On Tuesday, November 28, the University of Toronto’s School of Cities released their report that looked at vehicle movement and traffic violations on the King Street Transit Priority Corridor. They found that there are, on average, 6,800 illegal turns and through movements at intersections on the corridor, and less than 0.3% of offenders are stopped by Toronto Police and ticketed. Traffic enforcement was heaviest between November 2017 (when the pilot began) and March 2020 (when the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions began). Enforcement has not caught up since then.
The U of T School of Cities has provided invaluable quantification of what many Torontonians have suspected for years: the King Street Transit Priority Corridor is broken, and that there is little being done to fix it.
The transit priority corridor, which runs between Bathurst Street in the west and Jarvis Street in the east, has restrictions on through vehicle movements, where motorists must turn right at most intersections. Until 10 PM daily, only TTC buses and streetcars, emergency vehicles, and bicyclists are exempt. After 10 PM, taxis may also continue through the corridor.
The pilot program launched on November 12, 2017. The initial pilot, in which signs were erected, Jersey barriers placed to restrict the curb lane, and TTC stops moved to the far side of most intersections, was intended to optimize permanent streetscaping improvements, streetcar stop placement and transit optimization, get motorists acquainted with the new rules (at first, only warnings were issued by police) and allow time for Toronto City Council to decide on whether the pilot should be made permanent. Council approved making the transit priority corridor permanent on April 16, 2019.
Though Toronto City Council voted to transform King Street permanently, no work has started on the streetscape or public realm to do so. Just like Union Station, temporary Jersey barriers remain in place. The relocated TTC streetcar stops are left at road level, without transit shelters or accessible curbs. Drivers routinely ignore restrictions, with only a 0.3% chance of getting a $85 or $110 ticket. Meanwhile streetcars get stuck and transit riders get nowhere. On Wednesday, November 8, a Toronto police officer decided to enforce congestion on King Street… by ticketing a streetcar operator stuck in the intersection at University Avenue.
The problem is not just limited to through movements on King Street, though. On Tuesday, November 28, I stood at the corner of King and Spadina between 4:00 PM and 4:20 PM. The backup of cars and trucks headed southbound towards the Gardiner Expressway extended into the south side crosswalk and into the eastbound lanes at times. Motorists are not permitted to enter an intersection on a green light if they cannot clear it before the light turns red; this causes gridlock. But on more than one occasion, streetcars and pedestrians were impeded by illegal intersection blocks.
After standing at King and Spadina, I walked over to King and University, where the Toronto Police charged a streetcar operator earlier this month. At 5 PM, eastbound streetcars were lining up between University and John Street, unable to proceed.
However, motorists were able to turn right and left from University Avenue to eastbound King, blocking the east side crosswalk to pedestrians and ensuring that no streetcar could continue across. I spoke to one operator, who told me that the day before, he was stuck there for a half hour before he could move across.
While there, I counted several motorists who passed to the right of the stopped streetcar, and instead of turning right as permitted, they went straight, only contributing to the blockage ahead.
The problem downtown is exasperated by several road closures. Queen Street is closed between Bay and Victoria Streets for Ontario Line construction; this will last for at least five years. Adelaide Street, which is one-way eastbound is closed at York Street due to the delayed Adelaide Street diversion track installation that is supposed to allow Queen Streetcars to divert around the Ontario Line closure. York Street is also closed at Adelaide. There are several other lane closures on Bay, Yonge, and Richmond Streets and University Avenue for utility work.
Yet, one would hope that something was done to allow transit riders to get through the downtown core, especially as the city has been aware of the severe congestion for weeks at this point. The city needs to move ahead on permanent streetscape changes to further discourage through traffic on King Street by closing the curb lanes at the far side of each intersection.
It is also clear that the Toronto Police are not too interested in ticketing motorists on King Street. Even if they were, it wouldn’t be enough, as it takes 10-15 minutes to stop and ticket a driver; automatic ticketing, similar to red light cameras, would be more effective, though traffic officers can still be strategically deployed at congestion hotspots.
It’s beyond time for this city to take transit seriously again. King Street would be a great place to start.
Sean Marshall 
One reply on “Make streetcars king once more”
However, ultimately we need a much more efficient, flexible (i.e. NOT streetcars) transit system if we’re to get people using it. I know many downtown executives etc who still drive because our system is just too slow. If we really want to qualify as a “world class city”, we should think about this: https://www.statista.com/chart/28965/best-cities-for-public-transit/