king street pilot toronto

Toronto restaurants face backlash over King Street Pilot complaints

It's been just over two months since the King Street Pilot project began and, holy macaroni, the drama just keeps on coming, this time in the form of complaints about complaining.

Several King Street restaurants like Porchetta & Co.Kit Kat, and the Office Pub, have been especially vocal about the effect they say the pilot has had on business.

Recently ice sculptures were erected outside of both Kit Kat and the Office Pub that served as a powerful signal of frustration toward the project, while Porchetta's social media account got into a heated argument with Twitter users in several now-deleted tweets.

As a result, many people spoke out against the restaurants' venting, and, in no uncertain terms, shot back at the establishments for complaining.

Sentiments surrounding the pilot have been divided between commuters and business owners, with the former loving the reduced travel time, while the latter say that the decrease in vehicle traffic is having a detrimental effect.

In response, the city has attempted to lure more pedestrians to the area with cute activities and free parking during off-peak times, but that clearly hasn't done much to soften the disdain felt by local merchants. 

To be fair, operation and property costs for a downtown Toronto restaurant are astronomical, and any loss is a big loss. As the pilot continues, data is being collected to determine whether or not it will be made permanent.

Stay tuned for the next episode of King Street Pilot.

Lead photo by

@dean_to


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