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Four years later, at the corner of King and John streets, restaurateur Robert Garabedian threw the sponge.
Like Pearl, Subway and Le Saint Tropez restaurants before him, Garabedian closed the doors of his restaurant Maki My Way last week – victim, he said, of the King St. pilot and the government's Kathleen Wynne minimum wage decision .
He stated that he made his decision two months ago when their lease was renewed and that he had to decide to sign for another five years, without knowing whether the King St. pilot project would become permanent (at the end of the year). expiration of one year). months) and before Premier Doug Ford cancels a further raise in the minimum wage from $ 14 to $ 15 an hour.
He found himself working 80 hours a week for minimal performance while he was never at home for his two daughters 3 and 8 years old.
"The street itself is losing its charm … The restaurants are closing, the traffic is no longer as long as it used to be," he said at the time. 39, a recent visit to his restaurant before closing his doors.
"It's an emotional moment … I wanted to build something for my daughters," he said, pointing out that he was living his dream of opening a sushi shop and was looking for another job in sales like the one he had been at Bell for 20 years.
The King Street pilot – launched in November 2017 – has removed all parking in the Bathurst Study Area at Jarvis Sts. and allow cars only in one block before being forced to turn right or face a $ 145 fine.
The latest July and August results – published as if by chance on the Friday after the municipal elections last month – were presented in the same way as the results obtained since the beginning, their appearance is better than they are.
As in previous months, in August, eastbound trams only decreased by 1.2 minutes during the morning rush hour. Those heading west were 0.7 minute faster.
In August, during the peak of the afternoon, trams heading east were 2.7 minutes faster. 3.2 minutes faster westbound.
If the social sciences engineers in the city wanted to do something, they would make sure the traffic was virtually dead along King Street.
For example, the number of cars on Bathurst Street during the morning rush increased from 1,450 last November to 120 in August heading east. In the afternoon, the number of westbound cars in Bathurst went from 1,690 in November to 460 in August.
Garabedian said that although business was down 10% last summer, it was not as bad as last winter and probably this winter because people want to park near where they eat – something is no longer available on King Street since the beginning of the pilot project.
The promised bravo smugglers, street art and Muskoka chairs "did not help at all," he said.
The only thing that worked was the two-week "Food is King" promotion last February, which attracted a lot of people for city-sponsored food. But they did not come back once the promotion was over, he said.
Robert Garabedian, owner of Maki My Way, outside his restaurant located on King Street during the King Street pilot project, including commercial activities in Toronto. (Dave Abel / Toronto Sun)
Instead of social engineering from the entire pilot area – from Jarvis to Bathurst – as did City Hall, he explained that there was a solution much simpler to make trams faster. Forbid King's left turns "would have solved all the problems," he says.
"I asked politicians … nobody ever explained to me why that would not have solved the problem," he said. "Instead, they went overboard … and (they put the pilot in place) 24 hours a day."
He said that all the restorers' street is in favor of public transit – no one says you have to get rid of streetcars – but that "reasonable solutions" should be used, like opening the whole street after 7pm. and on the weekends, when the trams are "half empty".
The extension of the pilot project will be one of the first decisions of the new council. Garabedian suggests that the new councilors come down to King Street and see for themselves what happened.
"Be flexible and try to find a workable solution for everyone," he says.
"I do not see anyone who wants this after 19 hours. or the weekend.
"Local government takes small businesses for granted," Garabedian adds with a sigh.
"They do not understand the impact of their decisions to make things good for bikes and trams."
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