What kind of street do I have?
The City of Toronto’s Road Classification System designates streets based on the service provided. Classification considers motor vehicle traffic volumes, the amount of public transit, and the needs of pedestrians and cyclists. The road class determines the kind of safety interventions that are possible and the process that you will need to follow.
Arterial: Arterial roadways are urban streets that move large amounts of traffic and public transit. Speeds and volumes are higher on these roads and specialized infrastructure such as bicycle lanes and sidewalks are necessary. Minor arterials have over 8000 vehicles per day. Major arterials have over 20,000 vehicles per day.
Collector: Collectors are medium sized streets that connect arterial and local roads. They may have signalized intersections. Some collector roads have public transit. Collector roads have 2,500 to 8,000 vehicles per day.
Local: Local roads provide access to neighbourhoods and carry a smaller amount of traffic. Traffic is usually low and there usually is no public transit. They are sometimes called residential or neighbourhood streets. Local roads have fewer than 2,500 vehicles per day
You can visit the City of Toronto’s website to search for a street by name, map, or ward and find out its type.
Potential Paths
Once you have identified your road class and defined the problem that you are hoping to fix (ie. traffic moving too quickly or an unsafe road crossing), you can begin to explore the possible solutions open to you:
Path 1: Speed Limit Policies
Path 2: Traffic Calming
Path 3: Intersections and Crossings
Use this flow chart to help you determine which path might be most appropriate for the class of road you are hoping to change: