Image of McCowan Road. Photo credit: Anna Kim
In consultation with the local community, the City is developing a Neighbourhood Streets Plan (NSP) for the Eglinton-Bendale South area that will address four main areas of concern:
The Eglinton-Bendale South Streets Plan focuses on the neighbourhood between Lawrence Avenue East and West Highland Creek to the north, Eglinton Avenue East to the south, Bellamy Road North to the east, and Danforth Road to the west.
The study area covers segments of two City neighbourhoods: Eglinton East and Bendale South.
The Eglinton-Bendale South area was nominated for a Neighbourhood Streets Plan (NSP) by members of the local community. Each year, the City receives a far greater number of requests for neighbourhood scale traffic management, road safety, and active transportation plans than can be fulfilled. The NSP program has established an annual selection process to allocate the available resources for this service in a fair and transparent manner that considers equity, impact, alignment with planned roadwork, and community support. More information on the nomination and selection process can be found on the NSP webpage at toronto.ca/nsp.
Issues identified in the area include excessive speeding, aggressive driving, the need for improvements of walking and cycling routes, and school areas with traffic volume and road safety issues.
Neighbourhood Streets Plans (NSPs) are a new service for neighbourhoods where traffic and travel patterns challenge the safety and mobility of people using the streets. Through the NSP process, a team of City staff will work with communities to identify local issues and opportunities, prioritize the greatest needs, and recommend changes to traffic operations and street designs.
NSPs consider the needs of all road users and emphasize the safety of vulnerable road users such as seniors, school children, and people walking and cycling.
NSPs follow several steps outlined below, and public consultation takes place in two stages.
NSPs will result in a range of proposals, from quick wins to long-term changes:
The outcomes of each NSP will be different based on local conditions and the needs of each neighbourhood. Generally, NSPs will recommend actions related to motor vehicle speed, motor vehicle volume, and traffic safety conflicts on local streets. NSP recommendations are informed by the City’s Traffic Calming Guide, Vision Zero Action Plan, Complete Streets Guidelines, TransformTO Climate Change Action Plan and Toronto Seniors Strategy.
The City of Toronto is inviting local residents, businesses and organizations to learn more and provide feedback on the Eglinton-Bendale South Streets Plan. Public and community interest groups’ opinions, along with technical and policy considerations will be used to inform City staff recommendations and decisions to be made by City Council.
Consultation will take place over two phases between Winter 2025 and Fall 2025.
Information, reference materials, and reports on public consultation activities will be posted here.
Date: February 10, 2026
Time: 1 to 3 p.m.
Location: Bendale Library, 1515 Danforth Road, Scarborough
Date: February 18, 2026
Time: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location: Bendale Library, 1515 Danforth Road, Scarborough
Date: February 18, 2026
Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
Location: John McCrae Public School, 431 McCowan Rd, Scarborough
View the public event materials below:
Access to the event location is wheelchair/mobility aid accessible. If you require other disability-related accommodation to participate in the meeting, please contact us one week before the event.
Complete the survey to provide feedback on proposed transportation and road safety actions and changes.
Contact us to request a print copy of the survey. You can also submit comments by email, phone, or mail.
Feedback deadline: March 4, 2026
The comment period for this consultation has closed. The Public Consultation Report for Phase One summarizes feedback received.
A second phase of consultation is planned for Fall 2025 to receive feedback on proposed changes for the neighbourhood.
Public feedback, along with technical and policy considerations will be used to inform City staff recommendations and decisions to be made by City Council.
Residents have raised concerns about pedestrian and cycling safety, turning movements at intersections, and non-compliance with traffic rules that increase the risk of conflicts between different road users.
To address these issues, the Streets Plan proposes a series of changes designed to reduce conflicts and create a safer, more comfortable environment for all users. The proposed changes include:
See map on page 19 of the information panels.
Residents have raised concerns about speeding throughout the neighbourhood on local and collector roads. In response, the City has already implemented several measures, including lowering speed limits to 30 km/h on local roads and 40 km/h on collector roads, updating gateway signage to reflect these changes and installing driver feedback signs.
Building on these efforts, the Streets Plan proposes additional improvements aimed at reducing vehicle speeds, calming traffic, and creating safer, more comfortable streets for all users. The proposed changes include:
(primarily addressed through the safety improvements proposed under Conflict Management)
See map on page 22 of the information panels.
Residents have raised concerns about traffic volumes within the neighbourhood. The study identified two main sources of these concerns: school-related congestion during drop-off and pick-up times, and non-local drivers using neighbourhood streets to bypass busier corridors such as Danforth Road and Eglinton Avenue East.
Based on site visits and recent traffic data, the study found that traffic volumes on all neighbourhood streets, including those near schools, are at or below the applicable volume thresholds for motor vehicle traffic. Local roads typically carry up to 2,500 vehicles per day, and collector roads typically carry between 2,500 and 8,000 vehicles per day. Overall traffic volumes on neighbourhood streets are within these ranges and no additional traffic volume management measures are proposed at this time.
Instead, the focus is on neighbourhood-wide measures, including new parking restrictions in school zones, speed humps, and other speed management treatments, which can help discourage shortcutting by non-local traffic.
In addition, a green advisory sign stating “No Exit to Lawrence” is proposed at Eglinton Avenue East and along McCowan Road to inform drivers that McCowan Road does not provide a through connection.
See map on page 23 of the information panels.
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