We get used to the status quo, for the most part. Things are as they are, especially if they were in place when we first arrived in an area.
The thing is, things became as they are for reasons, and they stay as they are for reasons.
So what did Davisville Avenue, between Yonge and Mt. Pleasant, do to end up as it now is? What Did Davisville Do Wrong?
What do I mean, with this somewhat silly question? I mean to highlight that there is no good reason for Davisville to be the way it is, and even less reason for it to be left that way.
Let’s recognize some good news before we dive deeper: until late August, most of this part of Davisville was four lanes wide, and for years, it has been treated as a place to speed through the area.
Thanks to Councillor Matlow, his staff, and several community members, including SEDRA board members, there are now lane restrictions by the pedestrian crossings at Davisville/Spectrum school, and by June Rowlands park near Acacia Rd.
The paint, and on the north side, bollards, are a real improvement. They must, however, be treated as a good first step toward a real solution to the traffic dangers on Davisville. SEDRA provided our proposal in an earlier article, which you can read here.
These changes were paid for by the pain and suffering of several pedestrians, and the constant state of fear felt by thousands of area residents when crossing Davisville.
With that in mind, let’s look at the other major streets in Davisville Village: Yonge, Eglinton, Mt. Pleasant and Bayview. What are they like and how is traffic managed on them?
Yonge is Toronto’s “main street”. In our neighbourhood, it is a shopping street, a transit corridor, and an artery for traffic flow, including for emergency vehicles. There are traffic lights at Merton, Davisville/Chaplin, Belsize, Manor, Soudan/Berwick, a pedestrian *traffic light* at the crossing at the south end of Eglinton station, and at Eglinton.
Eglinton is another major Toronto street. It too is a traffic artery, it has shopping, transit and emergency vehicles. At some point the Crosstown will open and reduce the bus and car traffic on Eglinton. There is no suggestion there will be any fewer traffic lights when that happens. Traffic lights exist at Yonge, Dunfield, Redpath, Mt. Pleasant, Forman, Banff, a pedestrian *traffic light* just east of Hoyle, and a traffic light at Bayview.
Mt Pleasant is an artery from downtown to our area and the inner suburbs north of us. It has all the same functions as Yonge and Eglinton have, with a bus route, and a restaurant, shopping and entertainment area between Millwood and Eglinton. There are traffic lights at Merton, Davisville, Belsize, Manor, Soudan and Eglinton.
Bayview is another artery from downtown to our area, Leaside, and the inner suburbs to the north. It also has a bus route, and there is a restaurant and shopping area between Davisville and Soudan/Parkhurst. There are traffic lights at Merton/McRae, Davisville, Millwood, Manor/Fleming, a pedestrian crossing at Soudan/Parkhurst, and a traffic light at Eglinton.
West of Yonge, Davisville becomes Chaplin Crescent. Between Yonge and Avenue Road, there are four stops signs and two traffic lights, one at at Oriole Parkway and another at Avenue Road. Traffic is stopped every block on this stretch of Chaplin.
East of Mt. Pleasant, Davisville reduces to two lanes and one parking lane, with three stop signs, and a traffic light at Bayview.
So what about Davisville between Yonge and Mt. Pleasant? No stop signs, no traffic lights, just three treacherous pedestrian crossings, with yellow flashing lights that far too many drivers treat as a warning, a mere suggestion.
Some years ago, there was a City Planning process to re-imagine Davisville (called Midtown in Focus). The existence of this has been used as a reason to do nothing about the problems of Davisville for far too long.
Over and over again, Davisville has been pushed to the back of the queue. There is absolutely no reason to wait for a complete rebuild of Davisville at some foggy future date.
We look forward to the eventual rebuild of Davisville Avenue.
The thousands of people who live along Davisville and have to cross it every day need Davisville to be better and there is now good reason to believe this will happen.
It is time to implement traffic lights, first at the Davisville/Spectrum school crossing, and then at Acacia Road, to bring Davisville in line with standards that have long existed on the other major roads in our area.
SEDRA continues to work with Councillor Matlow, his staff and City Transportation staff to make these important safety improvements happen. Watch this space for more.