Contract No. RFP-23ECS-RD-01SP
Expected Start Date: April 17, 2025 / Expected End Date: May 11, 2025 (Timeline is subject to change)
Before the City of Toronto commences public consultation on the next phase of detailed design, the City will be using a drone to visually record the conditions along Yonge Street from Queen Street to Davenport Road (See map on reverse). This drone fly over will take place for two days between April 17, 2025, and May 11, 2025. This recording will provide insight to locations of pedestrian volume and existing conditions of the road. This drone fly over is approved by Navigation Canada and will adhere to all Transport Canada Aeronautical Information Manual (TC AIM) rules and regulations.
Work Hours: The drone fly over will take on two days: Thursday to Sunday, 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The project area for yongeTOmorrow includes Yonge Street from College/Carlton Street to Queen Street.
The recommended design was adopted by City Council (2021.IE19.11). During the Environmental Assessment study, the City undertook three stages of consultation.
Design and operations planning began in late 2024, and will be followed by public and interest group consultation.
Tender and construction pending design process and Ontario Line Queen Station construction.
Public consultation is a key part of this project. You will have opportunities for input at key stages throughout the preliminary and detailed design phase of this project. Information about future public consultation events will be distributed by mail and posted here.
If you have questions or comments, or would like to receive email project updates, please contact us at 416-338-6866 or subscribe to the project mailing list.
Consultation for the yongeTOmorrow EA phase engaged a broad range of residents, businesses, and interest groups over three rounds of engagement including over 60 individual meetings with organizations and businesses, seven stakeholder advisory group meetings, two presentations to the Design Review Panel, three public events with 7,444 survey responses. More details are available in the Environmental Study Report section.
The launch at Yonge-Dundas Square (soon to be Sankofa Square) featured a performance by Unity Break Dancers and speakers, including Donald Corbiere from the City’s Indigenous Affairs Office, local Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam and Barbara Gray, the General Manager of Transportation Services.
yongeTOmorrow will increase sidewalk widths and provide improvements to the public realm by reducing the existing four driving lanes cross-section to two lanes and introducing separated cycling facilities north of Gerrard Street to College Street.
The following design elements are consistent for the full length of the corridor from Queen Street to College / Carlton Street:
City staff will continue to consult on the operational plan for Yonge Street during detailed design. Operational elements that may be considered as part of the plan include potential pedestrian priority areas, turn movements/restrictions, one-way/two-way driving access, and loading, among others. The operational plan will be brought to the appropriate Committee of Council for consideration prior to construction.
The study has been completed in accordance with the Schedule C requirements of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (MCEA) process. An Environmental Study Report (ESR) was placed on the public record for a 30-day review period, from November 18 to December 20, 2021.
Table of Contents and Executive Summary
Chapter 1 – Introduction and Study Background
Chapter 2 Public and Stakeholder Consultation
Chapter 3 Policy and Planning Context
Chapter 4 Existing Conditions
Chapter 5 Problem and Opportunity Statement
Chapter 6 Alternative Solutions
Chapter 7 Alternative Design Concepts
Chapter 8 Detailed Description of Preferred Design Concept
Chapter 9 Environmental Effects of Preferred Design Concept
Chapter 10 Commitments to Future Work
Appendix A – Public Engagement and Consultation Report
Appendix A – 1 Communications and Promotional Materials
Appendix A – 2 Stakeholder Advisory Group Meeting Summaries
Appendix A – 3 Design Review Panel
Appendix A – 4 Consultation Summary Reports by Round
Appendix A – 5 Individual Stakeholder Meetings
Appendix A – 6 Comment Tracking Log
Appendix A – 7 Letter Submission List
Appendix A – 8 Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Correspondence
Appendix A – 9 Review Agency Correspondence
Appendix B – Existing Conditions Report
Appendix C – Cultural Heritage Report, Existing Conditions and Preliminary Impact Assessment
Appendix D – Stage 1 Archeological Assessment
Appendix E – Natural Heritage Assessment Report
Appendix F – Arborist Report
Appendix G – Long List Evaluation
Appendix H – Short List Evaluation
Appendix I – Detailed Evaluation of Alternative Design Concepts
Appendix J – 1 Geotechnical and Environmental Investigation Factual Geotechnical Report
Appendix J – 2 Factual Geotech Report Continued
Appendix J – 3 Borehole Logs
Appendix J – 4 Borehole Logs Continued
Appendix K – 1Contaminated Property Identification and Management Overview Study
Appendix K – 2 Site Photos
Appendix K – 3 Environmental Scan Continued
Appendix K – 4 Environmental Scan Continued
Appendix L – 1 Socio-Economic and Land Use Characteristics Assessment, Final Background Report
Appendix L – 2 Methodology and Background
Appendix L – 3.1 Planning Context
Appendix L – 3.2 Site and Area Specific Policies
Appendix L – 4 Development Plan
Appendix L – 5 Evaluation of Street Network
Appendix M – 1 Existing and Future Conditions Assessment on Watermains, Sanitary, Storm and Combined Sewers
Appendix M – 2 Assessment Continued
Appendix N – Short List of Alternatives, Modelling Report
Appendix O – Design Concept Evaluation, Modelling Report
Appendix P – Electrical Engineering Assessment Memo
Appendix Q – Noise and Vibration Preliminary Guidance, Existing Conditions
Appendix R – Air Quality Preliminary Guidance, Existing Conditions
Appendix S – Air Quality Assessment
Appendix T – Environmental Noise Assessment
Appendix U – Estimate of Costing
A cast iron watermain constructed in 1889 exists beneath Yonge Street from Queen Street to College Street. This watermain is due for replacement and Yonge Street will need to be reconstructed to facilitate replacement of the watermain.
South of Gerrard Street, the last reconstruction of the road base took place in 1954 upon completion of the subway. Yonge Street was resurfaced in 2014 from College Street to the Esplanade to improve pavement conditions.
This provides an opportunity to bundle Yonge Street road works with the watermain replacement.
For over a century, Yonge Street has been an iconic destination in the heart of downtown Toronto for both residents and visitors.
In recent years, growth and technology have changed the look and feel of our city. Today, Downtown Yonge is booming with development and activity during all hours and days of the week. There are more people using the street and their needs and priorities are shifting.
The area around Yonge Street is undergoing dramatic changes as a result of large numbers of new residential towers being built along and in close proximity to Yonge Street. The trend is continuing with numerous parcels under development or in the planning stages. There are approximately 20,000 residential units in towers over 15 storeys high within this area, with 10,000 new units in the pipeline based on current development applications made to the City. There are at least 2,800 hotel rooms, with 600 more being proposed.
The commercial face of the street is responding to the influx of new residents, becoming more service-oriented, while increasing retail rents are resulting in more chain stores. Toronto Metropolitan University’s expansion out to Yonge Street in 2014 has also changed the character, bringing more students out to Yonge Street and creating a highly animated zone between the University’s facilities, Dundas subway station, the cinemas, Dundas Square (soon to be Sankofa Square) and the Eaton Centre.
For many years, organizations such as the Downtown-Yonge Business Improvement Area (DYBIA) have been advocating for public realm improvements on Yonge Street to support the increasing residential and commercial growth, the number of special events taking place in and around Yonge Dundas Square and the volume of pedestrians using the street daily.
Between 1996 and 2016, there was a 73% increase in population to 55,000 and a 43% increase in employment to over 225,000 with growth expected to continue. Currently, there are over 10,000 proposed condo units within the Study Area. City Planning expects 400 residents and jobs per hectare by 2031 and projections anticipate the current population and employment numbers to further double by 2041. This in turn will place increased demands on Yonge Street.
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