As part of the next steps for the Quiet Streets Program on Woodfield Road and Monarch Park Avenue, from Sammon Avenue to Lake Shore Boulevard, the City of Toronto will:
In late August, The City of Toronto painted shared lane pavement markings on Monarch Park Avenue and Woodfield Road between Sammon Avenue and Fairford Avenue. The City will also be installing a contra-flow bicycle lane on Woodfield Road, from Fairford Avenue to the Lake Shore Boulevard Trail. This work is expected to be completed in two phases:
This work is part of the City’s Council-approved Cycling Network Plan to connect, grow and renew infrastructure for cycling routes across the City. Consultation on this project took place in April 2021, with feedback received through two virtual public meetings, online feedback form and the local Councillor. The project was approved by City Council in June 2021.
Need assistance? While we aim to provide fully accessible content, there is no text alternative available for some of the content on this site. If you require alternate formats or need assistance understanding our maps, drawings or any other content, please contact cycling@toronto.ca.
Phase 1 will be done in two parts:
The installation will not impact motor vehicle travel along the street.
Several elements have already been completed including:
The City’s contractor will:
Where possible, the City will install traffic calming elements like painted curb extensions at intersections.
Installation for Phase 2 is expected in Spring 2022, and a notice will be issued closer to installation to provide more details.
Where possible, the City will install traffic calming elements like painted curb extensions at intersections.
During installation, the contractor is responsible for the Health & Safety on site under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act and is expected to implement COVID-19 mitigation practices. For more information on the City’s response to COVID-19 please visit toronto.ca/covid-19.
The City’s contractor must ensure safe and accessible walkways and entryways are maintained for everyone during construction. Any temporary access disruptions will be communicated as soon as possible. If you experience a disruption, have a specific access need or related accommodation request, inform the Project Manager listed on this web page.
Please follow your normal routine. If required, the contractor will move bins to an appropriate location and return them. Please ensure that you label your bins with your address.
New parking signage has been installed in late September 2021 on Woodfield Road, between Gerrard Street and Dundas Street, to show permanent parking on the west side at all times. From October 1, 2021, onwards, vehicles should remain on the west side of the street and should not be moved to the east side.
Parking in the active work zone is not permitted as space is needed for construction equipment and materials. If your parked vehicle affects construction work, it will be relocated with no charge to the owner. Please call 416-808-2222 for its location.
Until the installation of traffic signals at Woodfield Road/Gerrard Street East (late October 2021) is complete, signage will be installed to remind people cycling to continue to dismount and walk bicycles across the pedestrian crossover. If travelling on Woodfield Road, please share the traffic lane in the active work zones.
There are times when contractors need to communicate with homeowners about what is happening on-site. Contractor’s staff will be identifiable by their high-visibility clothing and will maintain physical distancing.
Workers on site are responsible for the work assigned to them. If you have installation questions or an issue on site, contact the Project Manager listed on this web page.
No significant delays are expected during installation. People who drive are reminded that bicycles and cars may be sharing the lane during installation. When driving, please be mindful of vulnerable road users.
Pavement markings will be installed overnight and all other work will happen during the daytime. Noisy work will be limited to daytime hours as much as possible.
The City hosted two Virtual Public Meetings on April 14 and 15, 2021, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The meetings were attended by 21 and 39 participants respectively.
View the Information Panels presented during the meetings.
Project notification was communicated through 9,900 unaddressed flyer notices, 53 addressed letters to residents between Queen Street East and Eastern Avenue, and 26 emails sent to known stakeholder groups. Questions and comments were received from 60 participants over two (2) virtual public meetings on April 14 and 15, 2021; 267 respondents to an online feedback form; 37 individuals by email and 5 people by phone.
From the feedback form, 79 per cent of respondents support or accept the overall project, including a majority of residents who live on the streets. For the options on Woodfield Road, between Queen Street East and Eastern Avenue, Alternative 2 (Switch Parking to West Side) received the most support. The community is generally supportive of the proposed cycling infrastructure and crossing upgrades. Concerns raised include the possibility of an increase in non-local traffic, perceived dangers to pedestrians from people cycling, and possible exacerbation of existing on-street parking and loading challenges.
An online petition in opposition to the project was also received, although the associated names or addresses of signatories had not been provided at the time this report was finalized. The petition raises concerns about Woodfield Road between Queen Street East and Eastern Avenue and the loss of four parking spaces and unregulated loading along the street. The proposal retains as much parking as possible along the street and results in the loss of four parking spaces. Loading in the contra-flow bicycle lane would not be allowed, but delivery operators would be able to utilize side streets and the remaining parking on Woodfield Road.
Read the full Consultation Summary Report.
Deputations (pre-recess: 2:39:23; post-recess: 4:01:31; last deputant: 4:45:30); Questions of staff (4:39:51); Speakers & motions (4:52:52); Voting on items (5:22:16)
On May 25, 2021, the Infrastructure and Environment Committee (IEC) of City Council endorsed Item IE22.11 – Cycling Network Plan – 2021 Cycling Infrastructure Installation – Second Quarter Update and Missing Link Sidewalk Program – 2021 Local Road Sidewalk Installation, which included:
Item IE22.11 was moved to the June meeting of City Council for consideration.
Motions moved by Councillor Fletcher (6:08:06); Voting on motions (Motion 3a: 6:10:10; Motion 3b: 6:10:31); Voting on amendments (6:10:55)
On June 9, 2021, following additional feedback from local residents received after IEC, City Council adopted the following amendment moved by Councillor Fletcher:
This was presented as Alternate 3 during the consultation period.
Also, as a result of overall feedback throughout the consultation process, City Council has directed the General Manager, Transportation Services to:
The City of Toronto’s draft design guidelines set 75 cars in the peak hour as the maximum for a shared lane.
Based on the speed and volume of traffic, a shared lane for people cycling and driving is appropriate. The preferred bikeway type for Woodfield Road-Monarch Park Avenue is Neighbourhood Greenway.
The peak volumes and 8-hour volumes do not exceed the thresholds of vehicle volumes, so additional traffic diversion is not recommended.
| Average Counts | Woodfield-Monarch Park Existing Volumes | Neighbourhood Greenway Volume Thresholds |
|---|---|---|
| Peak Hour Motor Vehicles | 30–75 vehicles | 75 vehicles |
| Cycling (over 8-hours) |
70–120 cycling trips (20–30% of total traffic) | Would like to increase volume to 40–50% of total traffic |
| Vehicles (over 8-hours) |
200–400 vehicles | Less than 750 vehicles |
Woodfield Road-Monarch Park Avenue was identified in the Council-adopted Cycling Network Plan as a north-south route, planned for installation in the near term (2019–21).
This would include proposed contra-flow bicycle lanes on one-way sections of Woodfield Road and installation of traffic calming elements like painted bulb-outs, wayfinding and traffic signal upgrades at key locations.
Woodfield Road-Monarch Park Ave has been identified as a “Grow” project in the Cycling Network Plan Update. This project would grow the cycling network into new parts of the city.
From May to October 2020, Woodfield Road-Monarch Park Avenue were designated as Quiet Streets. The ActiveTO Quiet Streets program created shared spaces to allow residents to maintain physical distancing while getting around on neighbourhood streets. Temporary signage and other measures were used to encourage slow, local vehicle access only so the street could be a shared space that welcomed people who walk, run or bike.
At this time, City staff are proposing that instead of reintroducing the seasonal Quiets Streets program in 2021 or beyond, energy be refocused on programs that provide year-round improvements to local streets, such as this project.
The ActiveTO Quiet Streets Survey was conducted in the summer of 2020. There were over 700 unique responses on Woodfield Road-Monarch Park (Woodfield Avenue: 219 respondents; Monarch Park Avenue: 536 respondents).
According to those surveyed, Woodfield-Monarch Park was one of the highest-ranked routes for reducing vehicular speeds, improving physical distancing, and making people feel safer sharing the street. The feedback was very positive.
The most common feedback was concerns about non-local traffic.
| Survey Question | Woodfield Road (percentage of survey respondents) |
Monarch Park Avenue (percentage of survey respondents) |
|---|---|---|
| Understood the intent of the program | 95% | 95% |
| Walking/jogging is main mode of travel | 85% | 88% |
| No exclusive access to outdoor space | 13% | 9% |
| Do not live/work on the Quiet Street | 59% | 76% |
| Perception of program influencing physical distancing | 75% (agreed or strongly agreed) | 81% (agreed or strongly agreed) |
| Perception of program providing safer shared street space | 79% (agreed or strongly agreed) | 78% (agreed or strongly agreed) |
On April 7, 2021, City Council adopted the report, Active TO – Lessons Learned from 2020 and Next Steps for 2021.
Councillor Fletcher moved the motion, which requested the General Manager, Transportation Services, to implement, in consultation with the local Councillor, Quiet Streets on Monarch Park Avenue and Woodfield Road on a temporary basis until such time as cycling infrastructure is installed on those streets.
Traffic calming is a term associated with physical features like discourage through traffic, lower speed and improve comfort levels for all road users. Traffic calming can include one-way street flips, curb extensions, speed humps and other elements.
Contra-flow bicycle lanes are bicycle lanes designed to allow people cycling to ride in the opposite direction of motor vehicle traffic. They convert a one-way traffic street into a two-way street for people cycling: one direction for motor vehicles and bikes and the other for bikes only.
Designated bicycle lanes are a dedicated part of the roadway for the exclusive use of people cycling. Other road users may not lawfully drive, stand, stop or park in a designated bicycle lane.
On low volume, residential streets shared lanes for people cycling and driving can be effective and can include signs, wayfinding pavement markings and other traffic calming to create comfortable cycling routes.
