Cycling Connections on Dewson Street & Roxton Road

The City of Toronto is proposing new bikeways on Dewson Street and Roxton Road to connect existing cycling routes on Dewson Street, Harbord Street and Shaw Street. The proposed cycling connections will require changes to parking on Roxton Road and Dewson Street.

Proposed Cycling Connections

  • Roxton Road from Dewson Street to Harbord Street
  • Dewson Street from Ossington Avenue to Roxton Road and to Shaw Street (Note: On the Notice of Public Drop-In Event the north side of Dewson from Ossington to Roxton was incorrectly proposed as a bike lane. The correct proposed sharrows are noted here and in the presentation materials.)
  • Ossington Avenue from Harbord Street to Dewson Street

map of study area showing locations of proposed bike facilities, proposed sharrows from dewson to roxton, proposed contraflow bike lane from dewson to dewson and proposed bike lane from Roxton to shaw

Public Drop-In Event

A Public Drop-In Event was held on November 14, 2019, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the College/Shaw Public Library.

Proposed parking options to accommodate the cycling routes.

Option 1 – Preferred

Map showing parking Option 1 (preferred). 15 parking spaces would be removed from the west side of Roxton Road and 14 parking spaces would be added to the east side of Roxton Road. 14 Parking spaces would be removed from the north side of Dewson street between Roxton Road and Shaw Street.
Click to enlarge.
  • Move parking from west side to east side of Roxton Road between Dewson Streets – one (1) parking space lost
  • Remove parking on the north side of Dewson Street (between Roxton Road and Shaw Street) –14 parking spaces lost
  • 15 spaces lost overall

Why Option 1 is preferred

  • Provides desired passable roadway space for emergency services
  • Permit parking and survey data show that approximately 20-30% on-street parking is available on Dewson Street, Roxton Road, and in Permit Parking Area 4C

Option 2

Map showing parking option 2. 15 parking spaces would be removed from the west side of Roxton Road and 14 parking spaces would be added to the east side of Roxton Road. 14 Parking spaces would be removed from the north side of Dewson street between Roxton Road and Shaw Street. 10 Parking spaces are added on Dewson street from Shaw Street to Crawford Street.
Click to enlarge.
  • Same as Option 1 but adds 10 parking spaces on the north side Dewson Street (between Shaw Street and Crawford Street)
  • Overall reduction of five (5) spaces
  • Dewson Street from Shaw Street to Crawford Street becomes one-way eastbound

Why option 2 is not preferred

  • Does not provide desired passable roadway space for emergency services
  • Changes Dewson Street (from Shaw to Crawford) to a one-way eastbound direction

Cycling on Roxton Road between Harbord Street and Dewson Street

A dedicated bike lane is proposed on the east side of Roxton Road between Harbord Street and Dewson Street. People who want to continue cycling west and south between the Harbord Street bike lanes and the Dewson Street shared route west of Ossington Avenue have two options. They can travel south on Ossington Avenue for approximately 170m, or can use Shaw Street, and the proposed contra-flows on Dewson Street and Roxton Road. Since Shaw serves as a parallel routes and scope of this project, this section was not prioritized within this scope, but could be incorporated in a future project.

Sharrows on Ossington

Ossington Avenue is a major arterial and was ranked as medium suitability for future bikeways in the 2019 councillor adopted Cycling Network Plan. Due to high volume and speed of vehicles, if a future capital project were planned, protected bikeways would be considered. This project does not include major improvements on Ossington Avenue. The sharrows on Ossington Avenue are proposed primarily as a wayfinding measure for those who do feel comfortable sharing space with drivers on Ossington Avenue. It is understood that this is not an all ages and abilities bikeway. People cycling who do not feel safe cycling on Ossington Avenue can use Shaw Street, and the proposed contra-flows on Dewson Street and Roxton Road.