bloor symington

One of Toronto's worst intersections just got a makeover

What’s been dubbed one of Toronto’s worst intersections has been given a visually arresting makeover, but apparently it’s not solving too many of the area’s traffic woes.

At Bloor and Sterling, there’s a slight jog right to continue north as Sterling ends and Symington begins. Drivers going east on Bloor are constantly blocking this intersection, and every time the light changes there’s a snarl of confusion between cars, pedestrians and cyclists.

A proposed solution was to paint canary yellow cross-hatching across the entire intersection, and it seems that’s been embraced officially. The idea is to clearly mark where the intersection actually is, a technique that’s also been employed in Manhattan.

So far, though, people navigating the intersection are as baffled as ever, according to business owner Liz Rohrich of Noble Coffee Co. directly adjacent to the madness.

With a picture window that’s perfect for taking in all the chaos, the cafe often tags their Instagram posts with #dontblocktheintersection.

“People stopped in the intersection, in the middle of the cross walk, and then over the red light running from Sterling to Bloor. The overall hum I got today was that it’s not working, and everything is just the same and chaotic,” she says.

“I don’t think there is just one solution. I think many things need to happen, but a lot of it is driver awareness, they just aren’t paying attention,” continues Rohrich. She thinks maybe the painting could work in conjunction with more signs and a red light camera.

In the meantime, in the Toronto cafe there’s no shortage of opinions on other fixes, and our city has gained another quirky bit of urban design.

Lead photo by

noblecoffeeco


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Video shows passengers evacuating Delta plane after crash at Toronto airport

Delta plane flips over in crash at Pearson airport in Toronto

Homes taken over by Metrolinx for new Toronto subway will soon be demolished

What's open and closed on Family Day 2025 in Toronto

Gardiner Expressway construction faces new hiccup with upcoming lawsuit

Law-breaking Toronto driver stopped by cops during live news broadcast

Second Toronto storm could bring another 30 cm of snow

Toronto is about to make it a lot easier to visit the Scarborough Bluffs