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King Street (Streetcar Transit Priority)

This is a good point.

After a year of this pilot, transit riders are going to have gotten used to a much faster 504 and 514 ride. Drivers will complain but how do you go back to allowing King street transit to slow down to the crawling mess that it is today? The only alternative is the downtown relief line across town but in 15 to 20 years, when that’s finally built (if at all), a car reduced or car free King Street will have become cemented.

There’s no going back.

Ironically, this pilot might get some DRL-averse suburban councillors to agree to expediting the DRL in exchange for removing the transit mall once the DRL is built. Probably won't play out like this, but I'll dream!
 
Ironically, this pilot might get some DRL-averse suburban councillors to agree to expediting the DRL in exchange for removing the transit mall once the DRL is built. Probably won't play out like this, but I'll dream!

Likely will only happen should the DRL is extended up to Eglinton or Sheppard. Maybe Dundas West Station would end up as the keystone.
 
The only alternative is the downtown relief line across town but in 15 to 20 years, when that’s finally built (if at all), a car reduced or car free King Street will have become cemented.

Ironically, this pilot might get some DRL-averse suburban councillors to agree to expediting the DRL in exchange for removing the transit mall once the DRL is built. Probably won't play out like this, but I'll dream!

A Queen Street alignment pretty much rules this out. I'd expect that whenever the subway is built, Queen won't have streetcars any more. The 501 and 504 will both run on King Street, and the transit mall will be extended farther west (since Queen would be the streetcar-free road that through traffic can use).
 
A Queen Street alignment pretty much rules this out. I'd expect that whenever the subway is built, Queen won't have streetcars any more. The 501 and 504 will both run on King Street, and the transit mall will be extended farther west (since Queen would be the streetcar-free road that through traffic can use).

The Crosstown experience says it will be close to impossible to maintain streetcar service on 501 once Relief Line construction begins. Too many excavations and lane shifts. That will mean a several-year outage on the 501.

- Paul
 
The Crosstown experience says it will be close to impossible to maintain streetcar service on 501 once Relief Line construction begins. Too many excavations and lane shifts. That will mean a several-year outage on the 501.

This is also true, but I doubt it'll be an outage - just a shift south to King Steet and/or bus replacement.
 
Some jurassic Councillors from the burbs just won't get that, but more than 51% may. There must be a tipping point in there somewhere.

Because ignorance is only reserved for people outside of a geographic area :rolleyes:

You're already implying something that might not even happen. Let's just relax and see how this pans out before we start with the us vs them discussion.

Maybe one day someone can just be called out for having a different opinion and not be identified as having that opinion because of where they live.
 
My work has a King Street address.....a bulk email went out today about this project with tomorrow as a start date.

All it showed (to me) is how blissfully ignorant most are about ongoing projects in this city.

The reaction was a huge "wait. what, they are doing what?!?!?"
 
My work has a King Street address.....a bulk email went out today about this project with tomorrow as a start date.

All it showed (to me) is how blissfully ignorant most are about ongoing projects in this city.

The reaction was a huge "wait. what, they are doing what?!?!?"

A lot of people are going to be in for a huge surprise in a few weeks :D
 
A lot of people are going to be in for a huge surprise in a few weeks :D
some of the surprises will be pleasant (people on streetcars) and some may not be (car or cab users) but my point was that outside of boards like this, people are blissfully unaware what is going on their city.....even when it impacts them directly.
 
Because ignorance is only reserved for people outside of a geographic area :rolleyes:

You're already implying something that might not even happen. Let's just relax and see how this pans out before we start with the us vs them discussion.

Maybe one day someone can just be called out for having a different opinion and not be identified as having that opinion because of where they live.

Well, if I came across as slagging the burbs I apologise, that wasn't my intent. I was trying to be oblique rather than naming the more auto centric, change averse councillors by name. They do happen to come from Etobicoke, Noth York, and Scarborough.

Predicting a painful impact is hardly crying doom and gloom, either. It's a pretty obvious certainty when a longstanding and heavily relied on main street is closed. All that traffic has to go somewhere. There are no lightly loaded streets in the core. No pain, no gain sure fits.

Would anyone care to predict which councillor is first to call for an early cancellation of the pilot? It will happen. And I will bet a box of donuts that it won't be any of the councillors whose wards include King street. It will be the ones who think of downtown as a place you drive to.

- Paul
 
My work has a King Street address.....a bulk email went out today about this project with tomorrow as a start date.

All it showed (to me) is how blissfully ignorant most are about ongoing projects in this city.

The reaction was a huge "wait. what, they are doing what?!?!?"

I was at a birthday party with several burb dwellers. When I told them about King Street, they all unanimously asked “who’s stupid idea was that?”. But when I explained the situation, how many transit riders there are vs drivers and how they should be using Richmond/Adelaide to get across town, I was surprised that they all shifted their opinion.

I think that there will a lot of outrage, specially on sensationalist and low information outlets like CP24 and the Toronto Sun but eventually, those who use transit (the majority) will see how necessary it is and drivers will adjust their routes. Once it’s implemented, I don’t see the city changing it back to the untenable situation we have now where King St works for literally no one.
 
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Ironically, this pilot might get some DRL-averse suburban councillors to agree to expediting the DRL in exchange for removing the transit mall once the DRL is built. Probably won't play out like this, but I'll dream!

That would be an interesting turn, but it might not be necessary. The Relief Line should reduce the need to drive into downtown, at least from the east. I assume some parking will be attached to the DRL stations, particularly those north of Danforth.
 
some of the surprises will be pleasant (people on streetcars) and some may not be (car or cab users) but my point was that outside of boards like this, people are blissfully unaware what is going on their city.....even when it impacts them directly.

In the age of instant access to information, ignorance is no excuse.

AoD
 
In the age of instant access to information, ignorance is no excuse.
I have to flip that over, unfortunately, the 'Age of the Internet Enlightment' is going backwards.

It's astounding with the world at their fingertips that most of the 'iGeneration' know less about local events, let alone world ones, than they did before the iDevice arrived.

But almost every one of them knows how to take a 'Selfie'.
 
I think the instant access to information simply allows people to reinforce their ignorance.

It's unfortunate this plan isn't being implemented as originally envisioned, but I'm still looking forward to the changes they will make.

It's such a major artery for the city - we can't maintain the status quo.
 

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