Warm weather not thawing tensions between city, King Street restaurants over pilot project

Here comes the sun, and the customers or so restaurateurs hoped this week alonga few touristy blocks of King Street West.

But they say they're still losingmoney almost seven months after the city launched the King Street Pilot Project.

"We've only got six tables for lunch today," saidMichael Orr, a server at KitKatItalian Bar & Grillduring a quiet lunch service.

Orr spoke to CBCToronto on a sunny Tuesday from the 65-seat restaurant near the busy intersection of King Street West and John Street. "Last summer we'd get a full seating for every lunch."

He says he regrets seeing his customers get ticketed for choosing to drive to have a meal.

I'm hearing from people that business is back.- Mayor John Tory

The city launched the King Street Pilot Project in Novemberin a bid to speed upstreetcar service on the TTC's busiest surface routeby limiting car and truck traffic between JarvisStreet and BathurstStreet.

The pilot project is scheduled to last until the end of this year.Until then, motoristsin the pilot zone have to turn right on most major intersections or risk a hefty fine.

CBCToronto spoke withemployees and managers from several other restaurantswho have spoken out against the projectbefore and most maintain their stance thatbusinesshas not improved since it plateaued in the winter.

'The places I walked by were full,' Mayor Tory says

On Tuesday however, Mayor John Tory said hesaw a much different picture thanthe restaurantsare painting during a stroll through the neighbourhood.

"I went to have dinner, I went to see how things were and the streets were teeming with people and the places I walked by were full," he said about his visit the previous Friday.

• King Street pilot under attack, but arguments don't all line up

"I'm hearing from people that business is back in a very significant way," he continued.

Mayor Tory attributes that to the warm weather, and the recently installed patios and art installationsalong the corridor designed to attract more people to the area.

There wasalso a recent collaboration between take-out app Ritual and the City of Toronto offeringusers$15 toward a meal from any one of these King Street restaurants.

• City spending $80K on promotion helping restaurants affected by King Street pilot

On Wednesday, the city issued a news release touting the success of the "Food is King" promotion.

It saysin totalthe program helped gain 19,863 new customers to King Street restaurants, and that those participating merchants saw a sustained sales increase in April.

"[The pilot project] seems to be travelling in the right direction," said Mayor Tory, "But, we'll judge it when it's over," referring to the Dec. 31end date of the project when the city can evaluate the impact.

What do the numbers show?

Orr saysthe nice weather has brought some more walk-in trafficbut not enough to compensate for the losses.

"Just from my tips alone I can tell [business] is down about 25 per cent," he told CBCToronto.

Kit Kat's owner Al Carbone has been one of the loudestvoices againstthe King Street Pilot Project.

Carbonepointed the fingerat Mayor John Tory and city planners for its design. In fact, he evenerected amiddle-finger sculpted inice in front of his restaurant to punctuate his disdain for the pilot project, which he blamed for his empty tables.

• Why this Toronto restaurateur is giving city hall a big, icy middle finger

• Big box names join fight against King St. pilot project, but city not backing down

Most of the restaurants CBCToronto spoke with on Tuesdaydeclined to comment on record and nonehave opened their books to show how much money they've actually lost.

The city'slatestdata report, or "dashboard," as it's called on the city's website, was published in March.

But their numbers going back to January suggestthe total value of customer spending on King Streetis in line with what people spent at those businesses over the last three years.

The dashboards include information on pedestrian volumes and economic point-of-sale information, which the citysays has not changed.

Askedwhen more up-to-date statistics would become available,Bruce Hawkins, a spokesperson for the city's planning department, wouldn't give CBCToronto an exact date.

"Further data on the economic impact of the King Street Transit Pilot is still forthcoming, and will be included in a future dashboard," he said.