City officials are looking into turning two downtown Toronto streets into one-way roads after some residents in the neighbourhood complained about congestion in the area.
The two streets -- Maud and Brant streets -- run northbound and southbound in Toronto’s Fashion District.
Brant Street is two blocks long and connects Richmond Street West to King Street West. Maud Street is one block long and connects Richmond Street West to Adelaide Street West.
Coun. Joe Cressy posted a letter in a building on Richmond and Brant asking community members to join him for a walk-and-talk meeting to discuss how the change might affect them.
“We thought it would be rather proactive to meet with and talk to residents,” Cressy told CTV Toronto Tuesday afternoon.
The walk-and-talk meeting is a preliminary step and Cressy said he hopes to gather opinions from the community as well as city transportation officials who are expected to attend.
The decision to have the meeting came about after the city received a development proposal for a hotel at the corner of Brant and Camden streets.
Through meetings with the community, including the Garment District Neighbourhood Association, there was a suggestion from community members that it might make sense to turn Brant Street into a one-way, an employee in Cressy’s office said.
Turning the road into a one-way street would allow more room for curbside activities, like getting into taxis or dropping people off. It could also get rid of problems such as illegal stopping in the area.
The associate said Cressy’s office is happy to look into it and consider the changes..
Transportation Services suggested there be another one-way street nearby going the opposite direction, which is why Maud Street is also being considered.
The Garment District association and Cressy’s office thought a walk-through of the area with constituents would give the community a better idea of how the changes might work.
Locals who work or live in the building at the corner of Richmond and Brant said the change would mainly affect travel time when driving.
The building is a mixed-use space -- with offices and condominiums -- and access to its parking garage is located on Brant Street.
“It would be painful. It would be awful,” said Alyssa Moonie, who works at Freelancers Unlimited Inc., a company located in the building.
She has been driving to work for six years and said she uses both directions on Brant, depending on her daily schedule.
“Maude is only a block long, so it’s not a big deal. Brant is two blocks, so it is a big deal,” Moonie’s colleague James Gray said.
Gray has been working in the building for eight years.
“I left yesterday and I was trying to think which way to go,” he said. “I don’t like either option.”
Those hoping to access the garage would have to go to Maud Street, then down Adelaide Street West and then up Brant Street, according to the letter posted by Cressy’s office.
“Conversely,” the letter says, “if the direction goes the other way, you could never use King Street to take Brant to get to the building garage or even to Richmond Street.”
Other businesses and buildings that may be affected along Brant include an alternative junior school, high-end restaurants and lounges like Jacobs & Co. Steakhouse and Citizen. Along Maud Street, there is a studio, and event management company and an apartment building.
Sarah Wilson, a resident who lives in the area and uses her car for work, said she thinks the one-ways could cause more traffic on other streets.
“If I have to go to Peter [Street] and across Spadina [Avenue],” she said, “it’s adding more congestion to the area. I’m all of a sudden clogging Peter.”
Wilson said there may be people who welcome the change but “for me it’s just more hassle,” she said.
The purpose of Tuesday night’s meeting is to determine “how we can improve safety, flow of traffic and the experience in downtown Toronto,” Cressy said, adding that no changes would be made immediately.
“This will be the first of many discussions,” Cressy said. “We will have transportation staff there.”
Cressy said he will be at the corner of Brant and Camden streets at 6 p.m. The next step will be to collect the information from the meeting. Transportation Services will then put together a proposal to present to the neighbourhood before it can go to city council.
“Based on that, council will lead the decision,” Cressy said.
This comes after an announcement posted on Cressy’s website in July that city council granted approvals for a revitalisation to the Waterworks building at Richmond Street West and Augusta Avenue.
City council, along with Build Toronto, invested a combined $2.4 million for 15 affordable housing units, Cressy said in the announcement.
Saint Andrew’s Playground, along Brant Street, will also be expanded as part of the revitalisation as well as a 50-bed youth shelter called Eva’s Phoenix.
