Toronto just extended the King St. pilot until next summer

The year-long transit experiment that threw Toronto into a veritable tizzy last winter is, well, no longer a year-long pilot project.

Toronto City Council voted 19-3 on Thursday to extend the King Street Pilot Project, which essentially prioritizes public transit users over motorists, until July 31, 2019.

This will give council sufficient time to "consider the findings" of the pilot before deciding on whether or not to make all of the changes to King Street permanent.

It will also save the many public art installations and outdoor cafes that have popped up in King Street's curb lanes (at least until the end of next summer.)

Taking a break from their cannabis debate, council votes 19-3 to extend the King Street pilot until July 31, to allow time for staff to write their report on the data. pic.twitter.com/fjA4OkCiaI

— Matt Elliott (@GraphicMatt) December 13, 2018

The vote should come as welcome news to the some 80,000 commuters who now take the King streetcar line to and from work every weekday.

Business along restaurant row may have a bone to pick (even if it's just an imaginary one) but residents of downtown Toronto are, on the whole, experiencing faster, more reliable commutes now that car traffic is restricted between Bathurst and Jarvis Streets.

It remains to be seen if and how traffic rules will change, should the transit priority corridor become permanent, but for now, cars should carefully heed all the no parking, no left turns and mandatory right turn arrows.

People who ignore the transit pilot's rules (and trust me, they still exist) continue to risk $110 fines, two demerit points per incident, and getting screamed at by pedestrians for blocking entire intersections with their "forgetfulness."

Yeah, we see you.