Beginning Monday Toronto police will be handing out fines to those not obeying the new rules on King St
Last week the King Street transit pilot project launched, putting many changes in place for drivers. The biggest change facing motorists is the fact that you can no longer drive straight through any intersection on King Street between Bathurst and Jarvis.
While rolling out the pilot last week, the police monitoring King Street offered drivers a grace period while they got used to the new rules, Monday morning however is a different story. Police will begin handing out fines to those who disobey the new rules of the road, and drive straight through King Street intersections.
Only cab drivers are exempt from the new rules. Between the hours of 10pm and 5am cab drivers may drive straight though intersections.
According to Constable Clint Stibbe, Toronto police gave out warnings to about 2,000 motorists since the pilot began last Sunday.
"If you are charged with an offence, it will be a $110 fine and two demerit points. If you are convicted, it could affect your insurance rates," Stibbe said about what faces drivers who continue to disregard the new rules.
The changes were put in place to help relieve some of the congestion and move streetcar traffic along. More than 65,000 people use the King Street streetcar every workday, making it the busiest in the city.
As to whether or not the pilot has made a difference, TTC CEO Andy Byford says it's too early to tell. There is not enough empirical data yet on the project but Byford said he is pleased by its progress so far and understand drivers' confusion and frustrations over the past week.
"This is the biggest change to downtown traffic and transit routes in the city for decades, perhaps for ever. It's quite radical," Byford said.