King Street (Streetcar Transit Priority)

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Magnitudes more. Five years from now, people will most likely be asking: "Why didn't we do this decades ago?". But alas, that's Toronto's song.

We know exactly why - this plan has been proposed and rejected for years due to high political capital cost - even Miller couldn't get it through. It's ironic that it was JoTo who finally got the votes to put it into action (the streetcar system going nuclear vs. a decade ago, plus all those angry JoTo voters in new condos helped, I am sure). Kudos to him for this one nonetheless.

I recall Mirvish making a big stink about it the last time it was discussed - he hardly made a beep this time.

AoD

 

[Cobra]

Since this is a pilot project, we'll have to wait for the city to make it permanent before a master plan to completely rethink and revitalize King Street is put forwards. Future seems bright...Hopefully it comes to Bathurst, Carlton/College, Dundas and Queen

 

[steveintoronto]

We know exactly why - this plan has been proposed and rejected for years due to high political capital cost - even Miller couldn't get it through. It's ironic that it was JoTo who finally got the votes to put it into action (the streetcar system going nuclear vs. a decade ago, plus all those angry JoTo voters in new condos helped, I am sure). Kudos to him for this one nonetheless.

AoD

Not to forget the Yonge Street Mall, for Toronto, generations before its time. (Other cities are way ahead on this, especially European ones, but even US ones like Pittsburgh have championed this for the US). I'm loathe to grant Tory credit on anything of late, but begrudgingly, when his chameleon act works, one has to give credit where due.

Spacing has an excellent article on the Yonge St Mall, as do many publications, it was a high-point (lol in many ways) for Toronto at the time, and doomed to fail in the eyes of City Hall:

http://spacing.ca/toronto/2017/03/1...-pedestrianizing-torontos-iconic-strip-1970s/

Notice the trees, even if in planters? It's odd how "Open Streets Toronto" just can't capture that ...Welcome!....In all fairness, they're just one or two day affairs unlike this.

But we have to be careful to capture the essence of what we once had, and replant it and nourish it.

 

[innsertnamehere]

Yonge street rebuild is coming very soon The EA has been underway for a little while now, I expect we will see something soon.

Tory holds the line on fiscal matters - but he has always been a Red Tory. He has progressive city building ideas, it's just funding them that lacks. Cheap ideas like the King Street Pilot that can be done without touching taxes are popular with him.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Not to forget the Yonge Street Mall, for Toronto, generations before its time. (Other cities are way ahead on this, especially European ones, but even US ones like Pittsburgh have championed this for the US). I'm loathe to grant Tory credit on anything of late, but begrudgingly, when his chameleon act works, one has to give credit where due.

Examples from abroad without taking into account political context is not very useful for moving forward - and in the US transit in most cities is a Hail Mary, not really a viable system option, so out goes that as well.

Yonge street rebuild is coming very soon The EA has been underway for a little while now, I expect we will see something soon.

Tory holds the line on fiscal matters - but he has always been a Red Tory. He has progressive city building ideas, it's just funding them that lacks. Cheap ideas like the King Street Pilot that can be done without touching taxes are popular with him.

Not a moment too soon that, Y+D is getting ridiculous - I am experiencing pedestrian traffic jam on a daily basis.

AoD

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Since this is a pilot project, we'll have to wait for the city to make it permanent before a master plan to completely rethink and revitalize King Street is put forwards. Future seems bright...Hopefully it comes to Bathurst, Carlton/College, Dundas and Queen

My fear is that some of the more conservatively-minded members of council will question the need to invest money in revitalization and permanent infrastructure, if the transit corridor appears to be functional as-is. "If its not broke, don't fix it".

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Not a moment too soon that, Y+D is getting ridiculous - I am getting traffic jam from fellow pedestrians.

Too many times I've had to resort to commandeering the curb lane as a sidewalk, because the actual sidewalk is too crowded to function

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Yonge street rebuild is coming very soon The EA has been underway for a little while now, I expect we will see something soon.
Tory holds the line on fiscal matters - but he has always been a Red Tory. He has progressive city building ideas, it's just funding them that lacks. Cheap ideas like the King Street Pilot that can be done without touching taxes are popular with him.

My fear is that some of the more conservatively-minded members of council will question the need to invest money in revitalization and permanent infrastructure, if the transit corridor appears to be functional as-is. "If its not broke, don't fix it".

Wait till the new ward boundaries go through, he will have to shift accordingly.

Too many times I've had to resort to commandeering the curb lane as a sidewalk, because the actual sidewalk is too crowded to function

No kidding. It's just nuts.

AoD

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Not to forget the Yonge Street Mall, for Toronto, generations before its time. (Other cities are way ahead on this, especially European ones, but even US ones like Pittsburgh have championed this for the US). I'm loathe to grant Tory credit on anything of late, but begrudgingly, when his chameleon act works, one has to give credit where due.

BlogTO has an excellent article on the Yonge St Mall, as do many publications, it was a high-point (lol in many ways) for Toronto at the time, and doomed to fail in the eyes of City Hall:

View attachment 127286
http://spacing.ca/toronto/2017/03/1...-pedestrianizing-torontos-iconic-strip-1970s/

Notice the trees, even if in planters? It's odd how "Open Streets Toronto" just can't capture that ...Welcome!....In all fairness, they're just one or two day affairs unlike this.

But we have to be careful to capture the essence of what we once had, and replant it and nourish it.

Yonge street rebuild is coming very soon The EA has been underway for a little while now, I expect we will see something soon.

Tory holds the line on fiscal matters - but he has always been a Red Tory. He has progressive city building ideas, it's just funding them that lacks. Cheap ideas like the King Street Pilot that can be done without touching taxes are popular with him.

Is a complete pedestrian mall for Downtown Yonge on the table at all, or are we just talking wider sidewalks? A Yonge pedestrian mall down to King, connecting to the transit corridor, would be a dream come true, and would make for a great cultural corridor for tourism

 

[BMO]

I agree with Steveintoronto that I was expecting temporary pre-built decks to extend at-sidewalk-height toward the middle lane for streetcar stops. Similar to what they do for temporary patio space in Hamilton.

 

[innsertnamehere]

New ward boundaries will provide 6 downtown councillors - up from the current 3.

 

[raptor]

New ward boundaries will provide 6 downtown councillors - up from the current 3.

when is this coming to effect?

 

[ADRM]

when is this coming to effect?

That's not known definitively because it's currently before the OMB (thanks to 2 Etobicoke councillors). But, obviously, the hope for more progressive types is that the OMB will allow the recommendations to proceed sufficiently in advance of the election such that the new boundaries will be in effect for the election.

I'm somewhat more hopeful that that will be the case than I was before the hearing began; the OMB reps were having very little of Mammoliti's argument.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

The OMB seems to be trying to get through this case as quickly as possible. I read in a Star article that the OMB was rejecting actions by Mammo that could've delayed the hearings beyond the deadline for implementation.

 

[steveintoronto]

I agree with Steveintoronto that I was expecting temporary pre-built decks to extend at-sidewalk-height toward the middle lane for streetcar stops. Similar to what they do for temporary patio space in Hamilton.

That would work for Summertime, but for all year, including snow removal and general maintenance, flat concrete 'flag stone' bolted to the road sub-strate to keep them aligned, to mimic the Roncy model, and many other rail transit malls, is necessary.

Cheap ideas like the King Street Pilot that can be done without touching taxes are popular with him.

It's the "cheapness" that will be the undoing of this experiment though. There are certain facets that must be done according to the touted plan to see this through, not least funding for continued enforcement.

Examples from abroad without taking into account political context is not very useful for moving forward - and in the US transit in most cities is a Hail Mary, not really a viable system option, so out goes that as well.

Or other Cdn cities by that account, but the City used Melbourne as a major comparator in it's studies and reports, so it's not just my take.