Areas of work
Planning for growth around three subway stations
ReNew Sheppard East established a new planning framework for the area between Bayview Avenue and Leslie Street. It includes three Line 4 subway stations, the Oriole GO corridor, North York General Hospital, established neighbourhoods, apartment communities, parks, ravines, and sites expected to change through redevelopment.
The City of Toronto needed a transportation strategy that could support substantial new housing and employment while improving how people reach transit, walk, cycle, and move between neighbourhood destinations.
The long-term scenario tested growth from approximately 38,900 to 112,600 residents and from approximately 12,700 to 24,700 jobs. This growth would place new demands on a corridor where several major roads already carried high traffic volumes and faced physical constraints.
My role
I served as Consultant Project Manager for the Transportation Planning Study. I directed the analysis from the review of background policy and existing conditions through multi-modal analysis, future demand testing, strategy development, and the final report. I also played a leading role in public engagement, facilitated public events, and delivered project presentations.
My role was to maintain a clear connection between the growth being planned and the transportation changes required to support it. This involved work across roads, transit, walking, cycling, accessibility, public realm, parking, and travel demand. I presented technical findings in a form that City staff and decision-makers could use in the Secondary Plan and in later development review.
Community and stakeholder input
I helped lead the public engagement and facilitated events for the Transportation Planning Study, including the April 2023 open house. Residents discussed crossing safety, speeding, gaps in walking and cycling infrastructure, congestion, station access, future development, and connections to parks and trails.
The study also considered input from the Toronto Transit Commission, Bike Share Toronto, and City staff. These discussions helped identify transit-routing needs, station access issues, cycling connections, future Bike Share locations, and locations requiring further protection or study.
The technical work carried these concerns forward. Requests for safer crossings informed pedestrian recommendations. Cycling concerns helped define a connected network of separated facilities, local routes, and trail improvements. Transit-access concerns led to detailed reviews of Bayview, Bessarion, and Leslie stations.
Understanding the corridor
Under my direction, the study assessed the transportation system as a connected network. The program included travel-pattern and mode-share analysis, operations analysis at 11 major intersections, multi-modal level-of-service assessments, bus capacity analysis, subway station observations, walkshed and cycleshed analysis, and testing of long-term population and employment scenarios.
The existing-conditions review found traffic constraints at several major intersections and road links. It also found significant gaps for people walking and cycling. All evaluated cycling segments and intersections received a level-of-service rating of E or F. Many pedestrian segments and intersections also fell short of the study targets.
Connecting growth with transportation capacity
If current travel behaviour continued, the long-term scenario projected approximately 14,700 additional vehicle trips during both morning and afternoon peak periods. Many road segments would operate beyond their available capacity.
The study established a practical target of 50% non-auto travel and tested a higher target of 70%. It found that the area would need a combination of higher transit, walking, and cycling use, transportation demand management, new connections, and careful coordination between growth and infrastructure.
Result
The final study recommended a connected active transportation network, improved transit and station access, a new street structure, travel demand management, public-realm improvements, and policies linking development to transportation capacity.
Toronto City Council endorsed the Transportation Planning Study in December 2024 for use in reviewing development applications across the Secondary Plan area.