The Wallace Emerson Neighbourhood Streets Plan (NSP) will identify, prioritize and recommend 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 will consider 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 will consider Traffic Calming, Vision Zero, and Complete Streets measures to address community concerns around:
The plan will recommend 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.
April 18, 2024 Update: The Wallace Emerson 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 will also be considered in the planning process.
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:
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.
The Phase 1 Public Consultation Report summarizes feedback received.
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.
Notification about future public consultation events will be provided through mailed flyers, project email updates and on this web page.
Individual one-on-one meetings with local interest groups like schools, businesses and other local organizations will help confirm local issues and identify specific opportunities and challenges (e.g. school drop off and pickup, nearby intersections, parking, etc.).
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.
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.