Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is scheduled to hold a press conference later today, Friday, regarding traffic enforcement on King Street as the city looks to accelerate streetcar service along the King Street Transit Priority Corridor.

The TTC said in November that streetcar trips along the busy route became slower over the past year than before the project was implemented in 2017.

While the streetcar trip between Bathurst and Jarvis streets took just 16 minutes annually after the King Street pilot project began, the same trip averaged 26 minutes last year — three minutes longer than it did before the pilot started.

The slowdown was blamed on an increase in regular vehicles violating rules by driving through intersections along the corridor.

Enforcement also dropped sharply. An analysis released by the University of Toronto’s School of Cities in November found that less than half a percent of daily violations along the priority corridor are ticketed by police. The study suggested that automated enforcement cameras would be useful to deter drivers from breaking the rules.

Chris Moise proposed a motion approved by city council on November 8 requiring staff to study the feasibility of automated traffic enforcement along the King Street Transit Priority Corridor. At the time, he said the priority streetcar corridor "wasn’t working."

Staff were asked to provide a report in the second quarter of this year including an update on streetcar performance over the past five years and potential route improvements.

At its meeting this week, Toronto city council approved a new framework to deal with ticket disputes related to red light and speed camera tickets. City staff said speeding up the ticket resolution process would allow the city to expand its enforcement.

Chow is expected to hold a press conference at 12:45 p.m. to speak about enforcement along the route.