King Street pilot drove away drivers while attracting transit riders: study

Torontosun.com
November 28, 2018
Bryan Passifiume

With a little more than a month left in the King St. Transit Pilot, a study released Wednesday said a majority of respondents would support extending the controversial program to other downtown thoroughfares.

“About 51% of people said that they would like it done on Queen St.,” said Mike Garard, of POTLOC -- the firm behind the survey.

“Those who do really like (the pilot,) would like to see types of things implemented on other streets.”

Concentrating on gathering feedback of users based on four modes of transportation -- vehicle, on foot, bicycle or transit -- those in three out of four of the categories rated the King St. pilot project favourably.

“Out of the 2,062 we surveyed, it seems people are in favour of the pilot,” Garard said, explaining that motorists almost universally disliked the project.

Asked to assign a score out of 10 to the project’s impact on King St.’s attractiveness, respondents rated the project a 6.7 on average.

That score is somewhat meaningless, the study purports, due to the how polarized motorists were against the project compared to the other three groups.

Out of 10, ratings assigned to the project by transit users, pedestrians and cyclists were 8.26, 7.09 and 8.04 respectively -- while motorists only assigned an average score of 2.27.

Drivers represented about 16% of participants in the study, while a little under half of respondents said they used public transit through the area, 25% walked, and 10% identified themselves as cyclists.

A streetcar passes along King St. in downtown Toronto. (Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun)

Running from Nov. 12, 2017 until the end of this year, the pilot project excludes passenger vehicles from King St., between Bathurst and Jarvis Sts., with the intention of keeping streetcars moving in the congested area and providing a better environment for pedestrians and cyclists.

Toronto council wil decide whether to make the pilot project permanent next year.

One result that Garard found interesting was an increase in those patronizing King St. storefronts -- 37% reported visiting shops more often while 24% indicated less patronage. Another 39% reported no change in their habits.

Asked if the pilot made King St. more friendly to non-vehicular traffic, 68% of pedestrians and 91% of cyclists agreed.

A common concern among all groups, Garard said, was poor access of taxis and ride-sharing services along the corridor.