TTC agrees to review list of ‘ghost shelters’
Readers identify more than one dozen unused structures that are misleading to public
It’s time to get to the bottom of transit shelters that seem to be nothing more than an advertising billboard, by asking the TTC if they’re needed.
Our recent columns on “ghost shelters,” where TTC buses seldom if ever stop, struck a chord with readers. They identified upwards of a dozen similar shelters, including many they believe are there because the location provides ideal exposure to the ads posted on them, rather than for people to wait in.
We’ve compiled a list of ghost shelters sent to us by readers, which the TTC has agreed to review and then tell us if it believes shelters are necessary in those locations.
We’ll also be providing the same list to Jason Doyle, who’s in charge of the city’s street furniture division, which manages transit shelters and approves their placement before they’re installed. Doyle has already conceded that some shelters may be in locations where they’re not needed, and said he’s open to moving them to places where they’d better serve the public.
A good place to start might be the new shelter installed last summer in front of Neil McNeil Catholic High School, on Victoria Park Ave., south of Kingston Rd., which seems to be a sore point for neighbours.
We’ve gotten half a dozen emails from people who note that chartered TTC buses stop there only four times a day, to pick up kids after school, and that no other TTC buses use that section of Victoria Park.
Karen MacNeil is among those who emailed us about it, noting that “no one uses it. To the contrary, (school staff ) are out there from 2:45 p.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday (the only time buses come by) assisting students to line up around the structure.
“It’s actually a barrier for students who are guided into a lineup formation for their safety. We do however see some people sit there for an hour waiting for a bus that never comes. Its presence is misleading.”
Another reader who lives nearby said, “We have never seen any student use the shelter to date and it is only an obstacle for the often boisterous students pushing and shoving to board the bus. No one has ever given us a good reason why this bus shelter was installed.”
We’re looking forward to responses from the TTC and Doyle about ghost shelters, and particularly the Neil McNeil shelter. Stay tuned. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Send an email to jlakey@thestar.ca. Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.