Six Points Interchange construction completion celebration and official street naming ceremony – November 26, 2021.

The reconfiguration of the Six Points Interchange is complete. The City of Toronto would like to thank area residents and businesses for their continuous input and support throughout the project.

Following more than 10 years of planning, consultation, engineering and design, major construction to reconfigure the Six Points interchange began in March 2017 and substantial completion was reached in October 2020. The project included:

  • realignment of Dundas Street West, extension of Bloor Street West and regrading of Kipling Avenue
  • new traffic signals installed at major intersections
  • wide sidewalks with trees and plantings
  • construction of three new streets: Adobigok Pathway, Biindagen Trail and Jerry Howarth Drive
  • new cycling facilities, including:
    • physically separated and painted bike lanes:
      • along Bloor Street West from Beamish Drive to Resurrection Road
      • along Dundas Street West from the Dundas-Kipling Ramp to Aukland Road
      • on Kipling Avenue between Bloor Street West and Viking Lane
    • two-stage cycling left-turn boxes installed at the Dundas/Kipling, Dundas/Bloor and Bloor/Kipling intersections
  • creation of 10,340 m² new public parkland
  • creation of a district energy plan
  • removal of two bridges over Kipling Avenue that were constructed in 1961

Videos

Watch a video about the evolution of the Six Points Interchange, including drone footage of the area taken in August 2021.

Watch a video of the removal of the Dundas Street West and Bloor Street West bridges over Kipling Avenue. The video is a time lapse and drone recording from the weekend of March 8-11, 2019.

Images

Additional images may be available upon request. Please email media@toronto.ca.

Demolition of a bridge in Etobicoke Centre.
Demolition of a bridge in Etobicoke Centre, 2019.
Construction vehicles demolish a bridge in Etobicoke Centre.
Demolition of two bridges in Etobicoke Centre, 2019.
Drone photo of Etobicoke Centre under construction.
Etobicoke Centre roadway construction.
Etobicoke Centre bike lane and planter.
Etobicoke Centre bike lane and planter, August 2021.
Six Points interchange drone view from August 2021.
Etobicoke Centre drone view, August 2021.

Road Network

The new road network is designed to provide movement and access for all road users including vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. The change from interchanges to the new road configuration includes lower speed limits and additional signalized intersections.

Truck Traffic

The new road network design takes into account all turning movements of trucks passing through the area and addresses safety issues at all intersections. Lane capacity and widths of the major arterial roads have been designed to accommodate all types of trucks.

Signal Timing

Traffic signal timing coordination has been established to facilitate the movement of all traffic in the area, including pedestrian and cyclist usage. City Staff continue to review traffic conditions and signal timing on a regular basis and at various times throughout the day, including weekday rush hours, to assess how traffic is moving and adjusting to the new road conditions, and will determine if there are any issues and how to address them.

Bike Facilities

The new cycling infrastructure is part of the city-wide Cycling Network Plan.

Physically separated bike lanes have been constructed along:

  • Bloor Street West from Carysfort Road to Jopling Avenue
  • Dundas Street West from Dunbloor to Paulart Drive

In addition, the following were also created:

  • north/south quiet street cycling routes on Jopling Avenue
  • north-south bike lanes on Shave Shaver Avenue

Pedestrian Facilities & Streetscape

The new road network is designed as a complete street to provide safe and accessible movement for pedestrians, including widened sidewalks, street furniture, lighting, trees, planters and level intersection crossings.

Wherever possible, streetscape design elements (such as boulevard treatments, street furniture and trees) were extended along roads when they are rebuilt or adjacent land is redeveloped. Each area was designed to respond to the local context (such as condos and strip malls) and provisions were made for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

Kipling Transit Hub

As a transit-oriented community, connections to the Kipling Transit Hub were an important part of this project. The reconfiguration of the roads around the Hub will ease congestion at this busy station, including the renovated kiss and ride.

The Kipling Transit Hub provides seamless mobility options to people and key destinations, including connections between the TTC, GO Transit and MiWay as well as improved car, bicycle and pedestrian access.

Parks & Trees

The following parks facilities were created or are planned (total of 10,340 m² of parkland):

  • a new park will be located in the northeast corner of Kipling Avenue and Bloor Street West (2,210 m²)
  • a linear park will be located in a north-west direction from the intersection of Kipling Avenue and Bloor Street West, representing the Historical Alignment of Dundas Street West (930 m²)
  • there will be an expansion of Six Points Park at the southwest corner of Kipling Avenue and Dundas Street West (1,600 m²)
  • a new central park will be located south of Dundas Street West (5,600 m2)

The City will be consulting with the public about the design and development of future parks within the Six Points area. The public consultation process (anticipated to start in 2022) will consider park programming opportunities to support the current and future population, which includes facilities such as dog off-leash areas.

The City will maintain the trees and the BIA will maintain the planting beds along the new roadways.

New Etobicoke Civic Centre

Construction of the new Etobicoke Civic Centre is expected to begin in February 2023 and will be located at the intersection of Dundas Street West and Kipling Avenue. It will include:

  • municipal offices
  • a City-operated community recreation centre
  • a public library
  • a childcare centre
  • a civic square
  • a multipurpose Council Chamber
  • underground parking

Learn more on CreateTO’s website.

Housing Now

As part of the first phase of the Housing Now Initiative, two sites have been identified in Etobicoke Centre for new mixed-income housing, including new affordable rental units.

District Energy

District Energy is a thermal energy distribution system for multiple buildings at the neighbourhood scale and consists of a heating and cooling centre and a thermal network of pipes connecting groups of buildings. District Energy systems have been in use in Toronto for more than 100 years and present no known risks to the public.

The realignment of Bloor Street West and Dundas Street West around Kipling Avenue created four new development blocks on the former Westwood Theatre Lands, which will be powered sustainably by a district energy system. There is potential for the expansion of District Energy to existing developments, however a business case will need to be evaluated for each.

While heating sidewalks with District Energy has been successful in some European cities, the Canadian winter is often more severe. To maximize efficiency and energy conservation, the pipes in Etobicoke Centre are highly insulated and will not be installed beneath the sidewalks. Instead, they will be short in length and used to heat and cool buildings.

Street Naming

Following extensive public engagement, three new street names were approved by Etobicoke York Community Council December 3, 2019.

  • Adobigok Pathway: Adobigok (Ah-Dobe-Eee-Gook) means “where the alders grow” in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe). The Mississauga First Nation called Etobicoke Creek and the area around it “Adobigok”.
  • Biindagen Trail: Biindagen (Been-Dih-Genn) means ‘enter’, ‘come in’ or ‘welcome’ in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe). This name was proposed as an encouraging phrase that welcomes residents to the new Etobicoke Centre.
  • Jerry Howarth Drive: Jerry Howarth is a long-time Etobicoke resident and voice of the Toronto Blue Jays for 36 years, from 1982 to 2018. He was one of the first sports broadcasters to refuse to use team names that were offensive to Indigenous peoples, bringing the issue to the forefront in traditional media. Consent was given by the named party.

City Council voted to rename Dundas Street at its July 14-15, 2021 meeting. Learn more about the Recognition Review.

Environmental Assessment

An extensive public consultation program was carried out as part of the Six Points Interchange Reconfiguration Environmental Assessment from 2003–2007, and two community events helped shape the final design for the Reconfiguration in 2013 and 2014. Read the Environmental Assessment Report (2008) or the Executive Summary (see sections 1.10, 4.4, 5.6 for consultation details).

National Urban Design Awards’ Certificate of Merit

The project received a Certificate of Merit from the National Urban Design Awards in the Urban Design Plans category in 2018.