[W. K. Lis]

Illegal in Toronto:

 

[steveintoronto]

Just tripped across this: Power of the (effectively Minister) to amend the HTA by "filing" it (no passage through Legislature necessary) was mentioned prior. This spells it out for a "Pilot Project" in definitive terms:

Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8 (current)

Part xvi
pilot projects
Pilot projects
228 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may by regulation authorize or establish a project for research into or the testing or evaluation of any matter governed by this Act or relevant to highway traffic. 2005, c. 26, Sched. A, s. 33 (1).

Project may conflict with Acts
(2) Under a project authorized or established under subsection (1),

(a) persons or classes of persons may be authorized to do or use a thing that is prohibited or regulated under this Act, the Dangerous Goods Transportation Act, the Motorized Snow Vehicles Act, the Off-Road Vehicles Act or the Public Vehicles Act or to not do or use a thing that is required or authorizedby any of those Acts;

(b) the Minister or Ministry or any person authorized or required to do anything under this Act, the Dangerous Goods Transportation Act, the Motorized Snow Vehicles Act, the Off-Road Vehicles Act or the Public Vehicles Act may be authorized or required to do anything that is not authorized or required under any of those Acts or to do anything that is authorized or required under any of those Acts in a way that is different from the way it is authorized or required. 2005, c. 26, Sched. A, s. 33.

Limited to classes
(3) An authorization or requirement described in subsection (2) may be limited to any class of persons, class or type of vehicles, class of equipment, devices or highways, parts of Ontario, time of year or day, activities, matters or any other things. 2005, c. 26, Sched. A, s. 33 (1).

Regulation to create own scheme of rules
(4) A regulation made under this section may regulate the doing of anything or the use of any thing or prohibit the doing of anything or the using of any thing. 2005, c. 26, Sched. A, s. 33 (1).

Insurance
(5) A regulation made under this section may require a person or class of persons to carry insurance of a kind and in the amount specified. 2005, c. 26, Sched. A, s. 33 (1).

Time limit
(6) A regulation made under this section must provide that it is revoked no later than the twelfth anniversary of the day the regulation is filed. 2005, c. 26, Sched. A, s. 33 (1).

Project prevails over Acts
(7) In the event of a conflict between a regulation made under this section and any provision of this Act, the Dangerous Goods Transportation Act, the Motorized Snow Vehicles Act, the Off-Road Vehicles Act or the Public Vehicles Act or of a regulation made under any of those Acts, the regulation made under this section prevails. 2005, c. 26, Sched. A, s. 33.

Offence
(8) Every person who contravenes a regulation made under this section is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $250 and not more than $2,500. 2005, c. 26, Sched. A, s. 33 (1).

https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90h08?_ga=2.201829201.156985047.1511735271-283584986.1511735271

Well Mr Tory, Your Worship, Sir. I'd say you have a few calls to make...

I'm still searching other aspects of the HTA and related Acts, but this hangs Tory on the petard of his own ego.

The worst part of this, the very worst, is that it will give Il Duce reason to drop his soap box in the middle of King Street, to make an announcement, or ten. In this instance...that's worth the price, as he'd have to make sure there's sufficient safety built into this so that he doesn't get hit by a streetcar.

On second thoughts, don't warn him about that....make it a surprise.

And btw: Where was Queen's Park and City Hall/Council on this when establishing the Bloor Bike Lanes? It was officially a "Pilot Project" too...

 

[TransitBart]

After only two weeks?

Two weeks into the King St. transit pilot, some businesses on the main Entertainment District artery say they are starting to feel a strain from the lack of private vehicle traffic on the road between Bathurst and Jarvis.

“The whole neighbourhood has suffocated,” said Laleh Larijani of the bakery Forno Cultura. “We can have transit solutions that don’t impact businesses so much.”

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...-taking-toll-say-king-st-business-owners.html

Why is this surprising? Two weeks is a trend. A small business can see the future after a couple of weeks.

 

[steveintoronto]

Two weeks is a trend.

Huh? Based on what methodology? Building ant-hills?

A small business can see the future after a couple of weeks

And Sarah Palin can see Russia from her front door...

These businesses have absolutely nothing to make their case on at this point in time. I blame it on my wearing Argyle socks on the wrong feet for two days running, and sneezing while having hiccups. I bet it's those Korean bakers from Bloor Street undercutting King Street bakers...

 

[TransitBart]

Said like someone who has never run a business nor made a cash flow.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I rode a Bikeshare bike Riverdale Farm to St. James Cathedral and Roy Thompson Hall today and saw at least four cars violate the King St. rules. One car just followed a streetcar close behind all the way to Roy Thompson Hall and beyond.

 

[DSC]

I rode a Bikeshare bike Riverdale Farm to St. James Cathedral and Roy Thompson Hall today and saw at least four cars violate the King St. rules. One car just followed a streetcar close behind all the way to Roy Thompson Hall and beyond.

Yes, some drivers are a bit slow to get with the program but the street has FAR fewer cars and streetcars move about as fast as they can. Would more enforcement stop more cars: of course. Would having no cars make the streetcars go faster: probably not. The secret is to have enough enforcement to keep the street fairly empty of illegal cars not necessarily to catch 100% of the culprits.

 

[AHK]

Said like someone who has never run a business nor made a cash flow.

We live in the area. Forno Cultura was one of the businesses cited in the Toronto Star article on the impact of the changes on its business. All I can say is that the times I walked by today, from the sidewalk, I have never seen it busier. Passed by six times - five times it was busy, the last time was after it was closed and the staff was cleaning up - I will agree, not busy then.

I would be very interested to see year over year, same time last year, comparisons....

 

[MetroMan]

I asked one of my contacts at City Hall about the lack of compliance with the no through signs and they said that the Transportation Dept. is already planning to put up new signs, likely bigger versions of the originals and verbal “No Through Traffic” signs.

I don’t think they get it. It’s not the size of the signs that matter, it’s that drivers place their convenience over the rules, specially in a city where they routinely get away with it.

Physical changes that make it difficult to circumvent the rules are needed.

The single biggest change other than getting rid of the green light, is preventing cars from driving on to the streetcar zone at the end of each block and forcing them into the right turn lane.

This can be done by installing plastic bollards, narrowing the roadway to streetcar width. It would also help to texture the road in these zones with bumps. Paint alone doesn’t work.

Once in the turn lane, we have to keep them there and force them right. Some cars go into the right turn lane but then cut into the centre lane to go forward. Extending the N-S median would accomplish this. A car in the turn lane would be met with a wall. They’d have to turn.

 

[micheal_can]

I asked one of my contacts at City Hall about the lack of compliance with the no through signs and they said that the Transportation Dept. is already planning to put up new signs, likely bigger versions of the originals and verbal “No Through Traffic” signs.

I don’t think they get it. It’s not the size of the signs that matter, it’s that drivers place their convenience over the rules, specially in a city where they routinely get away with it.

Physical changes that make it difficult to circumvent the rules are needed.

The single biggest change other than getting rid of the green light, is preventing cars from driving on to the streetcar zone at the end of each block and forcing them into the right turn lane.

This can be done by installing plastic bollards, narrowing the roadway to streetcar width. It would also help to texture the road in these zones with bumps. Paint alone doesn’t work.

Once in the turn lane, we have to keep them there and force them right. Some cars go into the right turn lane but then cut into the centre lane to go forward. Extending the N-S median would accomplish this. A car in the turn lane would be met with a wall. They’d have to turn.

If they cant force drivers from not going down to the Queens Quay station, how do you expect them not to go straight through?

 

[MetroMan]

If they cant force drivers from not going down to the Queens Quay station, how do you expect them not to go straight through?

That’s like 1 or 2 drivers a year. Yesterday I counted 46 drivers going through University in just under 10 minutes.

 

[micheal_can]

That’s like 1 or 2 drivers a year. Yesterday I counted 46 drivers going through University in just under 10 minutes.

... and how long has that ramp been there?

With better signage, better signalling, and more enforcement, this too will pass.

 

[nfitz]

This can be done by installing plastic bollards, narrowing the roadway to streetcar width. It would also help to texture the road in these zones with bumps. Paint alone doesn’t work.

What do 503 and 504 buses do?

 

[Admiral Beez]

If they cant force drivers from not going down to the Queens Quay station, how do you expect them not to go straight through?

But they do stop them. So far no one has gotten to the station because the surface stops them, in their tracks so to speak.

The trick is have the surface stop drivers before they disrupt the streetcars.

EDIT: Dammit, I was wrong. These two made it all the way to Queen Quay Station.

 

[MetroMan]

The KingStreetPilot needs to expedite pedestrian improvements or it’s going to lose the PR battle with businesses complaining about the empty streets.

While it’s true that people go into businesses, not cars, traffic on King created the appaearance of it being busy. The empty streets with the occasional streetcar zooming by is not going to help the cause. The empty curb lanes need to be filled very soon before opposition to the pilot calcifies.