Drivers not being ticketed for violating traffic rules on King Street transit corridor, study finds

More than 99.7 per cent of drivers who violate traffic rules on a stretch of King Street West downtown are not getting tickets from the Toronto police, a University of Toronto study has found.

In the study, released this week by the University of Toronto's School of Cities, researchers used city data on vehicle movements at intersections and police data on traffic tickets from 2016 to mid-2023 to analyze how often drivers make illegal movements and how often they were receiving traffic tickets.

The researchers, Jeff Allen and Qi-Sheng Chen, found that there are about 6,800 illegal turns and through movements at intersections daily on the King Street transit priority corridor, which runs from Bathurst to Jarvis streets.

However, less than 0.3 per cent of drivers on average are being ticketed by the police.

"Thus more than 99.7% of drivers are not being fined for breaking the law on the King Street Transit Priority Corridor," the researchers said in a new release.

Allen and Chen say in the study that automatic enforcement cameras could lead to revenue and the lack of enforcement is a "missed opportunity" for the cash-strapped city.

In statements on Wednesday, the City of Toronto says it remains committed to the project designed to give TTC streetcars the right of way, while the Toronto Police Service says there are many competing demands for its resources.

In November 2017, the city launched a pilot project that prioritized streetcar traffic on a 2.6 kilometre stretch of King Street West to improve transit. In April 2019, city council voted to make the King Street transit pilot permanent. Private vehicles, while not banned, were supposed to be restricted at a majority of intersections. 

"The King Street Transit Priority Corridor, launched in 2017, has demonstrated its effectiveness in improving transit reliability, speed and capacity. The City remains committed to this project because of its pivotal role in enhancing transportation efficiency and because it aligns with the City's goal of prioritizing people and transit," the city said in the statement on Wednesday.

The city said its transportation services staff are reviewing the study, and at its Nov. 8 meeting, city council directed the general manager of transportation services, with the help of the TTC, police and city solicitor, to review and report back to the executive committee in the second quarter of next year.

The general manager is expected to report on streetcar performance in the last five years, to provide suggestions on how to improve the streetscape along the route, and to outline the feasibility of automatic traffic enforcement in the transit priority corridor.

"The City recognizes the importance of enforcing traffic rules to ensure the corridor operates as intended," the city said in the statement.

Toronto police, meanwhile, said public safety tops the list of where it puts its resources.

"The movement of streetcars on King Street is important, but when the Service is determining where to direct our resources, we prioritize public safety," police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said in the statement.