road, east of The East Mall, to express their opposition to Mississauga Transit's continued use of Burnhamthorpe Road. These protests did not affect TTC bus service. The foregoing is forwarded to the City of Toronto Urban Environment & Development Committee, City of Toronto Transportation Department, and the City of Mississauga for information. Sincerely, Vincent Rodo General Secretary 1-64 Attachment Copy:Mr. W. Munden, Commissioner Corporate Services - Clerk/Treasurer, City of Mississauga Mr. D. Kaufman, General Manager, City of Toronto Transportation Services Mr. W. Cunningham, Director, Mississauga Transit TORONTO TRANSIT COMMISSION REPORT NO. MEETING DATE:January 13, 1999 SUBJECT:MISSISSAUGA TRANSIT BUSES ON BURNHAMTHORPE ROAD: STATUS UPDATE NO. 2 RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that the Commission: 1)Receive this report for information, noting that: CAs of December 1, 1998, Mississauga Transit moved the four routes which travel on Burnhamthorpe Road, east of Highway 427, out of Islington Station, and is picking up the passengers for these routes on Bloor Street, west of Islington Avenue; CTransit customers transferring from the TTC to the Mississauga Transit pick-up area on Bloor Street have been attempting to exit Islington Station illegally and unsafely via the bus driveway in order to avoid the longer, inconvenient walk around the block from the station entrance on Islington Avenue to the Bloor Street pick-up area. This is creating a potentially unsafe situation; other than this, no significant operating problems have been identified with the current operating arrangements; CThis inconvenient on-street transfer for transit customers will become more significant as the weather becomes colder, and will start to drive more of these customers away from the TTC and Mississauga Transit; CMississauga Transit has applied to the City of Toronto for permission to erect shelters on Bloor Street, at their pick-up area, to protect waiting customers as much as possible from inclement weather. Toronto Works and Emergency Services has stated that it is technically feasible to install such shelters on the sidewalk but has denied this request and, so, no shelters can been erected. These actions will further contribute to the loss of transit customers at a time when transit is struggling to hold its ground in the urban travel market; COn December 1, 2, and 3, 1998, the Burnhamthorpe Residents for Traffic Safety conducted walking protests on a crosswalk located on Burnhamthorpe Road, east of The East Mall, to express their opposition to Mississauga Transit's continued use of Burnhamthorpe Road. These protests did not affect TTC bus service; and 2)Forward this report to the City of Toronto, all Toronto City Councillors, the City of Toronto Transportation Department, and the City of Mississauga. BACKGROUND At its meeting on December 2, 1998, the Commission considered the staff report, dated November 18, 1998, entitled, Mississauga Transit (MT) Buses on Burnhamthorpe Road: Status Update, and approved, among others, the following motion: That the staff report be received and referred back to staff for update and inclusion of the following newspaper articles: CToronto Star, October 8, 1998; CToronto Star, November 26, 1998; CToronto Sun, November 28, 1998; and CToronto Star, November 29, 1998 (Royson James article). This report responds to that motion. DISCUSSION When the last staff report, dated November 18, 1998 (copy attached), on this matter was written, the Commission's approved directive was to terminate the TTC's lease with Mississauga Transit (MT) for use of Islington Station until all MT buses were removed from Burnhamthorpe Road, east of Highway 427. On November 26, 1998, the Commission held an emergency meeting (minutes attached) and approved, among other things, that Mississauga Transit is welcome to use Islington Station for those buses that do not use Burnhamthorpe Road. As a result of this motion, MT changed its original plans to move all thirteen routes out of Islington Station and has, instead, moved only the four routes which operate on Burnhamthorpe Road, east of Highway 427, out of the station. Since December1, 1998, these four routes have been picking up passengers on Bloor Street, west of IslingtonAvenue. The new operating arrangements have caused one potentially significant operational problem. Transit customers wishing to transfer from the TTC to one of the four MT routes now picking up on Bloor Street, have to exit Islington Station via the main entrance on Islington Avenue, and walk around the block to catch their bus on Bloor Street. Not only do these customers complain to TTC staff on site about the long walk, but by the time they get to the on-street pick-up area, many have missed their MT bus and have to wait for the next one. In order to avoid this long and inconvenient transfer, many of these customers try to exit Islington Station directly via the bus bays and the bus driveway, which is illegal and a safety risk. TTC Security staff and Surface Operations staff do their best to discourage this practice, but constant surveillance is not practical. As the weather gets colder and more inclement, attempts to "short-cut" via the bus driveway will likely increase, causing more safety risks and the increased possibility of a pedestrian-bus accident within the station. Also, the inconvenience of this transfer arrangement, and the requirement for customers to wait unprotected out in the cold, will likely drive more of the affected transit customers away from the TTC and MT. Adding to the discomfort of these transferring customers, is the fact that there is only one small shelter on Bloor Street near the MT pick-up area. This shelter was installed by the City of Toronto several years ago and is connected with the existing TTC stop located in the same area. MT has applied to City of Toronto Works and Emergency Services for permission to erect shelters on the sidewalk, to protect customers, who must now wait for MT buses on Bloor Street, from inclement weather. Toronto Works and Emergency Services has stated that it is technically feasible to install such shelters on the sidewalk but has denied this request and, as a result, no new shelters can be installed in this area. The lack of weather protection for the significant number of TTC customers who transfer to these MT services, which now load on Bloor Street, is of more concern with the arrival of winter, and it will make transit a significantly less-attractive choice for these customers. TTC staff cannot defend this decision to deny transit customers the most basic comfort of shelter from driving rain and blowing snow. Hence, these actions will contribute to the loss of transit customers at a time when transit is struggling to hold its ground in the urban travel market. In conjunction with MT's decision to continue to operate its buses on Burnhamthorpe Road after December 1, 1998, the Burnhamthorpe Residents for Traffic Safety (BRTS) held protests at a pedestrian crosswalk on Burnhamthorpe Road, east of The East Mall, on December 1, 2, and 3, 1998. TTC service on Burnhamthorpe Road was not affected by these protests. A TTC count, taken on November 26, 1998, observed a one-day total (both directions) of 305 MT bus trips on Burnhamthorpe Road, confirming the previous schedule information provided by MT staff. In response to assertions from BRTS that MT had rerouted many of its Burnhamthorpe buses on the protest days to avoid any delays, MT staff confirmed that 305 bus trips were operated on Burnhamthorpe Road as usual, and that no MT buses were rerouted on those days. Attached to this report are the four newspaper articles which were requested by the Commission. - - - - - - - - 11-84-53 December 22, 1998 Attachments:Commission Report Mississauga Transit (MT) Buses on Burnhamthorpe Road: Status Update, dated November 18, 1998 Minutes of Toronto Transit Commission Emergency Meeting on November 26, 1998 Toronto Star newspaper article, dated October 8, 1998 Toronto Star newspaper article, dated November 26, 1998 Toronto Sun newspaper article, dated November 28, 1998 Toronto Star newspaper article, dated November 29, 1998 (Royson James column) FILENAME: COMPREP/MTSTAT2.CR
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