GameOnBrad
Active Member
The King Streercars are running down to the Cherry Street Loop again. Can't say I miss the screeching sound as they turn.
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chrisw
Active Member
Interesting seeing King Street fully pedestrianized. I went on the second weekend last year.
Monarch Butterfly
Superstar
Do the VIPs walk to their premier showing, or do they walk? If they arrive by limousine, then streetcars should be able to crawl through there.
Monarch Butterfly
Superstar
Likely they have to have space for emergency vehicles to get access in case of an emergency. So there is space available.
Mihairokov
Senior Member
King & Church at 4pm on a Friday during TIFF.
chrisw
Active Member
They let the cars inch through the peds. Some security in front to clear the way. Streetcars seem doable.
nightstreak
Senior Member
I'm not against a car free King Street, just one that's granite or cobblestone paved meant for pedestrians with streetcars running down the middle every few minutes. People would hear the ding ding and move.
This would work well even during TIFF. Streetcars could follow behind limos and wait for a few minutes while celebrities unload, no need to close the street entirely. If they really wanted to make TIFF notoriously Toronto, have celebrities take a red streetcar a few blocks from Charlotte to Peter, forget the limos.
Mihairokov
Senior Member
King at 5:30PM on a Monday
Mihairokov
Senior Member
Yelled at a driver who sat through two light cycles at King/Church last night waiting for a green to go straight. They must have thought I was a crazy person but I'm not sure how you can sit there with multiple streetcars honking at you whilst simultaneously unable to read any of the signs ahead of you. 
APTA-2048
Senior Member
I remember a month ago an SUV doing that for two light cycles. The streetcar operator, quite a large guy, eventually got out and walked briskly towards the SUV which sped away before he could say anything. That was pretty funny, and I applaud the streetcar operator.Yelled at a driver who sat through two light cycles at King/Church last night waiting for a green to go straight. They must have thought I was a crazy person but I'm not sure how you can sit there with multiple streetcars honking at you whilst simultaneously unable to read any of the signs ahead of you.
nightstreak
Senior Member
Yelled at a driver who sat through two light cycles at King/Church last night waiting for a green to go straight. They must have thought I was a crazy person but I'm not sure how you can sit there with multiple streetcars honking at you whilst simultaneously unable to read any of the signs ahead of you.
Honestly, this whole King Street transit priority thing has made is sooooooooo clear that there are a ton of drivers on the road who don't know how to drive, don't read signs and often don't know what they mean. I really welcome an age of self driving cars that makes it reasonable to increase the difficulty in obtaining a driver's license. It should be as strict as getting a pilot's license. Either you know the HTA and how to expertly handle a vehicle, or you're buying a robot car without a steering wheel or taking transit.
With that off my chest... easy solution: make every intersection a dead end. Block off the centre lanes to cars with flexi posts or raised curbs (no through exceptions for taxis!) and each curb lane ends in a bump out sidewalk on the other side with a large planter for visibility so drivers have no choice but to turn. In the interim: red light cameras at every intersection. Every driver going through is getting a $325 fine. They'll learn.
Monarch Butterfly
Superstar
And put cobblestones on the streetcar tracks (allow intersections to have a smooth crosspath for cyclists). See https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/rapidto-master-thread.31762/post-2387060
That should wake the single-occupant driver up in the automobile to get off the streetcar tracks.
nightstreak
Senior Member
This right here is the smoking gun for what we've observed on King Street. Cops don't enforce laws they don't like and too many of them are selfish drivers who don't even live in the city and see transit as a bunch of people in their way.
DSCToronto
Superstar
I know that you and others here feel that one or two vehicles driving through on King is a sign of the end of civilization as we know it but, to be fair, the amount of through traffic on King is VASTLY reduced from the pre-King Street Transit Mall days. Yes, of course some people drive through (some are confused, others just in a rush) but there are honestly far larger problems. The police do, very occasionally, give tickets and one day the City will get their act together to replace the watermain, replace the tracks and then fix up the street so that it not only LOOKS better but the design makes it clearer what is supposed to happen. Unfortunately, the City work is not in TOinView for 2027 so it seems to be postponed, yet again.
They ARE replacing the special track (and watermain?) at the King/York intersection this fall, after FIFA. Let's hope that someone at TTC remembers they are supposed to add a east to north curve!! (East on King, north on York). They seem NOT to be increasing the diversionary flexibility by installing southbound track on York from Adelaide to King which is really unfortunate but ....)
Northern Light
Superstar
Church to George currently shows as 2028 for Transportation.
But .... Toronto Water shows as 2029; that seems problematic.
TTC work shows as 2029.