The City of Toronto has installed cycle tracks, bicycle lanes and sharrows on Woodbine Avenue (between O’Connor Drive and Queen Street East). To complete the bikeway network east of Woodbine Avenue, a connecting contra-flow bike lane was also installed on Corley Avenue (between Woodbine Avenue and Brookside Drive) and sharrows were installed in the westbound direction of traffic flow on Norway Avenue (between Woodbine Avenue and Elmer Avenue). Installation of the contra-flow bicycle lane on Corley Ave from Woodbine Ave to Brookside Dr and sharrows on neighbourhood streets was completed in August 2019.

These cycling facilities provide important cycling network connections for east-end neighbourhoods, encourage more people to cycle, and improve the safety and comfort of all road users.

 

2024

As part of road resurfacing between Ventnor Avenue to Cosburn Avenue, the City is also planning to upgrade the existing bike lanes to cycle tracks by adding a physical buffer between people cycling and people driving or parking, which creates a safer and more comfortable cycling environment. In addition, raised TTC bus/bike platforms will be constructed soutbound at Plains Road and northbound at Cosburn Avenue to improve safety for bus operators, transit riders and people cycling. This work is expected to begin in June 2024.

2022

In April to May 2022, the City of Toronto installed cycling, traffic, and parking changes on Woodbine Avenue between Kingston Road to Gerrard Street East, including:

  • A second afternoon peak northbound travel lane between Kingston Road and Gerrard Street East, which is used for morning, off-peak, and overnight permit parking; and
  • Reducing the width of the painted buffer in the existing cycle tracks and installing additional flexible posts.

Please see the Installation Notice for more details.

Woodbine, Corley and Norway bike lanes are part of in The 10 Year Cycling Network Plan’s 2016 Implementation Program to expand and improve Toronto’s streets for cycling.  These new bike lanes provided important connections to the larger cycling network and east end neighbourhoods.

The City considered the following issues and perspectives:

  • Safety and comfort of cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers
  • On-street parking available 24/7 on one side of street
  • Vehicle lane reductions in some areas
  • No significant changes in vehicle travel times anticipated
  • TTC bus routes and stops
  • Emergency services and Wheel-Trans pick-up/drop-off
  • Curbside garbage collection

Cycling Rates Grow on Woodbine Avenue

The introduction of cycling facilities (a combination cycle tracks and bike lanes) on Woodbine Avenue has resulted in an increased number of people cycling. Based on bike counts before (2016) and after (2018) the installation of these cycling facilities, the number of people cycling on Woodbine Avenue has more than doubled.

  • Counts were conducted on Woodbine Avenue/Cosburn Avenue and Woodbine Avenue/Gerrard Street East and were based on an average for 12 hour daytime period over one week.
  • Between May 11 and May 17, 2016, the average number of cyclists during 12 hour daytime ranged from 70 to 80.
  • Between May 12 and May 18, 2018, the average number of cyclists during 12 hour daytime ranged from 220 to 230.
  • The above represents 170 per cent to 220 per cent increase in the number of people cycling on Woodbine Avenue.

Bicycle counts on Woodbine Avenue south of Danforth Avenue for July 2018 saw as many as 580 cyclists on a single day which increased from 425 cyclists per day from October 2017. No before counts are available for this location.

Effect on Motor Vehicle Travel Time

The average motor vehicle travel times on Woodbine Avenue for northbound and southbound directions between O’Connor Drive and Queen Street East from May 2016 and May 2018 were compared for the morning (7 to 10 a.m.), mid-day (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and afternoon (4 to 7 p.m.) peak hours.

AM and mid-day peak hours experienced minimal changes to travel times (+/- less than a minute). The PM peak hours experience moderate increase in travel time of up to 2.5 minutes. Table below summarizes the changes in average travel times on Woodbine Avenue.

AM Peak Hours

Street May 2016 (in minutes) May 2018 (in minutes) Change 2018-2016 (in minutes)
Woodbine Southbound 0:08:36 0:09:05 + 0:00:29
Woodbine Northbound 0:08:23 0:08:41 + 0:00:18

Mid-day Peak Hours

Street May 2016 (in minutes) May 2018 (in minutes) Change 2018-2016 (in minutes)
Woodbine Southbound 0:08:20 0:08:19 – 0:00:01
Woodbine Northbound 0:07:33 0:08:48 + 0:01:15

PM Peak Hours

Street May 2016 (in minutes) May 2018 (in minutes) Change 2018-2016 (in minutes)
Woodbine Southbound 0:08:20 0:10:32 + 0:02:13
Woodbine Northbound 0:09:16 0:11:57 + 0:02:41

Side Street Observations

In order to address concerns that some traffic could be diverting away from Woodbine Avenue to area side streets, volume and/or speed studies were conducted for some parallel and cross streets within Ward 31 and Ward 32. These streets included Woodmount Avenue (between Danforth Avenue and O’Connor Drive), Savoy Avenue east of Woodbine Avenue and Heyworth Crescent east of Woodbine Avenue.

  • Based on comparison of before and after traffic counts, no noticeable change in traffic volume was noted on Woodmount Avenue.
  • Based on before and after traffic counts, no change was noted in traffic volume on Savoy Avenue.
  • Based on traffic counts from October 2017, a total of 237 vehicles used Heyworth Crescent over an 8-hour daytime period. Before counts for Heyworth Crescent are not available. Speed studies measured an average speed of 25 km/hr within a 30 km/hr posted speed limit zone.

Making the Connection to the Waterfront Trail

Two new traffic control signals required to connect the Woodbine Avenue cycling facilities from Dixon Avenue to the Waterfront Trail were approved by City Council on July 30, 2018.

Parking Changes

Parking adjustments were approved by City Council on July 23, 2018.

City Council Approval, October 5, 2016

Following extensive public consultation in 2016 and 2017, the installation of cycle tracks and bicycle lanes on Woodbine Avenue and an eastbound contra-flow bicycle lane on Corley Avenue was approved by Council on October 5, 2016.

Logo for Investing in Canada #fedinvestUnder the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF) – Phase 1, the Government of Canada is investing up to $250,000 for the Woodbine Bike Lanes Design and Installation project. The City of Toronto is matching this funding contribution.