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King Street (Streetcar Transit Priority)

WislaHD said:
King Street has the same ROW as this street in Katowice, Poland. I understand this is just a pilot, but I don't see any reason why we don't transform the entire street accordingly. Wider sidewalks, space for cyclists to navigate, safe waiting area for the streetcar, and local traffic & deliveries are allowed.

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Wait tell the rebuilding of the street in 2022? for that to happen as you can't do that now. TTC tracks will be replace then and this allows everything to be done at once.
 
MetroMan said:
Here’s the finished Portland platform.

View attachment 215934View attachment 215933

Photos: City of Toronto
https://twitter.com/x/status/1196485554071883777

The City has also cleared up that there will only in fact be 2 stops with platforms while they test them and work out the kinks. It’s unlikely that the entire route will get these modular platforms because in 2023 they’re going to rip up the street entirely and build permanent platforms.
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The ramp setup just looks confusing to all. Classic example of trying too hard to cater to everybody imaginable, resulting in an unworkable mess nobody really understands how to use.

Here's an idea: cars AND cyclists should not be mixed with a streetcar right of way. There are plenty of east-west streets where we could place dedicated bike lines that completely separate them from traffic and pedestrians. But no, here in Toronto, we have to reinvent the wheel to ensure King is setup for streetcar, cars/uber/taxi, pedestrians, AND cyclists all at the same time. Good job TO.

This almost reminds me of those life hacks that people share on FB and Youtube, which at first glance looks kind of cute/smart but in reality no one in their right mind would take seriously.
 
Ok, they tried putting express buses on King. Now it's time to remove them. As a daily 504 rider, they've worsened the commute. The buses were particularly bad today, veering around non-existent snowbanks that were nowhere near the bus's lane, and were blocking intersections along King. I used to dislike how they would block me in the bike lane on Richmond, but they were only slowing down a couple cyclists at a time, not a few streetcars full of people.
 
felix123 said:
Ok, they tried putting express buses on King. Now it's time to remove them. As a daily 504 rider, they've worsened the commute. The buses were particularly bad today, veering around non-existent snowbanks that were nowhere near the bus's lane, and were blocking intersections along King. I used to dislike how they would block me in the bike lane on Richmond, but they were only slowing down a couple cyclists at a time, not a few streetcars full of people.
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This is not surprising but the TTC did say that the re-routing of Express buses to King is an experiment; it will (apparently) be reviewed in 6 months.
 
DSC said:
This is not surprising but the TTC did say that the re-routing of Express buses to King is an experiment; it will (apparently) be reviewed in 6 months.
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6 months. Good grief.
This isn't a transit mall (though it should be) and so express buses make no sense in competing for space with the busiest streetcar route. Toronto finally had a good idea and they've wrecked it already.
 
My semi-regular (2-4 times a week) use of the 504 has shown me no real serious issues with the addition of the express buses. The express bus routes were verging on useless prior to the move due to the crippling rush hour traffic on Richmond and Adelaide anyway, this makes them actually useable again.

The TTC is planning to eliminate them in a few years any way.
 
It seems very premature to give up on this experiment after only 5 days - my 'feeling' is that it will not work but let's not start basing decisions on what a few people have seen (and what others assume). It's good to see the City/TTC trying new things and I think our role is to wait fora proper evaluation and comparison of before and after (similar to those done by Steve Munro).
 
felix123 said:
6 months. Good grief.
This isn't a transit mall (though it should be) and so express buses make no sense in competing for space with the busiest streetcar route. Toronto finally had a good idea and they've wrecked it already.
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Will the buses come by every 5 minutes or better? Doubt their headways will interfere with the streetcars' headways.
 
DSC said:
It seems very premature to give up on this experiment after only 5 days - my 'feeling' is that it will not work but let's not start basing decisions on what a few people have seen (and what others assume). It's good to see the City/TTC trying new things and I think our role is to wait fora proper evaluation and comparison of before and after (similar to those done by Steve Munro).
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Data is everything. I agree with that. The 504A/B split was a disaster for a few months but over time was corrected to an extent. But there's no doubt that express buses are interfering with a far more vital streetcar line at the moment. I would be in favour of those express buses running in the priority corridor if it were a transit mall, with delivery vehicles allowed in a small, off-peak window, as is done in Melbourne.
 
Not sure where you are getting this "massive" impact from them, I'm not seeing it. I've ridden the streetcar a solid 5-6 times since the switch and have seen absolutely no difference in the effect on the operations myself.
 
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