Eglinton Connects is a comprehensive plan for travelling, building and greening Eglinton Avenue and planning its streetscape. The plan leverages and supports investment in the Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT) and is being realized over multiple decades. The Eglinton Connects Streetscape is currently being implemented through the eglintonTOday project.
Eglinton Connects articulated the long term vision for Eglinton Avenue through three themes of travelling, greening, and building Eglinton. The Plan includes a vision for the corridor and 21 recommendations, as described in the Executive Summary. The Plan also included an Environmental Assessment Study regarding the redesign of the streetscape, input into the design of the Crosstown LRT, and allocation of public realm funding.
A number of staff reports were presented to Council, based on different aspects of the Study.
Staff reports related to the status and development of the Plan:
Staff report related to the Environmental Assessment (the streetscape redesign):
Staff report related to the public realm moneys allocated to the City by Metrolinx
Staff report related to Official Plan Amendments, including land use designation changes, and site and area specific (SASP) policies (note that some of the policies changed as a result of appeals)
Staff report related to zoning changes to implement the Plan, including as-of-right permissions for midrise buildings, and urban design guidelines
Note that there are a variety of other staff reports related to Eglinton Connects related to its implementation that are not included in this list.
Elements of Eglinton Connects were appealed to the Tribunal (the Ontario Municipal Board at the time). Appeals concluded by 2018. Decisions of the Tribunal are being implemented by the City (e.g. some of the Official Plan Amendments need to be consolidated into the Official Plan). The Tribunal case number for the Study is PL140905. Select Decisions are below:
Note that this is not an exhaustive list, and is provided for convenience. Please visit the OLT website for a more complete list of Decisions.
Eglinton Connects is being implemented through a variety of changes to planning policy, zoning, guidelines, and directions, as outlined below (not an exhaustive list):
Changes to the Official Plan (in force), through Official Plan Amendment 253, including:
See the “Decisions of the Tribunal” and “Staff Reports” accordions for more details.
Changes to Zoning along approximately 5 kilometres of the Eglinton Avenue corridor to permit midrise buildings as-of-right. These changes came into force as of the date of enactment in 2017. More information is on the City’s zoning site. Changes to zoning were also put in place across the corridor to permit the Crosstown LRT.
Guidelines and directions (Council adopted), including the 21 directions for Eglinton, and Eglinton Avenue urban design guidelines.
Eglinton Connects is being implemented through the construction of the Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT) line, streetscape changes, and public realm improvements, as outlined below (not an exhaustive list):
Through Eglinton Connects, City staff provided input into the location and design of Crosstown LRT stations. This input was considered by Metrolinx, who ultimately lead the Crosstown LRT project. The Crosstown LRT is under construction.
Where the street would be impacted by Crosstown LRT construction, the street would be rebuilt to the new Eglinton Connects design (see below). These improvements include cycle tracks, wider sidewalks, and street trees, and include the following, which are underway:
Metrolinx provided the City with funding for public realm improvement with the Crosstown LRT. The City made a decision on how to allocate this funding including for a planted green trackway where the Crosstown LRT runs on the surface, construction of a protective buffer between bicycle and traffic lanes, improved connections to green spaces and ravines, and improved street tree planting. See ‘Staff Report 5’ under the ‘Staff Reports’ accordion for more detail.
Streetscape design was completed through the Eglinton Connects Environmental Assessment Study (see ‘Staff Report 4’ in the ‘Staff Reports’ accordion). However, detailed design and implementation is currently in progress for areas along the Eglinton Avenue corridor roughly between Weston Road and Kennedy Road (for areas outside of those listed above).
The eglintonTOday project is advancing the Eglinton Connects streetscape plan by implementing its intent, with the final streetscape to be brought forward in the longer term.