Item - 2026.TE28.48

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services to prohibit left turns from northbound Bathurst Street onto westbound Barton Avenue from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday to Saturday.

Barton Avenue is a narrow east-west residential street in Seaton Village which used to carry primarily local traffic between Bathurst Street and Christie Street. A previous Councillor created a maze on other east-west streets in Seaton Village. This, together with navigation apps such as Waze, has funnelled cut-through traffic onto Barton Avenue, especially traffic turning left from Bathurst Street in the afternoon rush hour.

Since 2018, Barton Avenue residents and the Seaton Village Residents Association have demanded action, while debating options for discouraging cut through traffic. The time for action has now come, due to population and traffic increases.

My office has conducted further detailed consultations with the neighborhood, including hand distributing more than 4000 surveys, and speaking with many residents. The results confirm a high level of concern about traffic volumes on Barton Avenue between Bathurst Street and Christie Street, particularly westbound traffic during the afternoon rush-hour. The most recent available traffic account from Transportation Services also shows a high level of cut through traffic on Barton Avenue at this time of day.

However, we did not find a current consensus in favour of reversing the direction of traffic, even as a pilot project. Instead, we found an almost even split between those who wish to see a traffic direction reversal on Barton Avenue, and those who do not.

Total Occurrences of Each Value (1-5) chart*

* To view the chart, please see the letter (January 10, 2026) from Councillor Dianne Saxe.

In these circumstances, it is appropriate to begin with more limited traffic calming measures and to monitor their effect on afternoon rush-hour traffic levels. Of these, the most important is to prohibit left turns from Bathurst Street onto Barton Avenue during the afternoon rush hour. This will also complement recent parking changes intended to improve the timeliness and reliability of the afternoon northbound Bathurst bus.