After numerous wrong turns, the TTC says it will be installing gates to stop drivers from entering the Queens Quay tunnel. TTC spokesperson Brad Ross announced the change in a tweet Saturday morning, a few hours after yet another car had to be extracted from the tunnel.“Enough is enough,” he said. “It’s incredibly disruptive and inconvenient to customers, and it requires TTC crews to go down there with equipment and spend time extracting the car.” Since 2014, the TTC said there have been 26 incidents of cars driving into the tunnel. Ross added that this frequency had sparked early talk of setting up a gate system — but the TTC hesitated over technical concerns.“The reason we’ve been reluctant is because they are mechanical, and mechanical things can fail. Yes, it can prevent cars from entering but if it shuts down it can also prevent street cars from moving,” he told the Star on Saturday. Police and TTC crews responded to another car entering the tunnel around 4 a.m. Saturday morning. The 24-year-old driver of the blue BMW was arrested and charged with impaired driving. Police found the driver with “his foot on the gas and the wheels were spinning,” said Toronto police Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook.Drivers seem to get confused when driving near the tunnel, Douglas-Cook said.“In the past I know it’s just been sheer confusion among drivers,” she said. “The last incident was because of an impaired driver — but typically those are the only two factors as to why people are getting stuck ... people just don’t know what they’re doing.” Mayor John Tory tweeted his thanks to first responders who aided in the extraction — and weighed in on his frustration with drivers: “Glad the TTC is taking action to install a gate but disappointed bollards, signs, rumble strips, flashing lights & raised track aren’t already enough to stop some drivers.&# ...
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