City Councillors have voted in favour of a pilot project that will give streetcars priority on King Street downtown.
The vote was 35-4.
Cars will be forced to turn right at every intersection between Bathurst and Jarvis.
Mayor John Tory supports the project, as does TTC Chair Josh Colle.
"It is dysfunctional so to me the notion of doing nothing is not a viable option," Tory said of King Street.
He believes the pilot project is a sensible approach. Tory also vowed to ensure that there will not be major construction on parallel routes during the pilot. "I can assure you, there will be no one watching this more diligently and faithfully and with a keener eye than I will be," Tory told council.
Colle says the King streetcar is the busiest surface route in Canada with 65,000 riders each day.
"Right now, in rush hour, streetcars go about 13 kilometres an hour," Colle said. "For us to sell that as 'rapid transit,' is pretty disingenuous to our riders."
Council also approved an exemption to the rule for taxis between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The one-year pilot project will be launched this fall at an estimated cost of $1.5-million.
WATCH: TTC chair Josh Colle says the King St pilot project prioritizing streetcars is a "no brainer" to get the street moving pic.twitter.com/eUALcWV0kB
— NEWSTALK1010 (@NEWSTALK1010) July 6, 2017
With files from Justine Lewkowicz