November 10, 1999
To: Works Committee
From: Barry H. Gutteridge, Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
Subject: Dundas Street West High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes
(Markland-Centennial)
Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to discuss the desirability of converting the existing Dundas Street West High Occupancy
Vehicle (HOV) lanes into exclusive bus lanes.
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
The recommendation in this report has no direct financial implications.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that this report be received for information.
Background:
City Council, at its meeting on April 13, 14 and 15, 1999, adopted Clause No. 1 of Report No. 5 of the Urban Environment
and Development Committee entitled "Mississauga Transit Buses On Burnhamthorpe Road" which contained, amongst
other things, reports dated December 4, 1998 and February 2, 1999 from the General Secretary, Toronto Transit
Commission (TTC) on this matter. At this meeting, City Council requested the Commissioner of Works and Emergency
Services to report on converting the existing Dundas Street West High Occupancy Vehicle lanes into exclusive bus lanes,
with or without a rolled curb.
Comments:
The Dundas Street West High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes operate between Aukland Road and Etobicoke Creek, at
the west City limit (a distance of approximately 2.6 km). The HOV lanes continue on Dundas Street West in Mississauga,
to Dixie Road. In the City of Toronto, the HOV lanes are the curb lanes of this seven-lane facility (three lanes in each
direction with a centre turn lane to provide access to the adjacent, primarily commercial, properties). Established in 1992,
the HOV lanes are designated for the exclusive use of buses, taxis and vehicles with three or more occupants, during the
hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. Every weekday, Dundas Street West carries
approximately 300 TTC buses (with 14,000 patrons), 300 Mississauga Transit buses (with 12,000 patrons), 4,000
car-pooling vehicles and 41,000 other vehicles.
The HOV lanes reinforce Dundas Street West's importance as a corridor for moving people directly to and from the
western terminus of the Bloor-Danforth subway at Kipling Station and the GO Transit system (i.e. Kipling Station on the
Milton line) via public transit and private automobiles. The HOV lanes benefit the operations of the TTC and Mississauga
Transit and their patrons, as well as car-poolers through reduced delay and travel time, which is an incentive to the daily
commuter to use or switch to transit, or to share a ride, thus reducing dependence on single occupancy automobiles. HOV
lanes can also help reduce fuel consumption and vehicle emissions.
HOV Lanes or Bus-Only Lanes
With the large number of buses currently using Dundas Street West, it may appear counter-intuitive to permit any other
vehicles, including car-pools, to share a dedicated lane with transit vehicles. However, there are good reasons for
continuing this arrangement. First, based on past observations of routes with HOV lane operations, car-pools have not
significantly impacted transit operations.
Second, transit travel times have not changed significantly on facilities that have been converted from reserved bus lanes to
HOV lanes in Toronto.
Third, the HOV lanes are used more efficiently when car-poolers and other vehicles are permitted to use them. Allowing
for use of these lanes by multi-occupant cars helps avert a negative perception that may be conveyed to the public about
HOV lanes and transit use when bus frequencies are low and the lanes appear empty. In some jurisdictions, exclusive use
of HOV lanes by buses has led to the removal of these lanes because of adverse public opinion.
Fourth, the HOV lanes were a joint project with the City of Mississauga and contribute to improving regional accessibility
for transit patrons and car-poolers.
Finally, allowing car-pooling in HOV lanes helps promote efficient use of existing road capacity and encourages ride
sharing. This is a desirable element of the City's overall travel demand management strategy of reducing congestion by
moving people and goods through a balanced range of travel options, making efficient use of existing infrastructure and
reducing the reliance on the single occupant vehicle. As part of the input to the development of new Official Plan policies,
Transportation Services is conducting an overall review of the HOV network to determine the context for consideration of
additional high occupancy vehicle lanes in the transportation plan for the City.
Therefore, based on the foregoing we do not recommend that the existing Dundas Street West HOV lanes be converted to
bus-only lanes.
Rolled Curbs
Since TTC patrons board and alight on Dundas Street West, the only operationally feasible location for a reserved lane for
transit operations is in its current curbside space. Delineating the left edge of each lane with a "rolled" curb, which could be
accommodated within the existing 26 m pavement width, could increase awareness of the lane to the motoring public,
reduce the occurrence of "lane jumping" in and out of the HOV lanes and could help to minimize the occurrence of HOV
lane violations. A "rolled" curb is a low, angled curb that can be crossed at an oblique angle by vehicles.
However, an exclusive bus lane with a rolled curb would introduce difficulties and safety concerns for motorists crossing
from the regular lanes to access one of a number of commercial entrances along the street. Snow clearing operations would
be impacted with special accommodation required to properly plough, store and/or dispose of the snow. The cost of a
rolled curb with associated drainage facilities would be in the order of $1.2 million.
Accordingly, the use of a rolled curb to separate the HOV lanes from the adjacent traffic lanes is not recommended.
Conclusion:
It is not recommended to convert the existing Dundas Street West HOV lanes into exclusive bus lanes.
The Chief General Manager of the Toronto Transit Commission has reviewed this report and concurs with this conclusion.
Contact:
Paul A. Sabo, P. Eng.
Senior Engineer, Operational Planning and Policy
Tel: 392-7775 Fax: 392-4426
E-mail: psabo@toronto.ca
David C. Kaufman
General Manager, Transportation Services
Barry H. Gutteridge
Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
PAS/fc
