Feasibility of Pedestrian Priority Phase at Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue

The investigation determined that a Pedestrian Priority Phase at this location is warranted, as the intersection observed over 5,000 pedestrians per hour in November 2024, making this one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in the City based on the past five years of data collection. Field observations confirmed pedestrian crowding at the street corners, further emphasizing the need for the City to implement a strategy that minimizes delay for pedestrians at this location. Although the intersection exceeds the first numerical warrant criteria of more than 3,000 pedestrians crossing per hour, a further analysis found that implementing a Pedestrian Priority Phase at this location would not result in significant benefits to pedestrians when compared to the existing operation. In fact, implementing a Pedestrian Priority Phase was shown to increase pedestrian delays, rather than reduce them, given the need to add additional signal time for other modes of travel to clear. Furthermore, the existing vehicle turn-restrictions at this intersection already eliminate pedestrian-vehicle conflicts, meaning a Pedestrian Priority Phase would not provide any additional safety benefits. It is also important to note that when the Eglinton Crosstown opens, there will be additional pedestrian crossing capacity available for transit riders transferring between transit lines underground. This will reduce some of the pedestrian demands at the intersection as well. For these reasons, while the numerical warrant was met, Transportation Services staff do not recommend implementing a Pedestrian Priority Phase at this location and advise that the City should maintain the existing signal operation even after the Eglinton Crosstown is in operation.