| PROJECT NAME: | King Street Transit Priority Corridor |
| TOWN/CITY: | Toronto (Canada) |
| LOCATION: | King Street |
| INSTALLATION DATE: | November 2019 |
The city of Toronto launched the King Street Transit Priority Corridor pilot in 2017. Over the course of the following year, this pilot demonstrated its ability to move people more efficiently on transit without compromising the broader transportation road network. On April 2019, the city council made King Street a permanent Transit Priority Corridor.
Need and project objectives.
The corridor gives priority to streetcars by prohibiting through movements for vehicles at most intersections, expands space for streetcar stops, and allows for a mix of curb lane uses like public space areas, cafés, loading zones or taxi stands.
The key objectives of this project have been:
- Move people more efficiently.
- Support economic prosperity.
- Improve place-making.
- Solve the conflict between two transportation modes (bikes and streetcars) and pedestrians.
- Guarantee accessibility.
Accessibility of public transit along this corridor was a key issue of this project. The Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC) streetcars did not allow for level-boarding, which made it difficult for people using wheelchairs or people with low vision to enter the vehicles. With the elimination of one of the adjacent traffic lanes, it became possible to improve the accessibility of the streetcars by implementing Vectorial® system at the available space.
The proposed solution.
This consisted of the installation of two Vectorial® system platforms on the following locations:
- King Street at Portland Street.
- King Street at Peter Street.
The Vectorial® system platforms contribute to the efficient flow of people around King Street. They act as a relief valve for pedestrians who are crowded on existing sidewalks and they contribute to placemaking and enhance peoples’ experience on King Street. The platforms also improve accessibility by making it easier to board and exit streetcars. They eliminate drainage/pooling issues in the waiting zone and clearly mark zones for cyclists and pedestrians.
Their configuration allows bikes to run along the boarding area, along the extended curb. Bicyclists can ride through the boarding area when no transit vehicles are present but must yield the space to boarding and alighting passengers.
