TTC Updates St. Clair Coordinated Projects TTC is coordinating various accessibility and infrastructure improvement projects along the St. Clair streetcar route which are expected to begin this summer. The Accessibility Ramps project involves adjusting small sections of streetcar platforms across the St. Clair route to ensure everyone with mobility challenges (or strollers) can easily board the new low-floor streetcars via the streetcar ramp. This project is being coordinated concurrent with other infrastructure improvement projects at St. Clair and St. Clair West Stations, in order to minimize the amount of time that shuttle buses must replace streetcars. 2016 St Clair Coordinated Projects 512 St Clair Streetcar Route: Accessibility Ramps Adjustments Vaughan Rd: Replacement of concrete in streetcar ROW St Clair Station: PRESTO installation at Station entrances St Clair Station: Streetcar Passenger Loading Platform Rehabilitation St Clair Station: Roof Rehabilitation Project St Clair West Station: PRESTO installation at Station entrances Date June-December 2016 TBD, to be coordinated with Accessibility Ramps Project April-June 2016 April 15: St Clair Centre entrance (will close from 6 p.m. Friday April 15 to 6 a.m. Monday, April 18) April 29: Scotiabank entrance (will close the entire construction period April 29 to May 23) May 9: St. Clair main entrance (collector in the booth will be unable to sell fare media, customers will need to buy fare media from the collector at the St Clair Centre entrance) May 12: Pleasant Blvd entrance (closed the entire construction period May 12 to June 1) June-December 2016 June-December 2016 April-June 2016 St Clair Heath entrance Mid-May: Construction is scheduled to begin. Transit Impact Scotiabank automatic entrance closed for three weeks (end of April until the middle of May); Pleasant Blvd. entrance closed for one month (May 12 until the beginning of June) ; 512 buses to enter via Evoca, Pleasant entrance. Buses will not have PRESTO available. Requires staging space within the streetcar loop No transit impact; Heath street entrance closed for one weekend
St Clair West Station: Track Replacement St Clair West Station: Overhead Wire Replacement St Clair West Station: Easier Access Project St Clair West Station: Heath Street Entrance Tile Replacement The entrance will be closed for one weekend from 7 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Monday (dates TBC) Early June: Construction at this entrance will be complete St Clair main entrance Mid-May early June: Scheduled start and end dates (TBC) St Clair south automatic entrance Mid-May mid-june: Scheduled start and end dates This fare line (high gate entrance) will not be available to customers during construction at this entrance. They will need to use the main fare line. June-September 2016 Ongoing, E1 construction expected to begin in Spring, dependent on resolution of property negotiations TBD Main entrance to remain open, coordinated with PRESTO Potential closure of Heath Street entrance PRESTO Installation at St. Clair West Station April - May 2016 New modern fare gates with PRESTO and TTC pass access are coming to St. Clair West Station. Construction is set to begin in the middle of May and end in the middle of June. During this time the turnstiles will be replaced with paddle-style gates that swing open when you tap a PRESTO card or swipe a TTC pass, creating an unobstructed path into the station. You will still be able to use cash, tickets and tokens at the station, but you must use these at the collector booth aisle at our main entrance. Exact construction dates will be shared in the coming weeks. To learn more about PRESTO visit www.ttc.ca/presto.
Dupont Station PRESTO Installation Dupont Station will be one of the first ten stations to get the new Presto enabled fare gates, which will enhance the way customers enter the TTC. Fare gate construction will take place over a 24 hour period. Customer travel through the station will be uninterrupted. Signage will be put up on the construction hoarding to let customers know what is happening behind the walls and highlight the benefits of the new fare gate. Fare gates will be assembled onsite and installed at the station once the existing turnstiles have been removed and the floor surface has been prepared to house the new gates. Once the new fare gates go into service, customers will need to access them using a PRESTO card or TTC pass. Cash, tokens and ticket users must enter through the collector booth lane. Easier Access Lane Reductions Click here to view the latest construction notice dated February 2016.
Coordinated Projects FAQs Q: When will St. Clair be getting the new, larger streetcars? A: I wish I had a better timeline for you as to the arrival of the new cars on St. Clair, but as you probably know, the TTC hasn't been able to place confidence in Bombardier's delivery timelines. However, with the work coming up, we will be ready to receive them as soon as they arrive! Q: Why weren't the streetcar bays made to fit the new streetcars when St. Clair was rebuilt in 2008? A: The streetcar right-of-way was built with newer streetcar models in mind; however, at the time, the City did not have the exact specifications of the new cars. Construction will be minor and short-lived at each stop, as the concrete is lowered in places to account for the accessibility ramps that extend to street level from the low floors of the cars. Q: When will the elevator construction be finished at St. Clair West Station? A: This project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2016. At present, negotiations are ongoing for the at-grade property where Elevator 1 will be situated (currently the site of the LCBO). Once this site has been secured, construction on Elevator 1 will commence.
PRESTO FAQs Q: After the gates are installed at Heath, will I still be able to pay by cash or token? A: Yes; customers paying by cash or token will need to enter through the collector aisle. Q: Will the Heath exit/entrance also be retrofitted with PRESTO machines? The collectors' schedule is irregular at this location and the PRESTO would be very handy. A: There will eventually be PRESTO vending machines everywhere there is currently either a token vending machine or a collector. This won't happen until after the fare gate construction work has taken place, and as machines become available for installation. The TTC is phasing out the collector role altogether by mid-2017. You will instead reload your PRESTO card either at a vending machine or online (can be done remotely, and can also be auto-refilled). There will instead be roving customer service agents, like you see at airport self-check in kiosks. Q: Where can I re-load my PRESTO card? A: You can re-load your PRESTO card at a Self-Serve Reload Machine located at various TTC subway stations (see www.ttc.ca/presto for locations) or online at www.prestocard.ca). There will eventually be Fare Media Vending Machines everywhere there is currently either a token vending machine or a collector. This won't happen until later in 2017. Q: How is TTC communicating these changes to customers? A: Notice of changes can be found in local papers, posters in subway stations, and on the website. Q: Will I be able to access discounted fares through PRESTO, like child, student, senior, or unlimited monthly rates? A: One benefit to the PRESTO system is that it will make alternate fares easier to access and use. Everyone will have a card that deducts the appropriate fare for their demographic (as long as the user is properly registered). At present, the TTC does not have a Metropass equivalent with PRESTO, although this will likely change in the coming months. Metropass users are encouraged to continue using the pass for now. Monthly user discounts are available in other jurisdictions that have already adopted PRESTO, so we know that it can work quite well. Q: I don't want to use a digital system! I prefer paper. Do I have to use the digital card? A: Unfortunately, you won't have a choice in fare media (i.e. token, cash fare, TTC pass) once the transition to PRESTO is complete in 2017. This is the direction the TTC is heading, and all infrastructure will reflect this new system. The digital system allows the TTC the flexibility to experiment with new payment arrangements that will benefit customers in the long run.
Q: $6 is a lot of money to pay for an unloaded card. Will the TTC consider eliminating this cost? A: The $6 cost for the card helps with the administrative costs to set up your personal account. The charge also encourages customers to hold onto their cards for re-use, which helps reduce waste.