Buses will travel in both directions on King Street starting today

Driving along King Street could come with some surprises on Monday as city buses will begin operating in both directions.

As part of London's rapid transit expansion, London Transit Commission (LTC) buses will be running on a new westbound bus-only lane between Wellington Street and Ontario Street, complementing the existing eastbound lane.

That means buses will now travel both east and west on the bold red lanes with diamond symbols, while general traffic on King Street will remain eastbound only.

While lanes designed for buses heading west have been on King Street for some time now, they'll finally be operational, starting today, according to Jennie Dann, London's construction and infrastructure director.

"What people will see on the street is that contraflow lane separated by a double wide yellow line, as well as red paint. In that lane there's white diamonds, directional arrows and bus only text, along with lots of signage to help indicate to Londoners that is not for vehicles, it's for buses, and that those buses will be traveling westbound," said Dann.

The new lanes are part of the East London Link project, designed to enhance transit reliability and frequency. Separating buses from mixed traffic aims to reduce congestion and improve mobility for transit users, according Dann.

LTC Route 94, which runs from Argyle Mall to Western University, will operate in both directions along King Street between Wellington Street and Ontario Street.

While cycling is typically allowed in curbside bus lanes (although the city encourages cyclists to use Dundas Street, which has dedicated bike lanes), Dann said the rule does not apply to the westbound lane on King.

"That's because ... if a bus were to overtake a cyclist, they're not able to go around them because they'd be entering into oncoming traffic," Dann said.

In the lead-up to the King Street contraflow bus lane opening, the city has been hard at work trying to inform Londoners. Those efforts includes an information website, radio ads, ads on streaming services, outreach to local businesses and plenty of signs.

"We recognize that the contraflow lane and just navigating rapid transit corridors is a big change for Londoners," said Dann. 

And while Londoners have generally adapted well, there are still some behaviours on the road that hurt the efficiency of the bus lanes, and also contribute to danger on the roads, Dann noted.

"One of the things that we really try to emphasize the most is no stopping or parking in those red lanes," she said.

Also, it's worth noting the areas drivers are allowed to make right turns have changed as well.

"If [the red bus lane] is not hatched and you see a no right turn sign, then you need to continue on to the next available spot where you can make that right turn," Dann said.

For more on the rules of the new traffic system can be found on city's website.