Toronto approves seven years of downtown road closures for Ontario Line construction

Toronto City Council has officially approved a plan that would see seven years of road closures in Downtown to make way for construction of the Ontario Line.

Council voted on the plan on Thursday, which calls for a variety of closures along major roads, sidewalks, and bike lanes taking effect from fall 2022 to fall 2029. According to a City report, this will allow for the construction of the Ontario Line‘s King-Bathurst, Queen-Spadina, Osgoode, Queen, and Corktown stations.

The downtown road closures will affect frequently-travelled Toronto throughways like Queen Street West, Bathurst Street, King Street East, Spadina Avenue, University Avenue, King Street West, and Queen Street East. A complete shutdown of Queen Street between Bay and Victoria will begin in 2023 and last four years.

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It’s not just drivers, bikers, and pedestrians who will be affected by these changes: public transit riders will experience noticeable disruptions as well. Notably, the approximately 15,000 daily 501 Queen Streetcar riders will have to take a detour along their route. New tracks will be installed along York Street to help with the diversions.

The complete list of downtown Toronto road closures is as follows:

King-Bathurst Construction

Dates: October 1, 2022 – November 30, 2029

Along Bathurst, the east sidewalk would close to pedestrian traffic. The northbound curb lane between King West and Stewart would close to vehicular traffic so that a temporary pedestrian walkway can be set up inside the lane. The roadway from King Street West to a point 38 metres north would also be closed, with a pedestrian walkway constructed there as well.

King Street West’s south sidewalk would similarly be closed to pedestrian traffic, with a temporary pedestrian walkway set up in the eastbound curb lane starting at Bathurst Street and extending point 37 metres east. King West’s north sidewalk would be closed, with a pedestrian walkway set up between Bathurst and a point 45 metres to the east.

Stewart Street will also be affected by the construction, with a proposed closure of both the north sidewalk and the eastbound curb lane between Bathurst and a point 32 metres east.

Queen-Spadina Construction

Dates: October 1, 2022 – November 30, 2029

Along Queen Street West, the south sidewalk between Spadina Avenue and a point 53 metres west would close to pedestrians traffic. The eastbound curb lane would close to vehicular traffic between Spadina and a point 83 metres west. And between Queen Street West and Bulwer Street, the east sidewalk would close, with a temporary pedestrian walkway set to take up the curbside parking lane.

Osgoode Station Construction

Dates: October 1, 2022 – November 30, 2029

To build the new Osgoode station for the Ontario Line, University Avenue will have several closures. The east sidewalk between Queen West and a point 110 metres north, the northbound bike lane between Queen West and a point 122 metres north, the northbound auxiliary lane between Queen West and a point 102 metres north, and the southbound innermost median lane would all close. A pedestrian walkway would go in the closed bike lane.

There would also be closures on Simcoe Street’s west sidewalk between Queen Street West and the public laneway south of Queen Street West. Simcoe Street’s southbound curb lane would close to vehicular traffic between Queen and Richmond to allow for a pedestrian walkway.

Queen Station Construction

Dates: May 1, 2023 – November 30, 2027

The entirety of Queen Street West between Bay Street and Yonge Street and Queen Street East between Yonge Street and Victoria Street will close to vehicular traffic. The south sidewalk on Queen East between Victoria and a point 20 metres west will also close.

James Street will see several closures, with a full road closure between Queen West and Albert and an east sidewalk closure between Queen West and a point 43 metres north proposed.

There would also be a closure of the southbound curb lane to vehicular traffic on Victoria Street between a point 41 metres north of Queen Street East and a point 19 metres south of Queen Street East.

Albert Street, between Bay Street and James Street, would be converted to a two-way traffic operation, and there would be the permanent installation of additional streetcar tracks in the westerly middle lane on York Street, between Queen Street West and Adelaide Street  West, to accommodate the TTC 501 Queen streetcar detour.

Corktown Station Construction

Dates: September 1, 2022 – November 30, 2029

The City council will consider the closure of both the south sidewalk and the eastbound curb lane on King Street East between Berkeley Street and a point 30 metres west of Parliament Street. A temporary pedestrian walkway would go in the curb lane starting in 2024.

On Parliament Street, the west sidewalk would close between a point 30 metres south of King Street East and a point 44 metres further south. The southbound curb lane would close between a point 5 metres south of King Street East and a point 5 metres north of Front Street East to allow a pedestrian walkway.