A comprehensive fantasy map offers a glimpse into what the TTC's transit network could possibly look like if all of its busiest routes, including buses and streetcars, were upgraded. 

Graphic designer and Toronto resident, Michael Kirkby, told blogTO that trains and transportation have always been a part of his life, considering his grandfather worked at the Canadian National Railway. 

"I grew up out in the country but always loved visiting my grandparents in Thornhill because they would take us down to Finch and we would ride the subway downtown, as well as taking the VIA train in and out of the city," Kirkby explained. 

After officially moving to Toronto in 2021, the transit enthusiast says he began to realize how easy it was to connect to some parts of the city via the TTC. 

However, after a trip to the Toronto Zoo with his two daughters took well over two hours this summer, Kirkby says he realized that some parts of the city weren't as easily accessible as others.  

Fantasy Map: TTC in sandbox mode. I was curious what the TTC would look like if the busiest surface routes were converted to Subway, LRT, or Streetcar
byu/giraffebaconequation inTTC

"It made it obvious that there are parts of this city that feel so disconnected and isolated despite being in the same city," he told blogTO. 

This prompted the graphic designer to think about what the TTC would look like if it was as widespread and integrated as the London Underground, the MTA in NYC, or the Tokyo Metro. 

"I started to research ridership numbers from surface routes across the city and building my map," Kirkby said. 

"I made any bus route with a daily ridership over 10,000 into steetcar, over 20,000 became an LRT and over 30,000 daily became a subway. I also expanded a few routes based on personal preference and used proposed or cancelled plans to design some lines as well."

"I then went through and named every station, being careful to not use the same name twice. The names are mostly based on nearby streets or neighbourhoods."

If you zoom in on Line 9, you'll also notice that two stations were named by Kirkby's daughters, Isla and Elsie, who came up with the creative titles "Fairy" and "Chicken Man." 

Kirkby says he worked on the map in his spare time over the past few months, making sure to pay close attention to ensure accuracy.

He also designed 19 individual maps for each of the 19 lines depicted on the map, showing connections at each station to other lines, streetcars, train services, or other regions' bus routes. 

"The time spent researching ridership numbers and surface routes took quite a bit of time. Then making sure everything aligned properly on the map. I think ultimately though most of the time was spent coming up with names for all of the stations," Kirkby told blogTO. 

Since being posted to Reddit, the fantasy map has picked up lots of positive feedback and facilitated engaging discourse about the future of Toronto's transit network, with Kirkby planning to keep some of the observations in mind when updating the map in the future.

"It's actually been a pretty fun hobby for me, and it doesn't cost anything but my time, so that is a win in this economy," he said. "Ultimately, I know a TTC that looks like this is a pipe dream, maybe even a fever dream, but sometimes I think it's good to dream."