SIDEWALKS & STREETS

LPRO is committed to a better community for all of us to enjoy and as such we are a strong supporter of active transportation, whether you walk, cycle or roll. We believe in sustainable, affordable, healthy and enjoyable ways for us to get around our neighbourhood and city. We demonstrate this commitment through a close relationship with several advocacy organizations, including Cycle Toronto, the City’s leading cycling advocacy group, elected officials from all three levels of government, neighbouring residents' associations, and the local Business Improvement Areas (BIA’s).
Our Advocacy has had a favourable impact on the community with several safety enhancements over the past several years. We were instrumental in having the city install a refuge island on Bathurst Street to connect the Belt-Line Trail for the benefit of walkers, joggers and cyclists. We also consulted on the establishment of the Avenue Road Pedestrian Safety Zone that resulted in a speed limit reduction to 40km/h, added a curb-side buffer-zones to protect pedestrians and eliminated parking. This has resulted in a calmer and safer experience. More work still needs to be done on Avenue Road and all major arterial streets with a view to improving safety for all users.

eglintonTOday Complete Street

The eglintonTOday project team has been working closely with the local Councillors, Business Improvement Associations (BIAs) and community groups in refining Phase 1 of the eglintonTOday Complete Street plan from Bicknell Avenue (west of Keele Street) to Mount Pleasant Road.

Project installation between Chaplin and Avenue will begin this summer with the rest of Phase One scheduled for 2025. This includes:

  • Resurfacing of the sections of roadway that have not been recently resurfaced by Metrolinx
  • Ongoing sidewalk repairs
  • Connecting the existing Metrolinx-built Complete Street segment with elements including protected bikeways
  • Development of public realm improvement projects in collaboration with the five BIAs along the corridor, such as added seating and artistic curb extensions

Stakeholder Advisory Group

Staff continue to actively engage local business, community and resident groups through the eglintonToday Stakeholder Advisory Group. Transportation Services has received key feedback on congestion at Eglinton Avenue and Allen Road since the new signal and road configuration was activated by Metrolinx as part of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT delivery. While not initially within the scope of the City’s eglintonTOday project, Transportation Services accelerated the handover of the intersection to the City in order to implement operational improvements at these signals. This has helped to address congestion at the Eglinton Avenue and Allen Road intersection while coordinating implementation dates with Metrolinx and Crosslinx.

Automated Speed Enforcement

Enforcement is a key driver of street safety

In fall of 2022 the City announced that they would be installing 25 new Automated Speed Enforcement devices across Toronto. These devices were launched in 2020 as part of the Vision Zero program, and have since issued more than 560,000 tickets. City staff recently made public that the fines accumulated through these tickets over the past two years have totaled 34 million dollars.

Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) is an automated system that uses a camera and a speed measurement device to detect and capture images of vehicles travelling in excess of the posted speed limit. It is designed to work in tandem with other methods and strategies, including engineering measures, education initiatives and traditional police enforcement. ASE is focused on altering driver behaviour to decrease speeding and increase safety. The images are reviewed by Provincial Offence Officers and then tickets are issued to the owner of the vehicle regardless of who was driving. Upon conviction, the only penalty is a fine – no demerit points will be issued nor will the registered owners driving record be impacted.

See the current locations of speed cameras in the City of Toronto: Camera Locations.

Our goal at LPRO is to make North Toronto’s sidewalks and streets safe for its residents of all ages. You can help us by identifying high risk areas to pedestrians and cyclists and making suggestions on how to improve them.

Further references

The City of Toronto is a great resource for all aspects of cycling from the novice to the veteran: City of Toronto - Cycling in Toronto CycleTO is a non-profit advocacy and the most effective voice for cycling in Toronto: www.cycleto.ca