King Street (Streetcar Transit Priority)

[DSC]

Apparently there is a public meeting for this on February 13th. Not sure of the details, but clear your calendars.

Nothing on the City's Public Consultations website, yet anyway. http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=2a1d6896d230e410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

 

[Euphoria]

I agree that the impact on the streetscape is at least as important as the speed benefit of having a ROW in the median. While King takes priority on the basis of transit efficiency, Queen is a priority for street improvement and its transit mall should be completed in tandem with the DRL to minimize road closures. The King transit mall should be done by that time as the tunnelling of the DRL under Queen is probably still years away. Eventually College should get similar treatment, and Bathurst where it is wide from Front to Queen.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

Saw this tweet from someone live-tweeting a keynote Jennifer Keesmaat is giving, saying the website for the King Street pilot will be launched today.

Edit: here is a tweet with a video of her talking about it.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

King Street Pilot Study: http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=54c9209f85da9510VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

 

[salsa]

Keesmaat says the pilot will be implemented in the fall. There will be public feedback on Feb 13, then a report to council in July.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Keesmaat says the pilot will be implemented in the fall.

Sigh. Wasn't this originally supposed to happen in first half of 2017?

There will be public feedback on Feb 13, then a report to council in July.

I assume this will be when council will have to approve/reject the pilot proposal.

 

[salsa]

I assume this will be when council will have to approve/reject the pilot proposal.

To be more specific, this is when the pilot will be scuttled or watered down by suburban councillors who live nowhere near King Street, assuming that it survives the Holyday-Mammoliti public works committee. Hope this helps.

 

[ADRM]

Keesmaat clarified timing on Twitter:

 

[TheTigerMaster]

To be more specific, this is when the pilot will be scuttled or watered down by suburban councillors who live nowhere near King Street, assuming that it survives the Holyday-Mammoliti public works committee. Hope this helps.

Doesn't the PWIC merely make recommendations to Council? Meaning that Council doesn't have to adopt whatever PWIC votes for?

That's not to say that the proposal won't be watered down somehow. I'm just trying to figure out exactly how much power Holiday-Mammoliti have over the issue.

 

[muller877]

Keesmaat clarified timing on Twitter:

View attachment 97071

So her department has spend how many months developing a 4-page website? What does she do other than planting seeds for her eventually political launch?

Either have her actually work or fire her. We don't need a mouthpiece but a do-er.

 

[crs1026]

Doesn't the PWIC merely make recommendations to Council? Meaning that Council doesn't have to adopt whatever PWIC votes for?

That's not to say that the proposal won't be watered down somehow. I'm just trying to figure out exactly how much power Holiday-Mammoliti have over the issue.

The technical answer lies in section 27-146 of http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/municode/1184_027.pdf

While the PWIC might oppose the proposal, I doubt they would try to prevent it from reaching Council. So undoubtedly there will be a full Council debate.

I'm a little unclear on when things go to Executive Committee first and when they go right to Council. This one might have an EC debate also on the way to Council.

- Paul

 

[44 North]

I clicked the link from yesterday but only saw docs from the summer. In a nutshell, what exactly is the pilot project for King? Edit. That was kind of a vague question. I more meant do they have a short, short-list of their options yet and are ready to implement? Or are we pretty much at square one?

 

[Edward Skira]

So her department has spend how many months developing a 4-page website? What does she do other than planting seeds for her eventually political launch?

Either have her actually work or fire her. We don't need a mouthpiece but a do-er

As if this is the only thing her understaffed department is working on. Come on!

 

[ADRM]

So her department has spend how many months developing a 4-page website? What does she do other than planting seeds for her eventually political launch?

Either have her actually work or fire her. We don't need a mouthpiece but a do-er.

Just a really stupid, ignorant comment that doesn't really warrant further discussion on this thread.

 

[ADRM]

I clicked the link from yesterday but only saw docs from the summer. In a nutshell, what exactly is the pilot project for King? Edit. That was kind of a vague question. I more meant do they have a short, short-list of their options yet and are ready to implement? Or are we pretty much at square one?

Planning has a range of options that they will be presenting/unveiling at the public meeting at Metro Hall on February 13th. Keesmaat confirmed that at least one of those options will include zero vehicular traffic on at least a portion of King St.

But, as a general reminder, any decision here has to be approved by Council and anything that can be even tangentially considered to be impinging upon the perceived supremacy of the single-occupancy vehicle driver will be fairly close to dead on arrival with this lot.

The Pembina Institute put forth a list of options (below) that presumably will look not entirely different from the range of options Planning has assembled and will present. My prediction, given our mayor and this Council, is that we wind up only with something that looks like the "traffic restrictions" option below, and maybe one that looks like the "transit only lanes" option if the mayor throws his support behind it (and thus brings with him the cadre of councillors who consistently vote with him).

The best option ("no cars"), I believe, doesn't stand a chance with this Council, which is a crying shame. I'd of course loved to be proved wrong on that, though.