Whether you like it or not, King St. transit changes are here to stay
Even if it’s not universally loved, Torontonians are acknowledging the changes were necessary
The restaurant industry’s behaviour in recent weeks has left many Ontarians with a bad taste in their mouth.
After the introduction of a $14-an-hour minimum wage, some Tim Hortons franchisees cut employee benefits and breaks, damaging the company’s carefully cultivated image.
At the same time, Torontonians were treated to the spectacle of King St. restaurateurs arguing with all seriousness that their profit matters more than the mobility of the 65,000-plus who rely daily on the 504 streetcar. Convinced that the loss of 180 on-street parking spots was causing a decline in their business, a number of local restaurant owners demanded the pilot be ended forthwith and King St. returned to its “original” state.
That’s not going to happen — and not just because the arguments against the King St. transit pilot are wrong-headed, but because the changes will benefit business and the city and because Torontonians support them.
Everyone agrees King St. was a disaster for all concerned — drivers, cyclists and transit users. Little wonder that two months into the experiment, ridership on the 504 is up 25 per cent, or more than 16,000 people every weekday.
A recent survey found that fully 48 per cent of Torontonians have a “positive impression” of the pilot. By contrast, only 19 per cent disapprove. A third remains undecided.
More significantly, 71 per cent of Torontonians said they believe the city “had to try something different to improve public transit downtown.” And how ironic that 35 per cent of Doug Ford supporters like the pilot. Roughly one- third are opposed, one-third unsure.
In other words, the new King St. is a huge and unexpected success. No, not everyone loves it, but so what? Most important is the finding that almost three-quarters of Torontonians acknowledge that change is necessary.
As currently configured, many Toronto streets aren’t working. Our thoroughfares have failed to keep up with reality and don’t reflect how people actually navigate the city. The car still dominates in the suburbs, but downtown, transit really is the better way.
Regardless, Official Toronto has clung largely to outdated notions of what people want if not what they need.
At the same time, the city, aided and abetted by the province, has made a mess of the transit file and lost decades. Little has been built and much of what has addresses political priorities rather than practical necessity.
Grumpy restaurateurs notwithstanding, King St. is the shape of things to come. It’s only a matter of time before Queen, Dundas and College Sts. are similarly remade. According to Councillor Joe Cressy, whose ward includes much of the pilot, though future projects will be informed by mistakes made on King St., they are inevitable. For instance, the new streets will be launched in spring, not winter. Public realm enhancements — public art, expanded patios, etc. — will be in place before anything else. “We need to implement the full package at once,” Cressy argues, “not piecemeal.”
Those innocents who expect a parking spot at every front door, be consoled by the fact there are 8,000 parking spaces on streets adjacent to King St. And now the city, in a touching act of civic pity, has decreed that drivers shall have two hours free parking on nearby Green P lots. The sympathy doesn’t extend to transit riders; who must still pay full fare and wait patiently for a streetcar with enough room for them to board.
As Cressy explains, “We have to redesign our streets to move people not cars. Unless we can get in and out of downtown quickly, we’re screwed. When downtown does well, the city does well. Travel times have improved on King by up to 15 to 20 minutes per trip.”
Why is this important? Because one-third of all jobs in Toronto are located downtown, which accounts for one-quarter of the civic tax base and 51 per cent of its GDP.
But who cares about the facts? City politics are all about emotion. They’re too close to home to be anything but. They affect the places we live and work and how we get from one to the other. It’s worth paying attention to Cressy’s observation that, “Polling on the King St. pilot is overwhelmingly positive, not just in the city but also in the suburbs.”
Feelings will evolve over time, but the message is clear, King St. is the road to the future. Christopher Hume’s column appears weekly.
He can be reached at jcwhume4@gmail.com
And now the city, in a touching act of civic pity, has decreed that drivers shall have two hours free parking on nearby Green P lots