Apparently, a lot has happened for cycling in Toronto while I was on vacation in Uzbekistan. A complete street has been built on Eglinton from Avenue to Chaplin, a group ride from Willowdale to Downtown attracted 80 people, and the Ford government irresponsibly proposed restricting bike lane installations which remove traffic lanes. (Please sign Cycle Toronto's petition opposing this if you haven't already.) I was also informed about a complete street project happening on Dupont which the City is collecting feedback until Wednesday, October 30. Let's review what's being planned for Dupont, as well as some hotspots and background information.
What's being planned?
The Dupont Complete Street project has three phases. These include upgrading existing bike lanes to cycle tracks from Dundas to Lansdowne, building new cycle tracks using quick build materials from Lansdowne to Spadina, and major road rehabilitation from Spadina to Davenport expected in 2026. The City will be unveiling design details in Winter 2024/25, but is now collecting feedback via a business survey to address loading needs and an interactive map to highlight specific problem areas.
Connection to St. George
Having biked on Dupont on occasion, one thing that really bothers me is the one block gap between the St. George and Davenport bikeways per this Google Maps screenshot. Right now, it's impractical to make a left turn from Dupont to St. George given the absence of a traffic signal. Ideally, one needs to be added here to make it easier to access St. George from Davenport. If that (or a pedestrian crossover) is not possible, a bi-directional cycle track on the south side is needed from St. George to Davenport in addition to the westbound uni-directional cycle track on the north side.
Safety on Dupont
Most importantly, the Dupont Complete Street is all about safety. David Pearce was killed while riding his bike at Dupont and Christie in July 2016. Here’s a blog post I wrote during that ride (including an interview with ARC's Geoffrey Bercarich).
In addition to the fallen cyclist, there were 20 people seriously injured over the past ten years on Dupont plus a pedestrian death in October 2020 per Toronto’s Vision Zero mapping tool.
Dupont was originally identified as a major corridor study in the 2016 Cycling Network Plan. Unfortunately, then Public Works and Infrastructure Committee chair Jaye Robinson (RIP) had put most major corridor studies on hold including Dupont. It finally re-emerged as part of the 2025-27 bike plan. Of course, we still need to keep the pressure on the Ford government to withdraw their backwards bike lane plans to keep this project and others on track.
Dundas-Dupont-Annette
One last thing that needs to be called out is the Dundas-Dupont-Annette intersection. The five-way intersection is a significant safety hazard which prompted the West Bend Community Association to get some University of Toronto students to redesign it in Spring 2015. The redesign calls for the closing of access to Old Weston Road and one of the slip lanes between Dundas and Dupont to make it a simpler four-way intersection. Brown and Storey Architects suggested replacing the intersection with a roundabout per the below image. When the City of Toronto reveals the preliminary design for Dupont this winter, it needs to publicly disclose the final design of that intersection. Especially since Toronto’s 2024 budget listed that intersection for $2.3 million in funding as early as 2025.
Next Steps
If you live, work, do business, or travel along Dupont, please submit your comments using the business survey, interactive map, or e-mail to dupontcompletestreet@toronto.ca by Wednesday, October 30 in support making this corridor safer for all. With six cyclists killed by motorists this year so far, it’s critical we make our voices heard for this project and other public consultations the City of Toronto holds this fall. We can’t let the Ford government undo the progress for safer streets which has taken this city decades to accomplish.
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