Unlocking Benefits by (Strategically) Talking Transit: King Street Transit Pilot Jacquelyn Hayward Laurence Lui Director, Project Design & Management Senior Planner, Transit Service City of Toronto Toronto Transit Commission 1 The King Street Transit Pilot began in November 2017 to improve transit on the busiest surface route in Toronto. 2 September 27, 2019 Why King Street? Busiest surface transit Key Destinations corridor in Toronto Liberty Village 72,000 King West boardings per day (pre-pilot) Entertainment District Financial District Rapidly growing Old Town Toronto downtown population and employment George Brown College Distillery District 50,000 new residents since 2011 3 September 27, 2019 Transit wasn’t working… Mixed-traffic operation Many attempts to Heavy congestion and improve operations: poor reliability 1993 Peak transit-only lanes 2001 Transit mall proposal 2004 Transit mall pilot proposal 2014 Extended peak restrictions 2015 All-door boarding 4 September 27, 2019 Looking beyond transit SUPPORT BUSINESS & ECONOMIC PROSPERITY MOVE PEOPLE + MORE EFFICIENTLY IMPROVE ON TRANSIT PUBLIC SPACE 5 September 27, 2019 BETTER TRANSIT Faster and more predictable travel has attracted more customers who are highly satisfied with streetcar service on King Street. 6 September 27, 2019 Transit Priority = Predictable Travel Reliable journeys at all times of the day 7 September 27, 2019 More Riders Daily boardings up 16% 8 September 27, 2019 Increased Capacity Responding to unprecedented growth in demand AM Busiest Hour PM Busiest Hour 9 September 27, 2019 Improved Customer Satisfaction Higher values in all key measures Trip Duration 79% 89% Overall Satisfaction Comfort of Ride 66% 81% 70% 78% Source: Q4 2017 vs. Q4 2018, TTC Customer Satisfaction Survey 10 September 27, 2019 EFFICIENT MOBILITY Moving more people by all modes downtown, increasing walking and cycling, and with marginal changes to auto travel times. 11 Moving More People Downtown Toronto’s transportation network moved 3% more people in peak periods by all modes 12 September 27, 2019 Pedestrian Volumes Generally the Same Number of pedestrians at Spadina Avenue largely unchanged throughout the day, compared to before the pilot and relative to comparable east- west streets including Queen Street 13 September 27, 2019 More cycling on King Street Cycling volumes on King increased significantly in PM peak period 14 September 27, 2019 Marginal changes to auto travel times Peak travel times +/- 1 minute on all surrounding corridors 15 September 27, 2019 ECONOMIC PROSPERITY & PUBLIC SPACE Support economic productivity & vitality. Mitigate impacts to local business through expanded public spaces that encourage people to linger. 16 Impacts to business vary by sector 17 September 27, 2019 More public spaces Image: Yasmin Al-Samarrai 18 September 27, 2019 Key Lessons 19 September 27, 2019 Key Lessons 1. Set strong groundwork as the foundation and build momentum 2. Define goals broadly, build around common objectives 3. Work through challenges transparently with stakeholders to refine project and optimize effectiveness 4. Share successes early and frequently 5. Focus on key strategic messages 20 September 27, 2019 Thank you! [email protected] [email protected] 21 September 27, 2019.