Not everyone is a fan of almost car-free King St.
The grace period is officially over for drivers who "misunderstand" King Street's new traffic signs – and Toronto Police aren't shy about letting them know it.
As of today, anyone caught blasting through intersections (or violating any other rule under the King Street Pilot Project) will face fines starting at $110 with the possibility of two demerit points.
That was a quick $220 dollars. The only way this pilot will work is if there is accountability. #KingStreetPilot pic.twitter.com/J7mzfELMGp
— Justin (@producerjustin) November 20, 2017
Police say they've issued thousands of warnings since the changes came into effect last Monday but, for the most part, downtown Toronto appears to be running a lot more smoothly – at least for the estimated 65,000 people who commute by streetcar every day.
Former city councillor and current mayoral candidate Doug Ford is not one of said commuters.
Heading downtown to King & Church to talk about the King street car ban disaster. Have a look at this mess! #KingStreetPilot #Toronto pic.twitter.com/3MnstQliXt
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) November 20, 2017
Ford, the brother of late, former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, has launched a petition in which he calls the King Street Pilot project a "reckless plan."
"While some claim this will make King Street a transit priority zone, what it’s really about is making it a car exclusion zone," the petition reads.
Doug Ford is now calling tickets that are issued on King Street as “Tory Tickets”. @fordnation
— Kris Pangilinan (@KrisReports) November 20, 2017
In a vlog-style video posted to Twitter on Monday, Ford laments that he's in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Richmond Street due to King's new rules.
Streets running parallel to King, namely Adelaide, Queen, Wellington and Front were similarly jammed at the time (10:31 a.m.), according to Ford.
"This is a disaster, this is a war on the car," he says to the camera as he films himself driving forward. "Folks this has to come to an end."
@johnhowe123 #KingStreetPilot Do you think having King St empty 50% of the time is good transportation planning when other nearby streets remain clogged? What do you think of this alternative plan, one dedicated streetcar lane in loop, etc. See pic pic.twitter.com/NUtvAQToUj
— Peggy Moulder (@PeggyMoulder) November 20, 2017
Ford isn't alone in his criticism of the pilot project, especially now that tickets are being issued.
What was being hailed last week as a success story by commuters is now being panned as a disaster (er... even more so) by motorists.
#KingStreetPilot is a waste of @TPSOperations & @cityoftoronto resources. Police officers driving up and down king is tax payer $ not well spent. #ridiculous #TaxScam
— Meredith M (@mrsmeredithm) November 20, 2017
Still, many others are defending the pilot project using facts, history and logic.
"Richmond/Adelaide has always been like this. King and Queen, even worse," wrote House of Commons staffer Dominic Stewart in response to Ford's video.
"Bottom line - trying to accommodate vehicles in downtown Toronto is not sustainable. Making transit a priority, and increasing its effectiveness, is the solution."
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