It’s evening in Toronto’s Gay Village and the sidewalks are bustling with people. The air is warm and electric. People sweaty from the dance floor pop out of bars onto the sidewalk, glowing with joy from being with their friends and relief at the chance to escape momentarily into the fresh air of the street. Just up Church Street, two friends who haven’t seen each other in months catch each others eye, exclaiming and running to embrace each other boisterously while on a nearby patio, two old friends watch the exchange while sipping their cocktails quietly, remembering when they too would have worn that revealing of a tank top and shorts on a night out. Long lines squiggle along the sidewalk to bars, leaving people out for a smoke or chat to stand in the parking lane between parked cars. People regularly spill out of the sidewalk into the street. So why don’t we plan for how people already want to use the space instead of restricting them? As anyone who walks down Church Street can tell you, people want a place to linger, to sit, to chat, and to eat.
As a regular in the Village, experiencing these crowds over the years got me thinking how things can and should be better. We have glimpses of what it could be like already –– with the Village already creating pedestrian-only spaces during Halloween and Pride, drawing even larger crowds, it seems like a no-brainer to do it year long, or at least seasonally.
Pedestrianization Examples
Montreal has many pedestrian streets, both seasonal and permanent. Their Gay Village along Rue Sainte-Catherine already seasonally pedestrianizes every year. It’s been so successful that they’re actually rebuilding the road to be a year round pedestrian street. Many businesses have started to realize that people bring business, not cars. There are also so many other great international examples that I can’t list them all, but as a sample: Mexico City, Barcelona, and Tokyo all do a great job in different ways.
The Posting to Policy Pipeline
This inspired me to create a conceptual map proposal of what Toronto’s Church Street could look like pedestrianized from Carlton to Dundonald. This particular section is the heart of the Village, with most of the restaurants, bars, and businesses. I chose Carlton as the southern end because that’s where a busy arterial and the 506 Streetcar runs. I wanted to make it transit accessible, but also to naturally encourage people up Church. Originally I wanted to similarly end it at Wellesley where another transit route (94 bus) and through street is but I extended it to Dundonald as I felt including Barbara Hall Park and the 519 were essential. By recognizing these culturally significant institutions and spaces, we could fully realize the full potential of the project. The entire chosen section is also within a 5 minute walk of both Wellesley and College subway stations on Line 1. The area is easy to reach by bike as well, with bike lanes east-west on Wellesley, and bike lanes east-west on Gerrard not too far south. The Bloor and the Yonge protected bike lanes nearby can funnel people from the rest of the city in. There are also an abundance of Bikeshare docks in the area.
I posted this map last year across social media in March of 2025, garnering lots of attention. Most importantly, local councillor Chris Moise took notice when I reposted it many months later in August. He had been thinking about pedestrianizing Church Street and had visited Montreal as well, realizing its benefits. His office reached out to me and we have been working out the details since for the last 8 months. I’d especially like to thank Francesca Policarpio at councillor Moise’s office who’s been working tirelessly to make this work. This has included extensive stakeholder consultation with the Church Wellesley BIA, Pride Toronto, the local neighbourhood association, the 519, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, city staff, transportation services, emergency services, and police.
This has meant answering the long logistical list of permitting, insurance, licenses, waste collection, security, deliveries, traffic management, hostile vehicle mitigation, etc. before we could even talk about what activating the street could look like. By the end of the scoping process, it looked like we were only able to do Alexander to Dundonald, but I was happy with this being the busiest 3 of the 5 blocks I initially proposed. However, we recently had to further cut it down from just Wellesley to Dundonald as there is a development soon to be under construction which required traffic lanes open. Still, I’m confident of the remaining 2 blocks –– that’s where the most businesses are and sidewalk overcrowding is. Hopefully, the pilot’s success will mean extending the pedestrianization further in length but also in time span.
Traffic
Regarding traffic concerns, Church is a minor street. For most of the day, it’s one lane both ways with parking lanes on both sides. There are much better alternatives to the west on Bay St and Yonge St; and to the east on Jarvis St and Sherbourne St. Shutting down 400m down 2 blocks in a City with over 5,600km of streets is not going to break the system. Less than even a kilometre, the proposed area would be 0.00007% of the city’s streets. Plus this is one of the most transit, cycling, and walking accessible areas of the city, and yet we still have cross street access, passenger pick up and drop off areas, and many parking options available, making the street truly accessible to all.
Pedestrianization Policy Context in Toronto
While I listed inspiration elsewhere, Toronto actually has done pedestrianization before. Gould Street on TMU campus has been extremely successful, starting with a 1-year pedestrianization pilot in 2010 leading to permanent pedestrianization in 2012. Originally two to three car lanes, it is now a wide pedestrian promenade for students to walk, sit, eat, study, chat, and linger. It makes walking from class to class easier and safer. U of T has also pedestrianized Willcocks street in 2010, and while it’s much smaller in length and may need some sprucing up today, it shows Toronto is willing to pedestrianize if institutions like Universities are willing to partner to upkeep the space. Kensington Market has had very popular pedestrian days on the last Sundays of each month from May to October. More recently, Market Street beside St. Lawrence market was pedestrianized for the summer and into the winter holiday season with the popular Winter Market and other events This means there’s precedence in Toronto for pedestrianization as long as an entity is willing to commit to taking care of the space. The Church Wellesley Village BIA has been one of the biggest supporters of the project and would take a large role in managing and activating the space. This means upkeep, street art, performances, etc.
Alignment with City Policy and Goals
The project also closely aligns with many of the City’s goals. Vision Zero aims to reduce road deaths to zero. This means prioritizing the safety of the most vulnerable first, namely pedestrians. TransformTO aims to get Toronto to net zero GHGs by 2040. Transportation is the city’s second largest source of GHGs, accounting for roughly 36% of emissions . Getting people out of their cars and walking is essential for this to happen. This further matches the city’s Downtown Mobility Strategy that adopted the long-term goals that 75% of trips under 5 kilometers be active trips by 2050. This means attracting people by creating safer and more pleasant streets.
Future Opportunities
This pilot provides multiple opportunities into the future. Church street is being resurfaced in the next 2-5 years and this pedestrianization pilot will inform the design of it, hopefully recognizing the merits of pedestrian centered design. This project will also provide the city with a stronger framework for seasonal pedestrianization elsewhere. There is currently a permitting system for few day or weekend street festivals that shut down streets, but no formal system for longer seasonal projects.
How to Support the Project
To support the project, make sure to do the survey and sign the petition. The motion will go to Toronto East York Community Council on April 30th as a member motion, and once it is on the agenda, you can write a letter of support or sign up to speak at the meeting. If passed, it will then move on to City Council for final approval. If you would like to speak, please email me (rodney.chan3@gmail.com) and Francesca (francesca.policarpio@toronto.ca). The pilot will run from June 19 to August 21, overlapping with FIFA and Pride, giving the city much needed space to celebrate both events.
Top illustration by Jake Tobin. Maps and photos by Rodney Chan
