Knox Avenue Bikeway Connection

Upcoming Dates

Infrastructure and Environment Committee

The Infrastructure & Environment Committee (IEC) will meet on March 29, 2022, to discuss the staff report, hear from the public and make recommendations to City Council (April 6 to 7).

A copy of the staff report is available on the Toronto City Council and Committees Meetings, Agendas and Minutes (TMMIS) web page.

How to Participate

Members of the public can arrange to speak or submit comments to the Committee by contacting the Infrastructure and Environment Committee Administrator at 416-392-4666 or iec@toronto.ca by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 28, 2022, the day before the Committee meeting. Clearly indicate the project you are commenting on, as there are many projects to be discussed.

You can also submit comments by emailing the Committee at iec@toronto.ca. Communications and public submissions will become part of the public record and will be listed in the legislative record of the meeting. To learn more about this process and how to participate, visit Have Your Say.

You may also send comments by mail:

Infrastructure and Environment Committee
Attn: Matthew Green
Toronto City Hall, Floor 10, West Tower
100 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2

Public Consultation

Public consultation was held between February 8 to 28, 2022. Feedback was received from members of the public through nine emails. Feedback was received from the two key stakeholders, the Canada Post’s South Central Letter Processing Plant, located at 969 Eastern Avenue, through one virtual meeting and follow-up emails, as well as Toronto Fire Services EMS Training Centre and Fire Station 326, located at 895 Eastern Avenue and 30 Knox Avenue, through email.

Overall, the proposed design received broad support from the respondents, with safety for all road users identified as a top priority for the project. Members of the public were appreciative of the safety upgrades, but also suggested additional improvements such as a raised cycle track instead of a street-level cycle track and better bicycle detectors at the Knox Avenue/Eastern Avenue intersection. Stakeholders were generally supportive of the proposed changes but were also concerned that encouraging more people to use Knox Avenue would also increase the risk of collisions since heavy trucks and emergency vehicles already use the roadway at all hours of the day. Both members of the public and stakeholders suggested installing signage and pavement markings to remind all road users to exercise caution, especially near the Toronto Fire Station 326 and Canada Post driveways.

While acknowledging this project as a welcome improvement, many people who cycle in the neighbourhood shared a desire for additional bikeway projects in the community to better connect Knox Avenue to the broader cycling network.

The proposed design will be refined through ongoing communications with Canada Post and Toronto Fire Services.

• Read the consultation report
• Review the consultation materials

Design Details

• Proposed two-way cycle track on the west side to eliminate conflicts at Canada Post driveways and service road.
• Cycle track is proposed to be physically separated from motor vehicle traffic by a cast-in-place curb/median and at the same level as the street.
• The west side sidewalk is proposed to be widened.
• New road base and surface for people driving and cycling.

Examples of Street Level Cycle Tracks

Transition at Eastern Avenue

• Two-way cycle track on Knox Avenue, south of Eastern Avenue, will need to transition to one-way bikeways on the north side of Eastern Avenue.
• A bike crossing on the south side of the intersection will provide a transition for people cycling northbound to cross to the east side of Knox Avenue to continue in the contra-flow lane north of Eastern Avenue.

• Official Plan Goals: Make Toronto a “walking city”.
• Road to Health: Healthy Toronto by Design: Increase physical activity to reduce illness and disease.
• Vision Zero Road Safety Plan: Prevent fatalities and serious injuries.
• TransformTO: Climate Action Strategy: Target 75 per cent of school/work trips under five km are walked, cycled or by transit by 2030.
• Complete Streets Guidelines: Create streets for people, placemaking and prosperity.
• Reduce reliance on motor vehicles: Provide alternatives to driving and use roadways more efficiently.
• Encouraging people of all ages and abilities to ride: Encourage people who are “interested but concerned” to ride by creating safe bikeways.
• Office of Recovery and Rebuild COVID-19: Adopt healthy, less car-dependent and connected streets created during COVID-19.