A street that has been deemed one of the most dangerous in Toronto is set to see a major revamp in the coming years as the City looks at how it can improve infrastructure for all road users.

The future plan for Parkside Drive looks like it could likely include the addition of dedicated bike lanes, per an image tweeted by the City on Tuesday, along with wider sidewalks, separate left-turn lanes, and, notably, half the road space for cars.

In consultation with the community, the City is identifying changes to Parkside Drive, from Keele Subway Station to the Martin Goodman Trail, to improve safety and mobility on the corridor with a focus on pedestrians, people cycling and other vulnerable road users. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/WXMlWTUJip

— Toronto Cycling and Pedestrian Projects (@TO_Cycling_Ped) February 13, 2024

"The future vision for Parkside Drive involves road reconfiguration, [which] provides an opportunity to upgrade the corridor to current standards and support multi-modal travel options," the City states about its Parkside Drive study.

It mentions "two-way cycle tracks separated with barriers" and "reducing the number of mid-block motor vehicle lanes from 4 to 2 (one in each direction)" as ways to achieve this vision — an update that will be cause for celebration for many, but will likely anger quite a few others.

With no prospect of improvements/changes to the road for a decade, this feels like a phoney PR move. What requires more study? It’s filled with speeding cars. Something more than a talking exercise is need now.

— Kevin Putnam (@fuzzyresident) February 13, 2024

For whatever reason, more drivers on Parkside Drive seem to ignore the posted speed limit than anywhere else in the city, with an Automated Speed Enforcement camera along the roadway issuing thousands of tickets per month since it was installed in spring 2022.

This added up to a shocking $3.7 million in fines in less than a year and half by last summer, many of them issued to repeat offenders.

Hand-in-hand with the speeding issue, the thoroughfare has been the site of far too many accidents — some of them fatal — and also borders the eastern edge of High Park, which lately has become the new epicentre of the ever- more-heated battle between local motorists and cyclists.

put in speed bumps, make it one lane going one way north from queensway to bloor, turn the remaining lane into a bike or pedestrian path, with cement blockers to protect from the road. boom done, no consultation needed, simple solution.

— Food Enthusiast (@ArthurS18962489) February 13, 2024

As vulnerable road users continue to demand something be done to calm traffic in the area and make High Park and Parkside Drive safer for pedestrians and cyclists, others have been fighting against banning cars from the green space.

Those not in support of the City's High Park movement strategy to ensure that much of the park's routes remain car-free argue that it poses issues for those with accessibility needs (such as the elderly) and out-of-towners.

Regardless of what happens inside the park's bounds, there is definitely some support of the idea of bike lanes along Parkside, both in the interim before the street is fully reconstructed in a decade's time, and also as a key feature of that reconstruction.

Others, though, worry the changes will divert more traffic onto side streets, and also create more traffic on a route that people take to key arteries like Lake Shore Blvd. and the Gardiner Expressway.

I’ve lived here most of my life and am an avid cyclist. Parkside is the only direct route to the highway in the west end. Pretty much every other street (and high park) is cycling and walking friendly.

Leave Parkside alone!

— Maria (@MariaLevich) July 8, 2023

Residents can give their input on the future of Parkside Drive through a survey on the City's website until Febuary 15.