Alan Grosskurth
Letters to the editor
Submitted to the Toronto Star on 2005.05.08, published 2005.05.10.
Re: Keep St. Clair on track (2005.05.08)
The Star misses the point completely regarding the St. Clair streetcar right-of-way. Streetcars are an inefficient, antiquated, and dangerous form of transit compared to modern buses. Streetcars weigh several times more than buses and consume far more energy to operate. This weight also wears on tracks, requiring constant maintenance and periodic replacement, an expensive proposition. Overhead wires that power streetcars are unsightly. Worst of all, streetcars endanger passengers by requiring them to use platforms in the middle of the street, forcing them to cross several lanes of traffic.
Proponents of the right-of-way argue that streetcars need their own lane in order to avoid holdups on the tracks. The use of buses would remove this problem without any of the above disadvantages. Rather than spending millions of dollars perpetrating an outmoded system, Toronto should take the opportunity to invest in energy-efficient buses with the flexibility to meet our changing transportation needs.