Committee approves cycling improvements for Gladstone Avenue

The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee today approved new cycling facilities on Gladstone Avenue and Gilmour Street that would make cycling safer and more comfortable. The committee also recommended removing a section of Gladstone Avenue from the Urban Truck Route network to create space for the improvements.

There is currently no dedicated cycling facilities on Gladstone Avenue and cyclists must ride in mixed traffic. There is also a history of collisions involving cyclists on Gladstone Avenue that led to a Council motion for staff to investigate the feasibility of adding these facilities to the corridor.

Adding cycling facilities on Gladstone Avenue was challenging because there is limited space within the roadway. However, the project is complaint with the Province’s Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025. The approved design includes protected bike lanes between Preston and Arthur streets, along with targeted improvements to help people cycle more safely along the route. West of Preston Street, a painted westbound bike lane is proposed because the street is too narrow to accommodate separated cycling facilities. A westbound bike lane would be added on Gilmour Street between Bronson Avenue and Elgin Street. The lane would connect to the Gladstone Avenue bike lanes through nearby local streets.

The cycling route would leave Gladstone Avenue at Arthur Street to avoid the Bronson Avenue intersection. This approach was chosen because provincial legislation limits when traffic lanes can be removed to create cycling facilities. From the intersection of Gladstone Avenue and Arthur Street, cyclists would continue along Arthur and Christie streets, where traffic speeds are limited to 30 kilometres per hour. Cyclists would cross Bronson Avenue using the existing traffic signal at Christie Street and a new traffic signal at Gilmour Street. For the short 30-metre section on Bronson Avenue, traffic signals at Christie Street and Gilmour Street would be coordinated to help cyclists cross while minimizing interactions with moving traffic.

Removing this section of Gladstone Avenue from the Urban Truck Route network would create more space for safer, more comfortable cycling facilities while maintaining truck access on nearby routes. The segment of Gladstone Avenue between Rochester and Preston streets would remain in the Urban Truck Route to connect to Highway 417.

There was extensive consultation over the past year with local residents and businesses.  This work led to the reduction in parking impacts. The project would remove 11 of the 28 parking spaces on Gladstone Avenue, significantly fewer than originally proposed following community feedback. On-street parking on Gilmour Street between Bank and Cartier streets would be relocated from the north to the south side, with the overall number of spaces remaining unchanged. Approximately 30 more on-street parking spaces could be added on Lebreton, Arthur and Cambridge streets, within one block of Gladstone Avenue. 

City Council will consider the Committee’s recommendations on Wednesday, September 9.

• Agenda