Walk Toronto has written to the Toronto East York Community Council (TEYCC) to support Councillor Dianne Saxe’s motion to implement pedestrian and traffic safety measures on Avenue Road between Bloor Street West and St. Clair Avenue West.
The measures would include reducing the speed limit from 50 km/hr to 40 km/hr and introducing a pilot project to reduce the number of driving lanes from 6 to 4.
Walk Toronto’s letter points out that, outside this stretch, Avenue Road and its continuations are 4 lanes wide with a 40 km/hr speed limit. As well, the current curbside lanes are often blocked by construction, parking, and other closures, forcing unsafe lane changes. As well, the current sidewalks are extremely narrow and often have obstacles. Avenue Road has 5 schools and 4 senior’s residences on it or nearby, and is seeing a significant increase in population with new developments. The proposed changes would make walking safer and more attractive, and provide space to improve accessibility.
