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A new plan at city hall could turn the stretch of Church Street in Toronto’s Church-Wellesley neighbourhood, known as The Village, into a car-free zone this summer.
If approved, the proposal would see the street transformed into a pedestrian-only space between Wellesley Street East and Alexander Street from June 19 to Aug. 21.
Rodney Chan, a Toronto native and urban planning student at the University of Waterloo, first floated the idea of pedestrianizing the street just over a year ago.
“I created a map with the proposed pedestrianized areas I would like to see,” he told CBC Toronto. “Church Street is already pedestrianized during Pride, during Halloween [and] it’s always so successful.”
The proposed pedestrian-only zone would be in place between Wellesley Street E. and Alexander Street from June 19 to August 21. Cross streets would remain open to vehicle traffic. (Tyler Cheese/CBC)
Chan’s plan was noticed by Coun. Chris Moise, whose office worked with him to develop an official proposal to take to the city.
Potential benefits of the pedestrianized stretch include extended patios, more outdoor seating and spaces for entertainment and public gatherings, transforming the area into a festival-like public space. The plan also allows for east-west cross-streets to remain open to vehicle traffic.
The proposal will go before the Toronto and East York community council on April 30, and if approved, move on to city council for final sign off in May.
It’s a move Moise has been wanting to push forward since he first ran for council in 2022.
“I mentioned in my platform that I wanted to pedestrianize Church Street,” he told CBC Toronto. “We’re working very diligently with city staff to try and make this happen.”
Ideal location to test out pedestrian-only zone
For some, the plan may raise concerns about worsening traffic congestion in the area, but The Village is actually an ideal spot to test something like this out, Chen said.
“Church Street is a pretty minor street,” he said. “One big benefit is that there’s no bus route on it, so there’s not going to be any disruption.”
Chan also noted successful examples of car-free streets in other cities all over the world, including Barcelona, Copenhagen and New York.
“[Montreal’s] Gay Village is also seasonally pedestrianized,” he said. “For them it’s been so successful that they’re redesigning the street currently and going to do a full-year pedestrianization.”
Montreal’s Gay Village on Sainte-Catherine Street has been pedestrianized from May to Oct. since 2007. The city is planning to make it a year-round feature. (CBC/Radio-Canada)
Toronto has a handful of smaller pedestrian-only streets already, including those on the University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University campuses.
In recent years, Market Street (next to St. Lawrence Market) has also been designated a pedestrian-only street during warmer months.
“It’s really brought more people into the community, into the downtown core,” Moise said.
He also noted that both the Church and Wellesley BIA and the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association are on board with the plan.
Jaret Sereda, the BIA’s executive director, told CBC Toronto, he’s looking forward to more foot traffic this summer.
Church Street businesses welcome more foot traffic
“All the businesses are really stoked about it,” he said. “It’s proven that people come, they hang out, they socialize more and more importantly, they stop and shop.”
If the plan moves forward, the pedestrian-only zone would be in place for Village Fest — the weekend before Pride.
“We’ve never closed down the street for [Village Fest] because it’s just so expensive. It’s always just in a parking lot,” Sereda said.
He’s viewing the plan as a pilot that could provide a model for more car-free periods on Church Street — and other streets around Toronto — in the future.
The pedestrianization period would also coincide with Toronto’s FIFA World Cup games this summer, which is expected to bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city.
“Everybody who comes to Toronto always checks out The Village,” Sereda said. “It’s the biggest place to party, it’s a great atmosphere, and you’re always gonna meet somebody.”