After the subway network, the 510 Spadina streetcar route is one of the TTC’s most important corridors. And yet, more than a decade after opening, this transit line is still not reaching its potential. Exclusive lanes keep traffic off the rail tracks — which helps speed service — but regular users of this route also know the streetcars don’t travel very quickly.

There may be times when the nearby 511 Bathurst car is faster, even though that route has no right-of-way to keep cars out. So, what’s holding up Spadina?

The 510 line is very heavily travelled but it does not have traffic signal priority at many key intersections. Almost all other streetcar routes (and some of the TTC’s top bus routes) are equipped with technology that can give transit vehicles a bit more time to clear intersections.

By extending green lights, transit vehicles can save an average 16 seconds per intersection.
Add that up along the length of a route and many more people can be moved every hour. 

By comparison, the transit priority system is now working on the entire 512 St. Clair corridor — just a month after the line re-opened.

In 2005, transit watcher Steve Munro asked the TTC why the technology wasn’t in place at major Spadina junctions. Years later, staff still have not provided a formal explanation.

However, both TTC and City of Toronto officials tell In Transit that things are finally moving. The city’s Bruce Zvaniga reports that most of the key intersections should be equipped by the end of 2010.

Of course, this doesn’t guarantee clear sailing. Signals at minor roads already have transit priority and streetcars can still get red lights.

Also, TTC drivers must stop before crossing complex track switches — which are found at those same major intersections.