Toronto Transportation Services Division
Encyclopedia
The Toronto Transportation Services is a division of the Toronto municipal government. It is responsible for all public and non-provincially maintained roadways in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

.

The department was created from the merger of:
  • Metropolitan Toronto
    Metropolitan Toronto
    The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...

     Transportation Department
  • North York Transportation Department
  • Scarborough
    Scarborough, Ontario
    Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...

     Works Department
  • Etobicoke Transportation Department
  • City of York
    York, Ontario
    York is a dissolved municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River. Formerly a separate city, it was one of six municipalities that amalgamated in 1998 to form...

     Transportation Department
  • East York
    East York
    East York can refer to:*East York, Pennsylvania, United States*East York, Ontario, Canada...

     Transportation Department
  • City of Toronto Department of Public Works and the Environment


Before amalgamation, Metro Toronto Transportation was responsible for major roads across Metro, while the municipalities were in charge of collector and local roads in their respective areas.

Transportation Services is divided into 4 service districts and 2 central services sections: Toronto East York, North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke York, Traffic Management Centre and Transportation Infrastructure Management. The Transportation Services Division is responsible for:
  • road maintenance (approximately 10,033 different streets and 5,365 km of roads)
  • Over 2,100 traffic signals
  • 7,100 km of sidewalk
    Sidewalk
    A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...

    s
  • 55 km of bike lanes, 15 km of bike trails, and 30 km of bike routes.
  • 530 bridge
    Bridge
    A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

    s
  • 600 pedestrian crossovers
  • over one million signs
  • 4100 bus shelters
  • 5556 kilometres of road
    Road
    A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...

    s
  • 124 kilometres of expressways
    Controlled-access highway
    A controlled-access highway is a highway designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated...

  • 1089 kilometres of main roads
  • 814 kilometres of collector road
    Collector road
    A collector road or distributor road is a low to moderate-capacity road which serve to move traffic from local streets to arterial roads. Unlike arterials, collectors are also designed to provide access to residential properties...

    s
  • 3236 kilometres of local roads
  • 293 kilometres of laneways
  • 9500 street
    Street
    A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...

    s
  • 7100 kilometres of sidewalks

Snow Removal

The TTSD is responsible for snow removal on public roads, sidewalks and other public areas:
  • Total kilometres of ploughed sidewalks: 6,000
  • Total number of opened driveways: 262,000


There is a mix of city and contract staff/equipment used for snow removal:
  • 592 Road ploughs
    Snowplow
    A snowplow is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes...

    /Grader
    Grader
    A grader, also commonly referred to as a road grader, a blade, a maintainer, or a motor grader, is a construction machine with a long blade used to create a flat surface. Typical models have three axles, with the engine and cab situated above the rear axles at one end of the vehicle and a third...

    s
  • 1 Melting machine - Metromelt
    Metromelt
    A Metromelt is a type of machine employed to melt snow as a means of snow removal.They were built in 1974 for the then Metro Roads and Works department to remove major snow accumulations in Metro Toronto managed roads...

  • 296 Sidewalk ploughs
    Snowplow
    A snowplow is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes...

  • 211 Salt trucks
  • City Staff: 536
  • Contracted Staff: 1,068


Average snowfall in the city is 130 cm per year with 40 to 50 days of de-icing events per year.

The city uses 10,220 tonnes of salt used in one storm; an average of 146,275 tonnes of salt is used each year (based on a ten-year average). The city's snow removal budget is over $60 million a year (2006 Winter Operations Budget: $62.5 million)

Other duties the Transportation Services is also responsible for a wide variety of activities include:
  • Road and sidewalk maintenance
  • Street cleaning
  • Permits for on-street parking, construction and street events
  • Traffic signs and pavement markings
  • Traffic signals and traffic safety
  • Red light camera operations
  • Construction planning and policies
  • Pedestrian and cycling issues

Traffic and Road Operations Sections

The Traffic and Road Operations Sections of Transportation Services are responsible for the following municipal matters:
  • New traffic lights
  • Reducing gridlock
  • Traffic calming
    Traffic calming
    Traffic calming is intended to slow or reduce motor-vehicle traffic in order to improve the living conditions for residents as well as to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Urban planners and traffic engineers have many strategies for traffic calming...

  • Road repairs - pothole
    Pothole
    A pothole is a type of disruption in the surface of a roadway where a portion of the road material has broken away, leaving a hole.- Formation :...

     repairs
  • Anti-idling

Traffic Management Centre

The Traffic Management Centre consists of the Traffic Safety, Traffic Plant Installations and Maintenance, and Urban Traffic Control Systems units. These units are responsible for:
  • Red Light Cameras
  • Central traffic signal systems
  • Priority for TTC
    Toronto Transit Commission
    -Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...

    , emergency vehicles (Toronto Fire Services
    Toronto Fire Services
    The Toronto Fire Services is part of the Emergency Services that respond to 911 calls in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The Toronto Fire Services is responsible for responding to fires, rescue and assisting with medical situations within the City of Toronto...

    , Toronto EMS
    Toronto EMS
    Toronto Emergency Medical Services is the statutory Emergency medical services provider for the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The service is operated directly as a branch of the municipal government as an independent, third-service option provider, which means that the service is funded by...

    , Toronto Police)
  • TripInfo traveller information telephone line 1-800-599-9090
  • RESCU
    RESCU
    The Road Emergency Services Communications Unit ' is a traffic management system used by the City of Toronto on city managed highways...

     expansion
  • Pedestrian crossing signals
    Pedestrian crossing
    A pedestrian crossing or crosswalk is a designated point on a road at which some means are employed to assist pedestrians wishing to cross. They are designed to keep pedestrians together where they can be seen by motorists, and where they can cross most safely across the flow of vehicular traffic...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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