The King Street Pilot Project will remain in place-- at least through tothe end of July.
Toronto City Council voted 19-3 Thursday to extend the pilot project so that council can study whether or not to make it permanent.
The project gives streetcars priority use of King Street between Bathurst and Jarvis streets in order to improve transit for thousands of people who use the line to get through the heart of the city.
The King streetcar line is the busiest surface route in the city. The TTC has said that the route now sees more than 80,000 riders per day, up from 65,000 before the pilot project started.
The TTC also says travel times are approximately five to six minutes faster both ways during the afternoon rush hour (4 p.m. and 7 p.m. ). Travel times have improved between 1.5 and three minutes during other periods.
While the pilot project has received good reviews from transit users, some stores and shops along King Street have said that the removal of parking and the added restrictions for motorists have led to a drop in business.
The pilot launched in November 2017 and was slated to run to the end of this year.
Thursday’s vote means that the pilot project will continue at least through July 31, 2019. However council is set to hold another debate early next year on where they could make the project permanent.
