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King Street (Streetcar Transit Priority)

The pedestrian zone in front of Fred's Not Here has "mysteriously" been pushed out of the way, creating a parking zone in front of that restaurant.

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The King Street Pilot office has been notified.

The city has put the planters back. Let’s see how long this lasts.

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I've heard from colleagues that the westbound University Avenue stop has been moved to near-side. We shall see if this improves things at all.
If it does, it indicates a major exception, if not a flaw, in the current thinking. In all fairness to the TTC, this whole project is done on the cheap (A little over $1M) and the TTC has been disadvantaged more than advantaged on various aspects. If changes are made for the better immediately, then it can be a huge success, but the first step is to budget a heck of a lot more than what they have already. This is the very same city and transit system blowing $Billions on subway extensions that will carry only a fraction of what the King Kar Korridor now does, let alone what it could do given a fair chance.
 
I've heard from colleagues that the westbound University Avenue stop has been moved to near-side. We shall see if this improves things at all.

I can’t confirm if this is true but if it is that’s a great idea. The Spadina stops should also be moved to near-side; left-turning drivers have been proven to be too stupid to look ahead before blocking the intersection behind stopped streetcars.
 
I've heard from colleagues that the westbound University Avenue stop has been moved to near-side. We shall see if this improves things at all.
Yes it has moved ......in a very awkward fashion (police tape)
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I am not sure what problem this is supposed to solve or make better but that WB streetcar on the far side got to University Avenue on a fresh green light....stopped to let passengers on and the last passenger stepped onto the streetcar just as the crossing countdown got to zero......so it had to sit there through a complete new light cycle........I did not hang around long enough to see if it had to re-open its doors for a fresh batch of customers or if it made it through on the next light.
 

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I can’t confirm if this is true but if it is that’s a great idea. The Spadina stops should also be moved to near-side; left-turning drivers have been proven to be too stupid to look ahead before blocking the intersection behind stopped streetcars.
I am not sure what problem this is supposed to solve or make better but that WB streetcar on the far side got to University Avenue on a fresh green light....stopped to let passengers on and the last passenger stepped onto the streetcar just as the crossing countdown got to zero......so it had to sit there through a complete new light cycle........I did not hang around long enough to see if it had to re-open its doors for a fresh batch of customers or if it made it through on the next light.
What it all comes down to is lack of foresight and planning...*especially as that relates to traffic light priority!* I can hear the defence already: "We didn't have the budget to do this correctly"...and it would be correct.

What in hell is Council and the City thinking? Just throw some crumbs to the King Korridor while celebrating the Spadina subway fiasco with free fare at the cost of multiples of the million for the King Korridor Project?
 
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Yes it has moved ......in a very awkward fashion (police tape)View attachment 130829

I am not sure what problem this is supposed to solve or make better but that WB streetcar on the far side got to University Avenue on a fresh green light....stopped to let passengers on and the last passenger stepped onto the streetcar just as the crossing countdown got to zero......so it had to sit there through a complete new light cycle........I did not hang around long enough to see if it had to re-open its doors for a fresh batch of customers or if it made it through on the next light.

There appears to be some major road construction on the far side. It’s been going on for about a week and escalating every time I walk by. There was a lot of machinery on site last night. Looks temporary, otherwise they would have moved the ramp to the near side.
 
There appears to be some major road construction on the far side. It’s been going on for about a week and escalating every time I walk by. There was a lot of machinery on site last night. Looks temporary, otherwise they would have moved the ramp to the near side.
I really don't understand why it is moved back to east of University in the first place.
 
The post says that there is road work in area (last week they were installing conduit in area), sounds like a good reason to me!
totally misread that as there being roadwork on the east side (which is the far side from me but not the stop...if that makes any sense).

Not really aware of much roadwork around here but if that means this is only a temporary shift to the east/near side stop I am ok and will shut up now before I make even less sense.
 
There's a covered hole on the northwest corner, about 8' X 4', but that shouldn't interfere with the operation of the farside westbound stop. There's some sand from digging in the gutter, but nothing more apparent than that at Noon today.

Streetcar westbound at Noon was absolutely jam-packed. Asking if that was typical this time of day, answer was "Only if they bunch-up, like this one has". There were a number of streetcars close behind.

Without investing more into this "pilot" this plane is going down....What's the latest theory on prioritized signals?
 
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Lemme get this straight. There were what - three parking spots in front of Fred's? And now they are gone. And business has plunged? One less table of customers per parking spot per hour? Or were those parking spots turning over every five minutes? Is Fred's now a takeout joint?

I can understand cab drivers saying, "Oooh, it's just too hard to get there" the first time a customer asks to go there. It will take cabbies a little while to figure out which sidestreet to take to each well known destination. But they likely knew that even before the pilot, to get off King Street when it was backed up.

Sorry, not buying the doom and gloom.

- Paul
 
Lemme get this straight. There were what - three parking spots in front of Fred's? And now they are gone. And business has plunged? One less table of customers per parking spot per hour? Or were those parking spots turning over every five minutes? Is Fred's now a takeout joint?

I can understand cab drivers saying, "Oooh, it's just too hard to get there" the first time a customer asks to go there. It will take cabbies a little while to figure out which sidestreet to take to each well known destination. But they likely knew that even before the pilot, to get off King Street when it was backed up.

Sorry, not buying the doom and gloom.

- Paul

I'm buying a bit of it. There's a lot of people at their wit's end when it comes to commuting by car (or transit) into, out of, and across the core. Making it more complicated, slower, congested, disjointed - even if just perceived as such - can very well be the straw that broke the camel's back for many. Doesn't mean they parked literally out front of a locale (many probably parked somewhere nearby), just that they don't want to bring the car into the core for something they used to do. Suddenly putting in no through traffic on a major corridor is a fairly big deal.
 
I'm buying a bit of it. There's a lot of people at their wit's end when it comes to commuting by car (or transit) into, out of, and across the core. Making it more complicated, slower, congested, disjointed - even if just perceived as such - can very well be the straw that broke the camel's back for many. Doesn't mean they parked literally out front of a locale (many probably parked somewhere nearby), just that they don't want to bring the car into the core for something they used to do. Suddenly putting in no through traffic on a major corridor is a fairly big deal.

Let’s not forget that while there are indeed numerous parking options around King Street, and these businesses aren’t relying on just those two or three spots immediately in front of their location, getting to those parking spots has become more difficult with no through-traffic.

Drivers need time to figure out the alternate routes, which were already congested, and I’m sure many people are throwing up their hands and saying “screw it, I’ll just go somewhere else in the city.”
 

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