This is something that Toronto cannot fathom to do. I believe it has to do with our history of streetcar tracks in the middle of the road. Other places put LRT's on one side of the ROW and roads on the other, often also putting bike lanes in their own dedicated 2 way strip as well. We can't seem to figure this out. It makes way more sense this way and is safer for everyone, rather than mixing cars, LRTs and bike lanes on each side.
The big advantage to this too, down the entire strip of at-grade, is that LRT's are less impeded by traffic. You can have cars turn left and right at the intersection on one side while the LRT can still go through on the other. You don't have the issue of left hand turn lanes taking up space. Its easier to install crossing arms for the LRT as its only crossing one road and have much more dedicated service. It results in less collisions. People dont have to wait at stops that are in the middle of the roadway and potentially can get hit by a car while crossing etc. Bikeways can be put on the other side of the LRT, well away from traffic, where its much safer.
To make matters worse, the south side implementation of the 509 Harbourfront route was a disaster with little to no protections against pedestrians wandering into the streetcar ROW. Ontop of the fact that its a heavy tourist area. So this poor implementation simply solidified the TTC's stance that LRTs should be in the median.