Item - 2023.IE4.9

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1. Requested the General Manager of Transportation Services to conduct a review and report back to Infrastructure and Environment Committee in the fourth quarter of 2023 on the feasibility for a plan to remove the southbound ramp from Lawrence Avenue West to the Allen Road as a means to:

a. Create a dedicated right-turn lane from northbound Marlee Avenue to eastbound Lawrence Avenue West;

b. Improve access for Toronto Transit Commission buses at the Lawrence West subway station;

c. Improve access at the Lawrence West subway station for vehicles to pick up and drop off Toronto Transit Commission riders; and

d. Improve access and the volume of vehicles turning from eastbound Lawrence Avenue West to the northbound ramp of the Allen Road.

Traffic at Lawrence Avenue West and the Allen Road has been a growing problem in recent years. Traffic at this intersection is often backed-up, spilling on to surrounding side streets causing traffic and safety concerns for cyclists, motorists, and pedestrians in the area.

This traffic gridlock will only be made worse as development applications continue to move through the planning process and receive approvals. This stretch of Lawrence at the Allen is directly adjacent to the Lawrence West subway station, making the surrounding lands ideal for development under the provincial Major Transit Stations Areas (MTSAs) and Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSAs) policies, which allow for increased densities in proximity to major transit stations.

The southbound ramp from Lawrence Avenue West onto the Allen Road (photo below), is an extremely underutilised ramp. Furthermore, the positioning of this on-ramp limits the potential for better solutions in the road allowance that might help mitigate existing and increasing traffic issues. If this ramp were removed, it might facilitate a dedicated right-turn lane from northbound Marlee Avenue to eastbound Lawrence. It could improve access to the Lawrence West subway station for TTC buses as well as private vehicles dropping off and picking up riders, which would help lessen the traffic strain at this bottleneck. It might also facilitate a better solution for eastbound traffic turning on to the northbound ramp of the Allen Road.

The location of this underutilised ramp takes up valuable space in this traffic-heavy area causing congestion, safety concerns, and no room to accommodate growth. It is for these reasons that I am recommending Transportation Services conduct a review of this intersection with the objective of determining if it would be possible for the City to remove the southbound on-ramp at Lawrence Ave W and the Allen Rd.