Bus lane begins downtown

After rain delayed it’s launch by one day, Hamilton’s first transit-only lane was up and running on a stretch of King Street Wednesday morning.

Kate Carnegie has reaction from drivers, business owners and transit riders.

We drove down King Street through the downtown core a number of times covering this story and traffic was noticeably slower. That’s because the new transit only lane runs on the north side of King Street from the downtown at Mary Street all the way to New Street, just past Dundurn. So that stretch of road that used to be four lanes is now down to three lanes. But then you add the cars parked on the south side and that cuts one of Hamilton’s main north/south thoroughfares down to two lanes.

This is now the new norm for King Street. Expect traffic delays all day long now that a “transit lane only” is in effect.

Starting Wednesday, it’s now illegal for other vehicles to use the lane except to turn into a driveway, side street or at an intersection.

But not everyone is following the rules.