Torontonians are concerned about space for pedestrians in a certain high-traffic area in the city.
Someone in the city recently took to Reddit to share their concerns that there is not enough room for pedestrians in the Yonge-Dundas area.
“Now that the TMU students are back it’s even more clear that this section should be closed for cars, the sidewalks can’t take the demand and people just spill into the road,” the Redditor shared on Wednesday, alongside a photo of a congested stretch of the sidewalk on Yonge St. and Dundas St.
Some people commenting on the post agree, sharing that they feel it would be best to close this area to cars, allowing pedestrians to walk safely on the road.
“Honestly they probably could just ban cars from that section north of dundas, bay is much better for cars,” commented one person on Reddit.
“They should ban them in that intersection it’s ridic more people there are it’s not a gd interstate highway,” another person shared.
“Absolutely. New York City banned cars in Times Square over 15 years ago! It’s way past time that whole area should be car-free.”
While other people disagree, sharing that there must be a better solution to this growing problem, especially as roads in the city are notoriously congested with vehicles.
“I usually agree with these statements but it’s kinda hilarious to hear this if you haven’t been to other major cities in the world. Tokyo, Sydney, Bangkok, Kyoto, Kingston, Wellington, Athens, Abu Dhabi, Dar Es Salaam all make their streets work,” one Redditor shared. “As somebody born and raised here, Torontonians wanna shut down streets for things other major cities find ways to fix. It’s unique.”
“[That will] never happen. Too many residents in this area with vehicles,” another person commented.
“More like campuses need to relocate. Why? Because it’s easier. Blocking cars on Yonge will destroy many businesses.”
TORONTO WORKING TO SOLVE THE ISSUE
As it turns out, The City of Toronto is already working on a plan to improve the way people get around on Yonge through the “yongeTOmorrow” project.
“Through yongeTOmorrow, the City is considering ways to increase pedestrian space and improve the way people move through and experience Yonge Street between College/Carlton Street and Queen Street,” the city said in a statement to Now Toronto on Thursday.
The redesign concept was first approved by city council in 2021. The city explained that construction will soon be underway to replace the water mains under Yonge Street, providing an opportunity to look into a street design that would work better for everybody.
The new concept for the area includes increasing sidewalk widths, reducing the existing four driving lanes down to two lanes, and introducing separate bike lanes for the stretch of Yonge that runs from north of Gerrard Street to College Street.
But don’t get too excited, the project is not rolling out just yet.
Construction on this project is planned to start in late 2026, depending on how the design process, and the construction for Ontario Line’s Queen Station goes.
The next steps for this project include the final phases of planning, detailed design and acquisition of additional permits and approvals. City officials shared that some community engagement surrounding the project may kick off later this year, with public consultations for the detailed design phase resuming next year. Those interested in finding out more can do so here.
