Joe Cressy also mentioned that illegal intersection crossing is increasing. Admittedly he’s a biased source and I don’t totally trust him but anyway that’s what he said.
In fact here’s the relevant text regarding the Pilot from his latest newsletter:
http://www.joecressy.com/the_cressy...ean-up_days_king_street_pilot_update_and_more
King Street Transit Pilot - April Update
The King Street Transit Pilot is about moving people better on King Street, and making the street work for everyone. Working together, we're able to make improvements as we go to continue to build a street that works for all.
Data continues to show the pilot’s success
Our bold move to improve King Street, the year-long King Street Transit Pilot, is now 5 months in. The
fifth round of data, collected during the month of March, was released last week, and shows us that the early successes of the pilot are not only continuing, but things are getting better and better.
An earlier update showed us a significant increase in overall ridership has jumped to 84,000, from 72,00 before the pilot. Travel times continue to improve, both on average and for the slowest trips - with a
5 minute improvement overall in April. And,
reliability remains at 85% - 85% of the time, streetcars are coming on time, and are moving faster across the corridor. Vehicular impacts have been minimal and pedestrian counts are on par with Queen Street just a block north. And, last month’s data showed that
business transactionsare in line with seasonal spending pattern over the last years.
I am also continuing to strongly advocate to bring "
two-hour transfers" to King Street as soon as possible, in advance of the city-wide launch later this year. This means that each time you pay your TTC fare, you would be able to hop on and off the streetcar as much as you like within two hours. By getting it on King Street now, transit riders could hop off the streetcar, grab a coffee or run an errand, and hop back on to continue to their final destination. The larger number of riders on King Street will have an easier time patronizing local businesses on King Street.
Click here for full details on all the data that has been released so far. Updated data and additional metrics will be published every month during the Pilot. For more information o
n past updates and our efforts to continue to build a street for all, click here (link to February King update).
Enforcement and Adjustments
In order for the early successes of the pilot to not only continue, but be improved, compliance with the new traffic rules is critical. Recently, we have seen an increase in the number of vehicles not obeying the through-traffic rules and turn restrictions critical to improving streetcar reliability and travel times for riders. After speaking with senior City staff on this issue, a number of
increased enforcement measures are being implemented:
- Dedicated police enforcement will be enhanced on King Street
- Data now available on locations with high volumes of vehicle infractions is being shared with Toronto Police, who will target enforcement to those areas
I have also requested that an additional
enforcement blitz take place along the pilot corridor, to continue to ensure that new traffic rules are being followed on King.
The King Street Transit Pilot is a pilot for a reason – so we can make
improvements as we go. With five months of data now available, the City is also making improvements to continue to build on the early successes of the project. Transit priority signals are being activated in key areas along the pilot, with additional locations currently under review for activation. This will move streetcars even quicker through key intersections, while also ensuring we're properly reviewing other locations to prevent negative impacts for pedestrian crossings, and other road users. City staff are also adjusting signal times to facilitate streetcars passing through an intersection sooner, if no waiting left-turn vehicles are present.
Everyone is King, the
public realm design competition to animate the new public spaces on King,
will be rolled out next week. This exciting public realm animation will include 2 destination parklets, activations all along King, and extended patios for many local restaurants along the corridor.
