Look out scramble crossings, you might be next on the Toronto hit-list. The Public Works Committee earlier today voted 3-2 in favour of conducting a review of the scramble at Yonge and Dundas as part of the downtown transportation operations study, which is looking for quick-fixes to perceived gridlock on Toronto streets. The motion was put forward by Committee Chairman Denzil Minnan-Wong, who cited concerns that the scramble adds to congestion in the area.

I'd say the move is surprising, but given the recent history of such motions at Public Works Committee meetings — e.g. the Fort York Pedestrian bridge and the Jarvis bike lanes — it's not altogether shocking that this would suddenly come up. Area councillor, Kristyn Wong-Tam, did however express concern that she was (once again) not consulted about this prior to the motion — a fact made even more problematic given the recent work she's done in consultation with planners Ken Greenberg and Marianne McKenna on a study of the area in question.

City traffic counts at Yonge and Dundas cited in that study, which came out in early July, indicate that almost double the number of pedestrians (53,000+) pass through Yonge and Dundas per day than vehicles (22,000+). Given these readily available numbers, one wonders why it is that yet another study is warranted. Oh wait, it's not. Even if there is gridlock in the area, the scramble crossing helps to keep a massive number of pedestrians around Yonge and Dundas moving more efficiently.

Photo by Roger Cullman