Here in Toronto we have learned to just accept the stream of impositions the streetcar places on daily life. Other cities avoid them altogether but, well, we’ve been through that before. Now its a cancellation of tram service across the whole St.Clair West line, and later partial disruptions, which will take us altogether to the end of the year. This is necessary because the new streetcars, which may or may not be delivered by then, don’t fit the big concrete right-of-way. The cars were ordered during the construction of the enormous concrete slab that runs the length of St. Clair West. The TTC has never said what if any thought was given to making the cars fit. But they don’t. There is lots of happy talk about how this disruption will not be nearly as awful as the actual construction. It’s hard to see how it could be worse. In the meantime, buses have already taken over and will run the whole St. Clair line.
