The Wallace Emerson Neighbourhood Streets Plan (NSP) identifies, prioritizes and recommends improvements to traffic operations and street design to improve local streets and create a safer neighbourhood. Drawing on input from community members and local stakeholder groups, as well as data collected through traffic studies, the plan considered the needs of all road users in the neighbourhood including vulnerable road users such as seniors, school children, and people walking and cycling.
The study considered Traffic Calming, Vision Zero, and Complete Streets measures to address community concerns around:
The plan recommends short-term improvements (1-3 years), which can be made using quick build materials like paint and bollards, as well as more permanent long-term improvements, which typically take three or more years to implement.
October 2, 2024 Update: Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC) has adopted the Wallace Emerson Neighbourhood Streets Plan. A copy of the adopted staff report is available at TE16.43.
Next Steps
City Council has delegated authority to TEYCC for this report and the decision to adopt the plan is final.
Staff will begin the process of implementing traffic calming, in-road flexible speed sign and intersection geometric safety changes. The adopted bikeways changes will be reported on to a future meeting of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee.
Regarding the closure of Croatia Street, staff will report back to TEYCC with an implementation plan for this closure of a segment of the street, pending the completion of Collegiate Road.
It is planned to begin implementing all changes over the next year.
April 18, 2024 Update: The Wallace Emerson Neighbourhood Streets Plan study team has received questions of clarification about the proposal for the neighbourhood. This update has information about the study, proposed changes, consultation efforts and next steps.
Public Consultation Efforts
The development of the Wallace Emerson Neighbourhood Streets Plan is informed by two phases of public consultation. The feedback gathered through consultation, along with technical considerations and City policies and guidelines, will inform staff recommendations to City Council.
Phase 1 Consultation (July 2022) asked community interest groups and residents to share feedback on issues and opportunities related to travel behaviours and traffic operations in Wallace Emerson. Themes that emerged from Phase 1 consultation include a desire for a safer east-west cycling connection, concern around the volume of motor vehicles using Wallace Avenue and other local streets, interest in traffic calming measures and concerns about motor vehicle speeds and requests to improve safety for vulnerable road users. A detailed summary of feedback received may be found in the Phase 1 Consultation Report.
The City is currently engaged in Phase 2 of consultations. Residents and community interest groups were presented the proposed changes to the neighbourhood that respond to community concerns identified in Phase 1. The goal of this phase is to collect feedback from residents on the proposed changes. To date, the project team has held a virtual meeting with Community Interest Groups and hosted a public drop-in event. At both events valuable feedback was received on the proposed actions. The project team has also received feedback through a survey which was made available to the community until April 8, 2024, as well as through emails and phone calls. Staff anticipate to close public consultation on April 12, 2024.
Proposed Actions
The NSP proposes specific actions to improve safety and mobility:
A more detailed summary of the list of proposed actions may be found in the project notice that was mailed to residents.
Parking Clarifications – Hallam Street
The City is proposing to provide a new cycling network connection by installing uni-directional cycle tracks on Hallam Street between Dufferin Street and Bartlett Avenue. The proposal includes:
Parking Clarifications – St. Clarens Avenue
The City is not proposing to remove 45 parking spaces on St Clarens Avenue between Dupont Street and Wallace Avenue. The following actions are proposed:
Parking Clarifications – Wallace Avenue
On Wallace Avenue between Lansdowne Avenue and Emerson Avenue the City is proposing:
Next Steps
The City continues to engage the community to understand potential impacts should the proposed actions be implemented. Following this, staff plan to present a report to the Toronto and East York Community Council in Summer 2024 with proposed recommendations, considering the input of the community through the consultation process, along with technical analysis completed by staff. At that time, community members will also be given an opportunity to make deputations.
Community members who wish to continue to provide input are encouraged to do so by contacting the project team at WallaceEmersonStreets@toronto.ca. Please visit the project website for more information on the project.
The Wallace Emerson Neighbourhood Streets Plan (NSP) study area is bounded by Lansdowne Avenue to the west, Dufferin Street to the East, Dupont Street to the north and Croatia Street to the south. It is primarily a residential community of single-family homes with commercial and retail uses concentrated on Bloor Street. There are three schools located in the area: Pauline Junior Public School, St Sebastian’s Elementary School and the Bloor Collegiate School, temporarily relocated from its original location at Bloor Street and Dufferin Street.
Anticipated travel patterns of new community members moving into the area and/or using the new Wallace Emerson Community Centre and parks is being considered in the planning process.
What is a Neighbourhood Streets Plan?
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.
In response to concerns about traffic conditions in the Wallace-Emerson community, local residents formed the Wallace Emerson Traffic Management Committee (WETMC) in 2019. The group prepared a traffic plan for the neighbourhood which included requests for various traffic calming measures including speed humps, staggered parking with bump outs and planters, new stop-controlled intersections, turning prohibitions, and contraflow bikeways. The plan was endorsed in principle by the Toronto and East York Community Council in March 2020 (See decision TE14.46), and since that time a number of the recommended changes have been implemented.
Since Community Council’s endorsement, changes in the neighbourhood have presented new issues and new ideas and concerns have been raised in other locations in the neighbourhood that are not addressed in the WETMC plan. Given the community aspirations for local traffic management and safety improvements, travel patterns in the neighbourhood, and the future growth expected around the neighbourhood, Toronto and East York Community Council directed City staff to build on the work of the WETMC by developing a Neighbourhood Streets Plan to apply holistic approach to address traffic issues across the neighbourhood network as a whole.
NSPs follow several steps outlined below, and public consultation takes place in two stages.
NSPs will result in short-term actions (1 to 2 years) which can be made using temporary, flexible materials like signs, paint, and bollards, and will identify longer term changes which can be accomplished alongside future programmed road work.
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 and volume management, and traffic safety conflicts on local streets. NSP recommendations are informed by the City’s Traffic Calming Guide, Vision Zero Action Plan, and Complete Streets Guidelines.
Phase 2 Consultation Report Complete
The Phase 2 Consultation Report summarizes public feedback on the recommendations to improve traffic operations and street design in the neighbourhood.
Phase 2 Consultation
A Public Drop-in Event was held on March 25, 2024 between 6-8 pm at the Wallace Emerson Community Centre. The Project Survey is now closed.
Phase 2 Consultation Materials
Phase 1 Consultation Report Complete
The Phase 1 Public Consultation Report summarizes feedback received.
Consultation Materials
Public Events
Public Drop-in Event 1
A public drop-in event was held on February 16, 2023. It provided residents and stakeholders with an opportunity to view project information panels and speak with members of the project team one-on-one.
Interest Group Interviews
Individual one-on-one meetings with local interest groups like schools, businesses and other local organizations helped confirm local issues and identify specific opportunities and challenges (e.g. school drop off and pickup, nearby intersections, parking, etc.).
Toronto and East York Community Council has adopted a report to proceed with the following changes:
Road Safety
Intersection geometric safety improvements at the following intersections:
Closure to motor vehicles in the following area:
Speed
Traffic calming measures on the following streets:
Motor Vehicle Volume
Conversion to one-way eastbound travel on Wallace Avenue, from Lansdowne Avenue to St Clarens Avenue.
Active Transportation
Bikeways on the following streets:
In addition to the recommended improvements for the NSP, it is proposed to install cycle tracks on Hallam Street between Dufferin Street and Bartlett Avenue in response to the community’s desire for a safer east-west local bikeway. The proposed bikeway will connect to Millicent Street where a contraflow bikeway is recommended, through the expanded intersection at Dufferin Street to Hallam Street. The bikeway will extend east to connect to the newly installed bikeway on Bartlett Avenue.
Proposed changes include:
What would this mean for you?
The project team is working to actively keep local residents and businesses informed throughout different stages of this project. To receive construction updates by email, subscribe to the project email.