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Crunching the numbers: U of T leads multidisciplinary team studying King Street pilot project

Research team brings together experts in air and noise pollution, transportation and public health from U of T and Ryerson
King Street streetcar
A section of King Street has restricted car traffic as part of the pilot project, and U of T researchers are collaborating with the City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission to study the pilot project鈥檚 effects (photo by Billy Cabic via Flickr)

罢辞谤辞苍迟辞鈥檚  aims to improve transit reliability, speed and capacity, along with a number of other measures included in an evaluation and monitoring program.

For a team of U of T researchers, it also presents an ideal opportunity to study the effects 鈥 both direct and indirect 鈥 of traffic changes on air and noise pollution, public health and commuter decision-making. 

The pilot project, launched in November 2017 and running for one year, involves altering traffic patterns on the stretch of King Street, from Bathurst Street in the west to Jarvis Street in the east, to prioritize through-traffic from streetcars, cyclists and pedestrians. Cars must take their first available right turn off the street, with through movements prohibited at eight of the 12 intersections with traffic signals.

The 504 King streetcar route is the busiest surface transit route in the city.

鈥淭here isn鈥檛 another city that鈥檚 done exactly what we鈥檝e done, though other cities have taken measures to prioritize transit or restrict private vehicle traffic,鈥 says David Kuperman, manager of surface transit projects for the City of Toronto. 鈥淚t鈥檚 early days, but we are hearing some interest from other cities in what we鈥檙e doing because we have such a comprehensive data monitoring and evaluation program planned.鈥

The multidisciplinary team led by researchers in U of T's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering is collaborating with both the City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to gather data and share their findings and analysis. The team began taking measurements along King Street and surrounding area as early as summer 2017 to set a baseline before the launch of the pilot.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very interesting natural experiment,鈥 says Civil Engineering Professor Marianne Hatzopoulou. 鈥淭here are very few opportunities to conduct transportation and environmental research in a live natural laboratory like this.鈥

Hatzopoulou鈥檚 research investigates relationships between air quality and transportation patterns. For this project, she is using a technique called 鈥渟cripted exposure studies鈥 to measure and compare the air pollution exposure of people travelling along King Street and nearby areas, both before and after implementation of the pilot project.

鈥淭he idea is to replicate what an individual passing along or close to King Street would be exposed to, including all sorts of modes: cycling, walking, riding the streetcar, sitting in a coffee shop,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e designed four different routes involving both indoors and outdoors, along King and parallel streets, as well as cross streets.鈥

Her team will be carrying portable exposure monitors that measure traffic-related air pollution such as small inhalable particles and soot. They鈥檒l also be carrying GPS units and will merge location data with exposure measurements, resulting in a detailed pollution exposure map for King Street and surrounding areas.

Cheol-Heon Jeong and Peter Murphy of the at U of T Engineering have also installed several stationary 础颈谤厂贰狈颁贰鈩&苍产蝉辫;诲别惫颈肠别蝉 throughout the pilot project area, as well as air quality monitors on two TTC streetcars dedicated exclusively to King Street routes for the duration of the project. These devices measure ozone, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ultrafine particles, black carbon and PM 2.5, a standard for quantifying particulate matter.

The research team also includes Tor Oiamo, an assistant professor of geography & environmental studies at Ryerson University who is studying changes to noise levels, and Jeffrey Brook, an assistant professor in U of T鈥檚 Dalla Lana School of Public Health who is a senior research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

鈥淭his project is very exciting from a public health perspective because we have the opportunity to collect a wealth of data on how an alteration to urban design affects health and behaviour,鈥 says Brook. 鈥淭he knock-on effects due to changes in people鈥檚 behaviour could be significant, affecting not only transport and the physical environment, but people鈥檚 levels of exercise, stress, wellness and happiness, all of which have potential health benefits.鈥

In December, the researchers met with representatives from the City of 罢辞谤辞苍迟辞鈥檚 Transportation Services and Public Health teams to discuss coordinated data collection, information sharing, survey design and next steps.

鈥淲hen a city makes a change like this, the primary goal is to improve travel times,鈥 says Hatzopoulou. 鈥淏ut there are so many co-benefits that can come with that, and if we鈥檙e able to highlight those improvements to air quality and noise reduction, we鈥檙e telling decision-makers that there鈥檚 more value to unlock with these projects beyond just traffic circulation, and that鈥檚 very important.鈥

Read about other U of T research on the pilot project

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