Esplanade bus will still run: McConnell

After a call-to-action was circulated in the community to save a TTC bus route along The Esplanade, The Bulletin reached out to Deputy Mayor Pam McConnell for more information.

The call-to-action had warned that the TTC was proposing to re-route the 172A bus from The Esplanade to Queens Quay, potentially impacting service to Crombie Park and to seniors’ buildings in the St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood.

McConnell’s office was quick to confirm that there will be no cancellation of bus service on The Esplanade at all and that there will still be accessible bus service on The Esplanade as far east as Cherry, and as far west as Bathurst, connecting directly to Union station in the middle.

The route change suggested will affect those on the Esplanade who are looking to go as far east as Commissioners. They will have to either walk to a bus stop at Front/Yonge and catch a bus there, or take the Esplanade bus to that location and transfer buses.  (McConnell’s office provided a map that shows the two routes as well as the full TTC report that describes all of the transit enhancements for the waterfront area. The routes for the bus that will go along the Esplanade (the 121), and one that will go along Queen’s Quay, east to Commissioners (the 72) are shown on the map, below.)

McConnell commented, “I am very pleased that the TTC Commission is moving forward with improvements to our east-west transit connections along the Waterfront as we await the desperately needed East Bayfront LRT.  The new bus route running from the Financial District and Union Station along Queens Quay to the Port Lands provides a crucial interim connection for our emerging Waterfront communities.”

“The changes proposed by the TTC for The Esplanade bus allows for continuous service connecting the Distillery District and the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood to Union Station and then further west to the City Place and Fort York neighbourhoods,” McConnell continued. “I am aware, however, that some of our artists who rely on the existing Esplanade route to connect from the St. Lawrence to Pinewood Studios will now have to transfer between two routes.  I will be working with residents and TTC staff over the summer to make these new connections as seamless as possible.”