Community-guided plans for traffic, road safety, and active transportation.
Neighbourhood Streets Plans (NSPs) are a new service for neighbourhoods where travel choices or traffic patterns challenge the safety and mobility of people using the streets.
Through the planning process, a team of City staff will work with communities to identify local issues and opportunities, prioritize the greatest needs, and recommend changes to traffic operations and street designs.
NSPs will consider the needs of all road users and emphasize the safety of vulnerable road users such as seniors, school children, and people walking and cycling.
NSPs will result in short-term changes (1 to 2 years) which can be made using quick build materials like signs, paint and bollards, and will identify longer term improvements which can be accomplished through future programmed road work.
The outcomes of each NSP will be different based on the local context and needs of each neighbourhoods. Generally, NSPs will recommend changes related to motor vehicle speed management, volume management, and road user conflicts on local streets. These recommendations will be informed by the City’s Traffic Calming Guide, Vision Zero Action Plan, and Complete Streets Guidelines.
Excessive speeds on local streets can lead to more frequent collisions and substantially increases the likelihood of those becoming fatal collisions. Changes to address excessive speeds that will be considered include:
Excessive volumes of motor vehicles on local streets can lead to an increased risk of a collision for vulnerable road users, noise pollution, and reduced air quality in the neighbourhood. Changes to address excessive volumes that will be considered include:
Conflicts between road users can be caused by the competition for space between people walking, and biking, and driving as well as by road users taking unexpected actions. Changes to address road user conflicts that will be considered include:
Neighbourhood nominations can be made at any time.
City staff will review all nominations between July and September each year to select the next set of neighbourhoods. Neighbourhoods nominated by June 30, 2023 will be considered for the 2024 program. 3 to 6 neighbourhoods will be selected for the 2024 cycle.
Neighbourhoods will be selected based on prioritization criteria that considers equity, potential for impactful change, alignment with planned road works, and community support.
A plan typically takes 18 to 24 months to complete from time of selection.
At this time, all nominations are expected to be submitted by a Councillor on behalf of the communities they represent. Nomination is expected to expand in future years, as the program matures.
Neighbourhood Streets Plans are only one of many ways that the City addresses local traffic concerns. This program is best suited to neighbourhoods facing several, complex, interconnected issues that need to be studied and addressed as a whole.
NSPs are intended for neighbourhoods experiencing:
This program is not suited for neighbourhoods where construction activity is the main source of traffic patterns, or where future traffic patterns resulting from development are the main concern. These issues are best addressed by construction management teams and development review teams, respectively.
For help addressing traffic concerns at a specific segment of a street, you can order a lawn sign, request a Watch Your Speed sign, petition for a speed hump, or request a traffic investigation by calling 311.
Fill out the form below to nominate your community for a Neighbourhood Streets Plan.
Prior to launching the Neighbourhood Streets Plans program, the City initiated a limited number of similar projects, which are listed below.