King Street (Streetcar Transit Priority)

[innsertnamehere]

City has had these in areas that are cleared of snow for years, specifically along Sherbourne for the bus stops. Key is that the truck plows don't plow these, but the smaller sidewalk / bike lane plows. They don't inflict as much damage.

 

[steveintoronto]

Doesn't seem to stop him from Tweeting though. Maybe send him a tweet to get his attention.

I don't tweet, and probably never will.

City has had these in areas that are cleared of snow for years, specifically along Sherbourne for the bus stops. Key is that the truck plows don't plow these, but the smaller sidewalk / bike lane plows. They don't inflict as much damage.

The ones on Roncesvalles are being replaced with packed asphalt as they inevitably fail. They're also very slippery when wet, and very dangerous for the way they were installing them on the bike lane streetcar stop bump-outs..

 

[innsertnamehere]

they should really be using the steel plated ones they use on street corners - those actually stand up to years of wear and tear.

This is a temporary pilot project however, they are not expected to last 10+ years. If this becomes the final configuration, they can move through and provide hard infrastructure.

 

[MetroMan]

Doesn't seem to stop him from Tweeting though. Maybe send him a tweet to get his attention.

He ignores them. Look through his tweet replies. He rarely ever replies to constituents. He replies to his friends or members of the media. If he ever does reply to a constituent, it’s with the usual “reach out to my staff to set up a meeting”. It’s so frustrating that I’m considering moving back to Mike Layton’s ward. He’s a model councillor.

 

[pstogios]

If you tried to reach out to Joe Cressy expecting a response, give up. He’s famous in the community for never answering his constituents and if his staff eventually answers to an email, the follow ups never happen. If you’re lucky and he does respond, he just wants to set up an in person meeting even to answer the most menial question and when you call his staff to schedule a meeting, it’s so far ahead in the future that it’s impractical. He’s by far the worst city councillor I’ve had out of 5 or 6 over the years. That’s ironic since he’s the councillor I agree with the most ideologically. So frustrating. I’m an engaged citizen but I have no voice at City Hall. I’m going to have to spoil my ballot in 2018 for the first time ever.

/rant.

City Staff do respond regarding the pilot. It might take a few days but you should get a response: Kingstreetpilot@toronto.ca

Interestingly I have had the exact opposite experience and exact opposite ideological connection to Joe Creasy. He or his staff always reply to my emails and the one time he wanted to set up an in-person meeting it was only a week in the future. So I encourage people to write his office via his website.

However I find his focus on pie-in-the-sky projects and advocacy for special interest groups at the expense of the mainstream of his constituency extremely grating. I too feel I don’t have representation at City council.

 

[reaperexpress]

It's a start. They have to do a lot more than that to match what was shown in renderings for the pilot. Yet again, just like painted bike lanes, I sense people being falsely assured of a sense of security that's unjustified. There is no legal basis to enforce vehicular traffic from straying over that strip to protect waiting and departing passengers. If anything, it puts them in jeopardy.

Who cares if there's a legal enforcement of the tactile strip? If the King Pilot has shown us anything so far it's that a block of concrete is infinitely more effective than the Highway Traffic Act.

A raised platform needs to be provided, even if it's concrete slabs (to allow snow removal). As some other posters have suggested 'like the Roncesvalles raised sections'...albeit the integration with through cycling traffic is going to clash, big time, unless there's constant enforcement.
[...]
Is it foolproof? Hardly, some idiot will drive up over the curb at some point, but just as curbs offer reasonable protection on streets from cars, so do these, and concrete slabs need to be laid at streetcar stops on King to do this. They can be easily removed in a year's time, or made permanent at that time. They can be anchored to the asphalt with masonry bolts (Actually to the concrete substrate, but I digress). If removed, the bolt holes are very easily patched.

Yes, obviously a raised Roncy-style platform is the goal here, but to keep it within a pilot-project budget it's being emulated using some Jersey Barriers, Planters, ramps and a tactile strip. If the pilot becomes permanent I'm pretty sure the first thing that would get concreted would be the streetcar platforms given how awkward the pilot versions are.

 

[steveintoronto]

Who cares if there's a legal enforcement of the tactile strip?

Ummm...perhaps the pedestrians standing there waiting for the streetcar?

If the King Pilot has shown us anything so far it's that a block of concrete is infinitely more effective than the Highway Traffic Act.

Fascinating. So by that logic then, blocks should be placed to stop cars illegally entering the Project area, and all police enforcement can stop?

Think of all the time and effort wasted so far in trying to educate the public with warnings when concrete blocks could have been doing it all this time...

Here's what I was led to believe things would be:

 

[reaperexpress]

Photo update from Tuesday 14 November 2017:

Old stop markers being taken down:

New tactile strip at EB Bathurst stop:

Closeup of tactile strip:

EB Portland Stop: Even with all the materials clearly being temporary I think the streetcar stops look much more proper than they ever did before.

Then the PM rush in the Financial District (17:00-18:00). Stop reading now if you want to end on a high note.

View from the front of a streetcar:
1. Traffic spills back through downtown from the Gardiner during the afternoon rush, as always. Obviously the Pilot has not solved that problem.
2. The Steamatic van illegally entered the intersection even though there was nowhere to go, thereby blocking all traffic on King Street for a cycle. This was extremely common, I saw numerous cars at numerous intersections blocking King Street.
3. Pedestrians were generally ignoring the 'Don't Walk', preventing traffic from turning off King during the right-turn green arrow. In this case it didn't matter though given the Beer Store truck couldn't have turned anyway.
4. Because of #3, the cyclists had to go around the truck using the hatched 'streetcar lane'
5. The Rolls-Royce driver has decided to drive straight through despite the hatching and signage. Is it me or are a disproportionate number of the illegal movements made by BMWs, Mercs or Audis?

There were so many cars disobeying the through movement prohibitions at Yonge and at University that there was actually traffic congestion on King.

Endless stream of illegal thru movements at University:

Looking eastbound at University toward York. When the light was red at York, the queue was sometimes so long that it blocked streetcars from reaching the EB University stop. Also note the bicycle overtaking the streetcar on the left. I also saw many cars doing the same. As SteveinToronto mentioned it's not technically illegal but certainly sketchy.

EB at Bay St. Cars are allowed to go straight here, but there wouldn't be this many cars if the through-movement prohibition were being enforced at University.

 

[reaperexpress]

Ummm...perhaps the pedestrians standing there waiting for the streetcar

The stops are legally enforced like all streetcar stops using a No Standing zone, which makes it illegal to park in them. And the concrete barriers make it physically impossible to drive through the stop.

With no legal way to drive or park in the stops, there is no need to have a legal meaning for the tactile strip.

Fascinating. So by that logic then, blocks should be placed to stop cars illegally entering the Project area, and all police enforcement can stop?

Think of all the time and effort wasted so far in trying to educate the public with warnings when concrete blocks could have been doing it all this time...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope

 

[steveintoronto]

With no legal reason to drive or park in the stops, there is no need to have a legal meaning for the tactile strip.

Well thank God for that! Those 500 warnings issued to drivers so far were baseless, and just a sorry joke. Everyone's going to obey the signs.

And thank God no-one is going to slip on that "tactile strip" when wet or in snow, pedestrian or cyclist, because everything's been checked out, even as those "tactile strips" are being removed on Roncesvalles as they fail.

As per: "No legal reason to drive or park in the stops"...I suggest you consult the OHTA definition of the term "No Standing", which is the posted sign on the post:

“stand” or “standing”, when prohibited, means the halting of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except for the purpose of and while actually engaged in receiving or discharging passengers; (“immobilisation”)

https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90h08

Getting back to concrete slabs forming a plinth, and thus a curb, as opposed to "concrete blocks" protecting intrusion....that "tactile strip" will do wonders stopping vehicular wheels rolling over them for drivers to pick-up and discharge patrons from the sidewalk.

One thing that "tactile strip" will do is launch cyclists into waiting pedestrians, or passing streetcars and vehicles. Banana skins, gone viral.

 

[MetroMan]

what I was led to believe things would be:
View attachment 127258

I believe that the painted road at streetcar stops and pedestrian areas will come in the spring. No point in doing that now with snow season about to arrive and cover it up.

 

[reaperexpress]

Well thank God for that! Those 500 warnings issued to drivers so far were baseless, and just a sorry joke. Everyone's going to obey the signs.

Yes, laws are ineffective unless they are enforced. How would adding a new law regarding tactile markings change that?

 

[isaidso]

5. The Rolls-Royce driver has decided to drive straight through despite the hatching and signage. Is it me or are a disproportionate number of the illegal movements made by BMWs, Mercs or Audis?

You're not imagining things. Rules, regulations, and the law don't apply to rich people. Many are used to doing what ever they want. They're wealthy enough to get things tossed out or consider a $500 fine just the cost of driving. Just throw money at it and it will go away.

Then there's taxes. In the words of Leona Helmsley: 'taxes are for little people'.

 

[W. K. Lis]

You're not imagining things. Rules, regulations, and the law don't apply to rich people. Many are used to doing what ever they want. They're wealthy enough to get things tossed out or consider a $500 fine just the cost of driving. Just throw money at it and it will go away.

Then there's taxes. In the words of Leona Helmsley: 'taxes are for little people'.

Especially when the fines are almost the same or less than the congestion fee in London, England. (Averaged out over a month, if caught.)

 

[TheTigerMaster]

CityNews had a surprisingly great and balanced report on the King pilot yesterday:

http://toronto.citynews.ca/video/20...-streetcar-with-the-new-rules-on-king-street/