‘Dutch-style’ protected intersection coming to city

Experts say design will help improve road safety for all

Toronto road users will soon get to experience a touch of Dutch design in the downtown core.

A busy crossing near the University of Toronto’s downtown campus is being transformed into a protected intersection, and experts say the new design, popularized in the Netherlands, will help improve safety for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

Reconstruction of the intersection at Bloor and St. George streets began in July and is slated for completion next summer.

The redesigned roadway will feature shorter crosswalks for pedestrians and dedicated pathways for cyclists. Centre islands will also reduce vehicle speeds and give right-turning drivers a better view of pedestrians and cyclists, city planners say.

New design makes cyclists and pedestrians feel safer

At a public information event Aug. 1 outlining the project, the city said the protected intersection will provide “a high degree of comfort and safety for people of all ages and abilities” by reducing the likelihood of high-speed vehicle turns, improving sightlines, and limiting the distance and time that cyclists and pedestrians are exposed to conflicts with vehicles.

Robert Zaichkowski, a road safety advocate and founding member of Community Bikeways, said advocates have been calling for protected intersections in Toronto for the last decade. Calls grew louder for an intersection redesign at Bloor and St. George streets, he said, after the death of 58-year-old cyclist Dalia Chako in 2018.

Though he welcomes the new project, Zaichkowski said there’s “a large sentiment that the protected intersection could have been installed a lot sooner.”

Cities that have implemented the Dutch-style design have consistently reported increased road safety. A study in New York found the intersection was even safer than crossings with dedicated bike signal phases and turn lanes.

San Francisco, which opened its first protected intersection in 2016, found the new design resulted in 98 per cent of drivers turning at speeds at or below the speed limit. Some 85 per cent of cyclists and 55 per cent of pedestrians said they felt safer and more comfortable following the changes.

Intersection is self-explanatory and increases sightlines

“One of the biggest determinants of road safety, particularly for vulnerable road users, is whether drivers can see them,” said Benjamin Wolfe, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Toronto Mississauga and a director at the Applied Perception and Psychophysics Laboratory. “So, building intersections such that drivers are more likely to see people using them is going to keep people safer.”

While the new design will be an adjustment for many road users, Wolfe said it shouldn’t require much education as the intersection is self-explaining.

“The road is explicitly designed to help its users — whether they’re pedestrians, cyclists or motor vehicle drivers — know where to go and how to behave,” he said.

When the new intersection is operational, drivers will stop slightly behind cyclists, who will be in a dedicated laneway and waiting in an area protected from motor traffic by a central island. Cyclists making a left turn will do so in two stages, first by crossing the intersection then making a 90-degree turn at the opposite side of the crossing. Pedestrians, meanwhile, will use crosswalks that are set further back from the intersection, making them more visible to drivers.

While protected intersections are commonly found in the Netherlands and other northern European countries, it has only begun to be embraced in North America, where road designs typically centre the needs of motor vehicles.

Wolfe said it makes sense city planners selected the intersection of Bloor and St. George streets as a site for redevelopment. “You have the highest immediate benefit given the mixture of road users there,” he said.

City also redeveloping other parts of Bloor Street

The Dutch-style intersection is part of a broader reconstruction project along Bloor Street, between Avenue Road and Spadina Avenue. The city also plans to implement raised cycle tracks along the corridor, replace TTC bus stops with raised accessible platforms and conduct several green infrastructure enhancements.

Work is expected to take place 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the city said, though excavation and the heavy breaking of concrete will only occur during certain designated hours.

Up until the end of the year, traffic along the reconstruction zone on Bloor Street will be reduced to one lane in each direction, with motorists sharing the road with cyclists. From the end of the year through to April 2024, cycle tracks will reopen in both directions.

Later, from the early spring to summer 2024, eastbound traffic along Bloor Street, from Spadina Avenue to Avenue Road, will be closed.

The explicitly designed help road its users is to — they’re whether pedestrians, cyclists or motor vehicle drivers — know where to go and how to behave.

BENJAMIN WOLFE ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MISSISSAUGA