In June and July 2020, the City resurfaced Shaw Street, between Dupont Street and Dewson Street. This also provided an opportunity to improve safety on Shaw Street, in the segment between Harbord Street and Dupont Street.
Since its installation in 2013, the contra-flow bike lane on Shaw Street has become a popular north-south cycling route. This is clearly evident in data collected between 2016 and 2019 where the following trends were observed:
In addition to having become a popular cycling route, it has been determined that the volume of drivers on Shaw Street exceeds the City of Toronto’s Guidelines for a shared lane (for people driving and cycling). Recent data shows that 20 to 30 per cent of traffic volume on Shaw Street is due to cut through traffic.
After the resurfacing work was completed, work crews installed new signage for changes in traffic direction and road markings on Shaw Street and a few other streets, namely Essex Street (east and west of Shaw Street) and Roxton Avenue. It is worth noting that the changes aim to maintain access for people driving to local destinations and accessing their homes. Depending on the street, residents may end up with limited access to their homes and will have to take a different route to get home. For details on safety improvements, please refer to the ‘Safety Improvements Summary’ below.
The goal of these changes is to reduce cut-through traffic in the neighbourhood and create safer and more comfortable conditions for people walking and cycling.
The safety improvements were approved at the City’s Infrastructure & Environment Committee on March 11, 2020, and City Council on April 30, 2020.
The City has sent notices in advance of the road work and safety improvements being implemented.
After all work is completed, the City will observe the new behaviour, obtain new traffic data on Shaw Street and evaluate before and after conditions. If there are operational challenges, further changes will need to be considered.
The City is also taking steps to install road surface painting and planters on the segment of Shaw Street, between the two Essex Streets. The purpose of this is to reinforce the fact that motor vehicle access is not permitted on Shaw Street, between the two Essex Streets.
These changes result in the removal of 18 on-street parking spaces in Permit Parking Zone 3L (which has 605 total spaces) in order to provide better sight-lines for all road users, City permit parking records show there are more on-street parking spaces available in the area than are currently being used.
The City undertook a public consultation exercise between November 8 and December 5, 2019, through an online survey (December 5 closing date) and public drop-in event held on November 21, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Bob Abate Community Centre. A total of 45 people attended the public consultation and 190 people participated in the survey. Notice of the open house was mailed to over 5,800 properties in the area bounded by Dupont Street, Ossington Avenue, Christie Street/Grace Street and Harbord Street.
Several different street design options were developed with the overarching goals of:
The options all maintained bicycle travel in both directions along Shaw Street.
For more information, please refer to the following documents:
There are no plans to reduce the speed limit on any of the streets in the area bounded by Dupont Street, Harbord Street, Grace/Christie Street and Ossington Avenue
Depending on the street, residents may end up with limited access to their homes and will have to take a different route to get home
Yes, the City’s contractor will begin by resurfacing the road as well as repairing any deficient sidewalks and curbs. Once this work is completed, the traffic and parking changes will be implemented by the contractor. These changes will be in the form of pavement markings and signage.
No, any existing traffic calming measures and speed humps/bumps will be maintained. Any existing damaged speed humps will be repaired.
One of the goals of this project is to have on-street parking and the contraflow bike lane on opposite sides of the street. In the event that the contraflow bike lane in place, all parking spaces including Accessible Parking/Loading will also be relocated across the street.
The installation of the proposed changes will require that 19 on-street permit parking be removed. This is necessary in order to improve sight lines and accommodate driveways, fire hydrants, etc. Shaw Street is located in Permit Area 3L where 21 per cent of permit spaces remain available. The current demand for permit parking can continue to be accommodated with the proposed changes.
For Shaw Street between Dupont Street and Bloor Street, Option 4 is being recommended. This is based on consultation feedback and because the design is expected to result in the reduction of the number of motor vehicles travelling along the corridor, making it safer and more comfortable for people of all ages and abilities walking and cycling.
For Shaw Street between Bloor Street West and Harbord Street, Option 1 is being recommended, based on consultation feedback and also to avoid having three parallel northbound-only one-way streets in a row.
After all work is completed, the City will observe the new behaviour, obtain new traffic data on Shaw Street and evaluate before and after conditions. If there are operational challenges, further changes will need to be considered.
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