Item - 2025.IE23.7

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council amend City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 743, Street and Sidewalks, Use Of, to permit temporary ramps as permitted encroachments, generally as set out in Attachment 1 to the report (June 25, 2025) from the General Manager, Transportation Services.

2. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make any necessary clarifications, refinements, modifications, technical amendments, or by-law amendments as may be identified by the City Solicitor, in consultation with the General Manager, Transportation Services, in order to give effect to City Council's decision.

3. City Council request the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building to include, as part of any future consultation on provincial or national building codes, to consider recommendations that would strengthen the accessibility from the public right-of-way to privately-owned commercial and retail buildings areas, for example, where renovations are proposed that involve modifications to public areas such as entrances, washrooms, or customer service spaces.

Many businesses in Toronto are located in buildings where the entrances are not level with the adjacent sidewalks, creating accessibility barriers for individuals using mobility devices, strollers, and carts. The legal requirement to construct permanent ramps is contingent upon new construction or major renovations; in the interim, the buildings remain inaccessible. To address this, some businesses have placed temporary ramps on sidewalks, but these sometimes obstruct pedestrian clearways and pose safety challenges.

The City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 743, Streets and Sidewalks, Use of, regulates safe maintenance and operations of our sidewalks and maintenance of the pedestrian clearway. It is Transportation Services' position that a permanent barrier-free entrance into a building should be accommodated on the private side of a property line and should be the responsibility of the property owner or occupier. In many cases, this can entail substantial construction work to retrofit the entrance which may be many years before it is undertaken by the building owner. Transportation Services recognizes the need for interim solutions to provide accessibility.

This report recommends amendments to Chapter 743 to allow the placement of temporary ramps as a permitted encroachment within the public right-of-way. The proposed amendments aim to balance the need for improved accessibility with the necessity of maintaining clear pedestrian pathways. The approach avoids the introduction of new permitting processes that could impose additional financial and administrative burdens and reduce the appeal of building owners or leaseholders providing this accessibility feature.

Many property owners have already informally placed their own ramps, most of which are appropriately sized. This report and its adoption will provide guidance on best practice and hopefully encourage wider uptake, thereby providing an interim solution to the accessibility challenges posed by stepped entrances, while also ensuring that public sidewalks remain safe and accessible for all users.