Item - 2025.NY26.34

North York Community Council:

1. Authorized the all-way compulsory stop control at the intersection of Highland Crescent and Beechwood Avenue.

The area south-west of York Mills Road and Bayview Avenue, particularly on Highland Crescent, is experiencing persistent traffic issues that include speeding, running stop signs and growing volumes of infiltration traffic. In addition to other initiatives my office is working on in collaboration with the Transportation Services division, a serious concern we have heard from many residents is the safety of the Highland Crescent and Beechwood Avenue intersection.

Currently a two-way stop for eastbound and westbound traffic, residents and drivers have reported that the intersection is highly problematic with east / westbound drivers routinely not stopping, while north / southbound drivers either race through the intersection, or indeed slow down because they are confused why it is not an all-way stop already.

In the past few years, there have been several collisions. We are aware that the last time the warrant criteria were checked, the Potentially Preventable Collision count did not fully reach 6 over 2 years. However, there is wholly credible information that the reported number of collisions undercounts the real number of accidents due to non-reporting.

We further note that the warrant counts for Vehicle / Pedestrian Volume as well as Percentage of Traffic on Major Street were very close on the last study day of March 19, 2025 (a day that happened to fall in the March Break period for private schools, some of whose parents are known to use Highland Crescent for the school commute).

To address the real safety concerns at this intersection, I am therefore seeking to install all-way compulsory stop control at Highland Crescent and Beechwood Avenue.