I visited a rarity of transportation features recently: a road, running through a suburban area that was compact, multimodal, and still functional as an arterial road for cars. In this post I’ll unpack the road and what makes it good, especially compared to the status quo.
Kipling Avenue
The subject of this post is Toronto’s Kipling Avenue, from Steeles Avenue to just north of Finch Avenue (about 2 km). The right-of-way is 36 m (120 ft.), very typical of suburban arterial roads. The north south corridor runs through one of Toronto’s many apartment neighbourhoods, so in addition to lots of density there are lots of pedestrians, and especially users of transit. The street was recently reconstructed in 2021 and 2022 and the City of Toronto took the opportunity to upgrade it to match some of its latest standards for sidewalks, trails, lane widths, and curb radii, which I’ll discuss in this post.
Narrow Lanes
Kipling’s lanes are uniquely narrow, and it’s no accident. The inside lanes are 3.0 m wide and the curb lanes are 3.3 m including the gutter. Before the recent rebuild, these lanes were much wider; 3.5 m and 4.0 m, respectively. The post I made about this on LinkedIn garnered an incredible amount of attention and though most reactions were positive, it also drew out many of the reasons why others are so hesitant to try narrower lanes.
While there is much research that narrow lanes are an effective speed control measure without compromising safety, few municipalities build them this narrow. Toronto, on the other hand, has its own lane width design guidelines that specifically prescribe these lane widths.
Driving here felt no different than any other road. In my sedan I did not feel pinched, but I did notice that the buses took up the full lane, making it clear why the curb lanes are a bit wider.
Limited Speeding
Stopping on the sidewalk to watch a radar sign for a bit (no doubt there to study the same questions that I’m curious about), I found another rarity: the majority of cars were driving the speed limit. I don’t have official data from the city but it seemed that most groups of cars were travelling at or below 50 km/h, with the odd lone car going a bit faster. You would be extremely hard-pressed to find any 50 km/h suburban arterial road in your municipality where the majority of drivers actually travel the speed limit, especially given the common practice of designing roads for higher speeds.
Short Cycles
Crossing the street on a Saturday afternoon, it seemed I didn’t have to wait more than 30 seconds to get a green. In fact, when I stopped to time the cycle length of the signals on Kipling, I counted them at just 70 seconds. This is also consistent with Toronto’s signal operations policy, one that prioritizes short cycles for the benefit of pedestrians in off peak periods.
There’s a science to this. The City of Ottawa has published a formula for calculating the average delay experienced by a pedestrian crossing one leg of an intersection. With a cycle length of 70 seconds and a walk time of 7 seconds (the “flashing don’t walk” time is not included), the average delay is calculated at 28 seconds, equal to a pedestrian level-of-service (LOS) of “C”.
Here’s a comparison showing how longer cycle lengths affect the delay and level of service; you can quickly see how the longer cycle lengths common on suburban corridors can result in “failing” conditions for pedestrians. In these “failing” conditions, people are more likely to cross before the signal changes, worsening safety.
| Cycle Length | Pedestrian Delay | Pedestrian LOS |
| 70 s | 28 s | “C” |
| 100 s | 43 s | “E” |
| 140 s | 63 s | “F” |
There’s more benefit to short cycles beyond delay for pedestrians; short cycles are also a great way to manage speeding, and I saw this in practice on Kipling. Driving along the street, it was rare to get more than two green lights in a row. The group of cars I was in would get a green, accelerate, cruise at 50 km/h for a bit, then start slowing down as the light ahead turned red.
It was a minor inconvenience but it also meant that no single car could tear down the corridor a high speed, something very common on coordinated corridors with long cycles that provide excess green time on the major road. In fact, this very phenomenon is discussed in this paper by Peter Furth which asserts that speeding can be reduced by doing exactly what Toronto has done on this corridor.
Short Crossings
When I cross suburban roads as a pedestrian I often feel severely out of place, and am constantly vigilant of cars coming from multiple directions. Crossing at the intersections with collector roads along Kipling felt much better than those other experiences. Corner radii at intersections are very compact to keep turn speeds low (another Toronto policy), and because the road is narrow, the crossing distance is shorter too, just over 15 metres. Oh and there are leading pedestrian intervals that give pedestrians a head start at all crossings – another Toronto policy that has a proven safety benefit.
It’s hard to communicate in a blog how much of a difference the short crossing makes, but to put it into perspective, here’s a comparable crossing at Jane Street and Roseheath Drive in Vaughan, not too far north of Kipling.
Crossing the main street (Jane) at this intersection involves crossing six much wider lanes instead of five, and when combined with the large corner radii results in a crossing distance of 26 metres – that’s a more than 50% longer crossing to get across essentially the same “type” of road.
Space for Pedestrians and Cyclists
Despite being a main thoroughfare for cars, the road is hospitable for pedestrians and cyclists. Toronto standard 2.1 m (7 ft) sidewalks are provided on each side of the road, and a wide two-way multi-use trail is provided on the side with the apartment towers. The trail is set back from the roadway enough that turning vehicles actually have space to queue without blocking lanes, a notable benefit of setback crossings. This setback area also doubles as a wide space for trees and a large platform at bus stops.
Recently-planted trees decorate both sides of the roadway, and though still quite small, the wide boulevards partially afforded by the narrow lanes should provide the conditions for many of these to become quite large over time, providing urban cooling and shade for people.
Recipe for Success
In summary, Toronto’s Kipling Avenue is a good suburban road because it’s comfortable to walk, cycle, or take transit there while still functioning as a thoroughfare for cars and not consuming an excessive amount of space. To achieve this, there’s a lot of conscious planning, design, and operational effort going on in the background:
- Narrow lanes to reduce travel speeds and free up more space for other elements like trees, driven by Toronto’s lane widths guidelines
- Small corner radii at intersections to reduce turning speeds and minimize crossing distances, driven by Toronto’s curb radii guidelines
- Wide sidewalks and a trail, set back from the road to make walking and cycling safe and comfortable, even at driveway crossings
- Street trees to provide traffic calming and shade
- Short signal cycles in off-peak periods, to minimize delay for pedestrians and reduce speeding opportunities, driven by Toronto’s signal operations policy
This recipe for success is entirely repeatable, not just within Toronto but beyond. As organizations like TAC undertake efforts to understand how to design for lower vehicle speeds in urban areas, Toronto’s Kipling Avenue should be on everyone’s radar as a beacon of hope for broader success.
Final Note: A Road, Not A Street
One final note to add: this portion of Kipling Avenue is a road, not a street. The development is oriented away from the road, and it is designed to move cars over longer distances. A good suburban “street” would look very different, with street-facing buildings, ground floor retail, less space for cars, and a much more generous pedestrian realm.
Beyond the Automobile 