The City of Toronto has begun its King Street Pilot Study project. Currently the study is in its first round of consultations.
King Street is the busiest surface transit route in the entire City, carrying more than 65,000 riders on a typical weekday. But we recognize that King Street isn’t working well. Streetcars are often stuck in mixed traffic, making it challenging to keep transit service running smoothly. This often results in bunching and gapping of vehicles, uneven utilization of capacity, and overcrowded vehicles. During rush hour, people are often unable to board the first streetcar that arrives.
King Street is also an important Downtown east-west spine, connecting many neighbourhoods with the largest concentration of jobs in the City, Region, and entire Country. The King Street corridor will continue to see significant population and employment growth in the coming decades, leading to further demand on these already heavily congested transit routes.
The City and TTC have recently been making operational changes to improve streetcar service, including: allowing all-door loading (to become more effective with the new low-floor streetcars); adding supplemental buses; extending turning and on-street parking restrictions; optimizing transit stop locations and route running times; adding route supervisors; and improving night service.
But a more significant change is needed to improve transit service on King Street. The pilot project(s) will test a range of options to determine what might further improve transit reliability, capacity, and efficiency.
To find out more about the King Street Pilot Study and review supplemental information, please visit the city’s dedicated website here. The Study is currently in Phase 1.
The first public meeting will be held on Monday, February 13, from 6:30 to 9:30 at Metro Hall (55 John St), Room 308/309.
If you cannot attend the meeting, you can stay connected by signing up for e-updates via the King Street Pilot Study’s dedicated website. You can also contact staff about the pilot by emailing [email protected].