Business owners speak out on King St. pilot
Despite city stats that show improved transit times, not all are satisfied with the streetcar project
Streetcar travel times on King St. have improved and drivers are facing minimal, if any, delays on nearby streets, but the streetcar pilot project remains divisive going into 2018.
While the pilot project is hailed for achieving its goal of providing a faster and more reliable transit route, with Councillor Joe Cressy writing there is “no going back,” not all are satisfied.
The Star spoke to four stakeholders in the restaurant industry and one residential advocate on Saturday. Here’s what they said: Todd Sherman, president of the Urban Dining Group “We have seen a dramatic change in the character of King St.,” said Sherman, who runs four restaurants within the boundaries of the pilot project. “The pedestrian traffic has dropped considerably, the access to King St. has become very difficult — which, in fact, has cannibalized a good percentage of our business.”
Bruce Holmberg, sous chef at Il Fornello “No, everything’s the same,” Holmberg said when asked if the restaurant had been impacted by the pilot. “We cater to the theatres, so everyone who goes to the theatres comes here . . . We’re pretty much booked every night.”
He said he has noticed that other restaurants have been affected: “I guess a lot of them are smaller. We’re 250 seats, so there’s never been parking on King St. for 250 cars. So I guess a lot of the smaller restaurants would have people that would drive up, park and go in, that would be my reasoning for it.” Robin Lobb, executive director of the Toronto Entertainment District Residents Association “We’re . . . shocked as we look down King St. and see no traffic except streetcars. There’s just an unease, there’s a tension in the air. People are noticing congestion, it’s just not on King St. It’s everywhere else that traffic is now pushed over to.”
“We usually have a lot of reservations, and now we’re getting cancellations.” AL CARBONE OWNER, KIT KAT ITALIAN BAR & GRILL
Tony Elenis, chief executive of the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association “It’s not the same street. That street was very vibrant. You don’t see that anymore. I don’t even really need to look at the numbers, the revenue numbers the restaurants are telling us, because you can see it.” Al Carbone, owner of Kit Kat restaurant at King and John Sts. for 30 years “On a slow day, because of this, we’re closing two or three hours early, sending everyone home. So everybody loses the same amount of hours. Sometimes we call people and say, ‘Don’t come in today’ . . . because we’re not busy.
“We usually have a lot of reservations, and now we’re getting cancellations, not reservations. It’s unbelievable, the number of people who cancel during the week.”