What are people saying about the #KingStreetPilot?

Last Monday, November 5th we hosted a twitter chat that was all about the King Street Pilot Project. Through this chat we aimed to gain a better understanding of how people have been experiencing King Street since

the pilot's implementation and whether it has been successful in addressing the overcrowding, speed, and reliability issues that were being experienced by transit riders for so long.

Welcome to the #KingStreetPilot Tweet Chat! During this chat we will pose a series of five questions about the King Street Pilot Project, which has been in place since November 2017 on Toronto’s busiest surface transit corridor. pic.twitter.com/cp3ejiZpaY
— TTCriders (@ttcriders) November 5, 2018

We were also joined by four special guests who added their perspective to the conversation.

The message from participants was clear: the pilot has been a resounding success. Thanks to the transit priority measures between Bathurst and Jarvis people can now rely on the streetcar to get them where they need to go.

A1: Before the pilot I had abandoned the streetcar route for almost 2 years because it was consistently unreliable and overcrowded. It was a very stressful commute. Now I'm back on and even though it's still very crowded, at least I can rely on it to get to work on time.
— Tracy Torchetti (@Torcherama) November 5, 2018

A1 - Walking feels much more pleasant. Cycling a bit 'weirder' without any dedicated infra and 'loose' intersection rules. Transit is leaps and bounds better, I no longer avoid taking the 504 and opt for it. Driving has been the same as before, maybe a bit better.
— Chris Hutchinson (@christ) November 6, 2018

La Fenice, a restaurant that has been on King Street for almost 35 years, praised the pilot project and all it has done for the community.

Business has never been better! A lot of customers who live and work in the area and are more likely to be pedestrians using transit making it easier to get around. The myth that most of our customers drive and the #KingStreetPilot will kill the business-it’s just not true.
— La Fenice (@lafenicetoronto) November 5, 2018

And people's experiences align with their take on it. The improved reliability and speed of the streetcar means that people are more likely to take the streetcar to dine and shop in the area.

Have lived in Roncesvalles for over a decade. Taking the 504 downtown was unreliable so we took 504 to Dundas W, then two subways. Now with the pilot we go to events & shopping downtown every other week on the 504. Success story here!
— David Elfstrom (@DavidElfstrom) November 6, 2018

The reduction in car congestion and noise on the street, in addition to the new public spaces has contributed to a much more pleasant pedestrian experience for many people.

Living on King St, the project has greatly improved the gridlock and car noise on the street as a whole. I'd be happy with bumper to bumper streetcars getting people across town.
— THE_Africanfish (@TAfricanfish) November 5, 2018

A5: We love the #KingStreetPilot activations for their purpose - in a downtown that likes to keep us moving along, they give us “permission” to also stop and interact in the street rather than simply passing through.
— The Laneway Project (@lanewayproject) November 5, 2018

Participants who work, live, and travel in the area also emphasized that there is more that can be done to improve the street for transit riders, pedestrians, and cyclists. Their suggestions for improvements included wider sidewalks for pedestrians, more accessible and safer streetcar stops, better signage for drivers, and extensions to the transit priority beyond Jarvis and Bathurst.

It’s imperative that after the #KingStreetPilot, in the next stage of reimagining King St, we build it for people. Wider sidewalks, places to stop and enjoy the street and intuitive traffic redirection that leaves the remaining centre lanes open for efficient streetcar travel. /4
— Pedro Marques (@MetroManTO) November 5, 2018

Light up boards might help? (Like the one at Bay & College) It's unfortunate that a green arrow pointing right means right-turning cars have Right-of-way, conflicting with pedestrian crossings.
— Raphael (@DumasRaphael) November 5, 2018

What this chat made clear is that the King Street Pilot is working as intended, and that there is widespread support to keep these priority measures in place. If you missed the chat but would like to add your voice, come out to "One Year In: The King Street Pilot" on Monday November 26th at Metro Hall: ttcriders.ca/kingpilotmeeting A full archive of the conversation was collected on Wakelet at this link.

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