Raise the Hammer

This is rediculous! Anyone who drives on King St. on a regular basis knows that its a waste of time speeding as the lights are perfectly timed, so that if you drive the speed limit or less you will carry on smoothly to the highway or Westdale.

First off I would like to know who even identified this as a problem. I have ridden the buses around this city to work and school for more years than I have driven them. So I see both sides as a commuter. How are the buses even making any better time when 1) they have always stopped often due to the many riders on this stretch of road on King. 2)everyone yields to the buses. Does the express bus now have a right to pass another bus that makes all stops on King?

MORE TRAFFIC: You have now made a street designed to accomodate 4 lanes of traffic (years ago might I add) down to a 2 lane street with even greater numbers of commuters.

On top of that, the traffic is worse now because no one considered the main businesses on that stretch of King going towards Dundurn. Many people still have to go into the bus lane to turn right due to the Tim Hortons, gas stations and also the popular right turn at Dundurn. These turns and also the daily stopping of trucks to load/unload and Darts vehicles meant the right turn lane was often congested. Nothing has changed the need for people to enter the bus lane at this point. Hence it is still an impedement to the buses at that stretch of road. Instead whay you have done is slowed traffic across all of the lanes due to increased volume in the remaining lanes.

SAFETY: It is even now more unsafe to bicyle as cyclists are now sandwiched between a bus lane and drivers needing to cut across their path to enter the bus lane to make right turns. And drivers are not allowed to enter the lanes much earlier than their turn off.

You would think with the sheer increase of the width of the bus lanes someone would have had the foresight to make a separate bike closer to the curb with cyclists yielding to any stopped buses, as you would with street cars in Toronto.

A SLIGHT TO BUSINESSES: This is a real slight to businesses who have weathered many years in the downtown area on King St. You have now taken away their parking. How can we talk about putting in two way streets to help businesses, and then take away store front parking spots for businesses on a busy one way street. Seriously!?


**************

ONE POSSIBLE SENSIBLE SOLUTION: Since I doubt the lanes will be removed, let us have the common sense to make the Bus lanes "Buses Only" at rush hour times only. Then open to all traffic at posted non-rush hour times. This is a already common practice in the GTA and a more sensible use of the road.