They added a subway style textured yellow strip along stops. That should help protect waiting transit riders from cars pulling into the stop and from people overstepping too far into the street.
It's a start. They have to do a lot more than that to match what was shown in renderings for the pilot. Yet again, just like painted bike lanes, I sense people being falsely assured of a sense of security that's unjustified. There is no legal basis to enforce vehicular traffic from straying over that strip to protect waiting and departing passengers. If anything, it puts them in jeopardy. A raised platform needs to be provided, even if it's concrete slabs (to allow snow removal). As some other posters have suggested 'like the Roncesvalles raised sections'...albeit the integration with through cycling traffic is going to clash, big time, unless there's constant enforcement.
Other cities have banned *all cars and bicycles* from their central sections of transit malls for good reason. There are two imperatives to aim for here:
Streetcar clearway, and pedestrian safety and usage of space. Even as an avid cyclist, I see the dangers of mixing bikes and pedestrians in a mall of such limited width that renders dedicated cycleways impractical. Other than vehicles granted a permit, ban all vehicles, and stop trying to please everyone. Every compromise to please others beside the two core constituents (streetcars-buses and pedestrians) puts the prime goal in jeopardy.
Cyclists can cycle by intersecting streets to close to their destination on King, and walk their bike as a pedestrian the final short distance.
Does the following sound familiar? It will, as drivers will continue to be a problem on King Street:
Motorists in pedestrian areas – is there something about No Entry they don’t understand?
Posted on
Mon 17 June 2013Author
Daniel9 Comments
Some of those of us who hang around the city are truly amazed at the number of motorists who ignore the “No Entry” and turn ban signs and drive along streets they’re not meant to.
So it’s nice to know that — just occasionally — they do get pulled over by the police.
Unfortunately others seem to get away with it
scot free — and it’s unclear to me why police seem to be less keen to catch people driving through pedestrianised areas than they are to book jaywalkers.
This bloke not only ignored the No Entry signs when turning into the street, he went past multiple signs telling him to do a U-turn before this intersection, then when rightly faced with more No Entry signs, initially looked confused, then took the
most-pedestrianised street (the one that even bans bicycles), the Bourke Street Mall.
https://www.danielbowen.com/2013/06/17/motorists-no-entry/
Be sure to read the comments to this story at the link above.
Other than the car illegally in the mall, and the cop ticketing him, note the built out sidewalk plinth to the tram for embarking/disembarking passengers...and *prevention* of motorized vehicles impinging on pedestrian space.
Is it foolproof? Hardly, some idiot will drive up over the curb at some point, but just as curbs offer reasonable protection on streets from cars, so do these, and concrete slabs need to be laid at streetcar stops on King to do this. They can be easily removed in a year's time, or made permanent at that time. They can be anchored to the asphalt with masonry bolts (Actually to the concrete substrate, but I digress). If removed, the bolt holes are very easily patched.
Note also the 'no pedestrian crossing' sign on the asphalt, something else that needs discussion for King Street.
