The King Street Pilot Project starts today
The King Street Pilot Project is now live, and Toronto has its first "transit priority corridor." Signs of the street's transformation have been visible for days, but now a whole set of traffic restrictions are in place that should make life much better for streetcar riders.
If you had to summarize the changes in one sentence, it'd be most accurate to say that as of today King is no longer a through street for cars.
Making King king again. #TTC #KingStreetPilot pic.twitter.com/HWqq0Pf4gG
— Brad Ross (@bradTTC) November 12, 2017
There are a number of ways that this is accomplished:
When approaching the pilot area from the west at Bathurst or east at Jarvis, drivers are forced to turn right or left. Within the pilot zone, left hand turns are prohibited, and those who do turn right onto the street will be forced to turn right back off just a block later.
As far as the details go, the map released by the city of Toronto and the TTC gives an excellent breakdown of the way that King St. works throughout the pilot area. It's worth a look to ensure that you're up to speed on the changes.
In a nutshell, if you're trying to drive across downtown Toronto from east to west or vice versa, you'll want avoid King St. altogether. If you do find yourself on the street, it won't be for very long.
King Street Transit Pilot started today.
— TPSMotorSquad (@TPSMotorSquad) November 12, 2017
New rules in effect from Bathurst Street to Jarvis Street.
Officers are all along King Street to guide you through the changes.https://t.co/v4WIcoaodP#KingStreetPilot #DriveSafe#RideSafe#WalkSafe pic.twitter.com/JoUOEbuGjy
For all the publicity the pilot has received, it's still going to be an adjustment for drivers. Police are out in full force today to enforce the new rules of the road, and it's a good bet that this presence will continue for the foreseeable future.
The first real test for the King St.Pilot will come on Monday morning when thousands of people commute to work on the revamped street. If the project is ultimately a success, there's every possibility it could be made permanent.
