King Street Immediate Safety Enhancements Update: bus-only lane installation beginning this week

HAMILTON, ON – As part of the Council approved motion to develop safety enhancements along Main Street and King Street, beginning on Friday, October 21, crews will start painting the new bus-only section along the north side of King Street between Queen Street and Dundurn Street. Work is expected to take three days to complete and will wrap up by October 25, weather permitting. Lane restrictions will be in place along this stretch of roadway during this time.

The new 800-metre-long bus-only lane will be marked with red paint, signage and pavement markings at intersections and transit stops. The bus-only lane allows transit buses to safely pull over to pick up passengers efficiently and will serve as a protecting buffer between pedestrians using the sidewalk and live vehicle traffic. Vehicles are permitted to enter the bus-only lane when making a right-hand turn onto Strathcona Avenue N, Locke Street N, Pearl Street N and Ray Street N, however, vehicles must not use the bus only lane for general travel, stopping or parking.

Following the completion of the bus-only lane, during the overnight hours on Thursday, October 27, weather permitting, crews will complete line painting to reduce the number of travel lanes on King Street from five to four between Locke Street and Dundurn Street. This measure will help reduce the number of side swipe collisions throughout the corridor due to narrow lane widths.

Between the lane reconfiguration work and newly designated bus-only lane, the effective number of lanes for regular vehicles will be three with a fourth lane for buses only.

Motorists are reminded to pay close attention to the updated pavement markings, be aware of traffic conditions and anticipate minor, intermittent delays between Friday, October 21 and Tuesday, October 25, weather permitting.

Some of the additional key enhancements being implemented on King Street in the include:

• Two new Automated Speed Enforcement locations are scheduled for implementation between January and June 2023, including King Street W between Locke Street S and Dundurn Street S and King Street E between Gage Avenue S and Lottridge Street.
• Traffic signal timings are currently being modified through the month of November to incorporate Leading Pedestrian Intervals at all the signalized intersections along King Street.
• Three new sections of King Street will be designated as Community Safety Zones in November.
• Parking modifications will be added along King Street to encourage parking.

The City has adopted a Vision Zero safe systems approach to roadway safety, recognizing that the transportation system must be designed in a way that prevents collisions as much as possible and lessens the impacts of collisions when they do happen. Vision Zero focuses on the design of our communities and roads, how speeds are set and managed, how vehicles are permitted to operate and what transportation mobility options exist where and for whom.