We, the undersigned residents, small business owners, caregivers, and community members, express our unified and strong opposition to the proposed RapidTO: Dufferin Street plan. This plan would remove all curbside parking on Dufferin Street between Eglinton Avenue West and the Dufferin Gate Loop to install full-time, 24/7 priority bus lanes.

Dufferin Street along this stretch is not primarily a commercial corridor; it is a vital residential street lined with homes and apartments where thousands rely on curbside access for everyday life. While we strongly support investments in public transit, this proposal threatens to dismantle the economic, social, and residential infrastructure of one of Toronto’s most diverse and interdependent mixed-use corridors. There is no viable plan to accommodate residents, visitors, or essential services needing to stop on Dufferin at any point, day or night.

 

Effect on Residents

The vast majority of homes along this stretch of Dufferin lack private driveways or laneways, making curbside access essential for daily life. Removing all parking will create significant hardship for:

Seniors and Residents with Disabilities: Requiring accessible drop-off points for appointments, transit, and essential services.

Families with Small Children: Depending on curbside access for safe drop-off/pick-up at schools, daycares, clinics, and for managing daily life.

Renters and Homeowners: Needing nearby parking to unload groceries, receive deliveries (including large items and moving), and transport passengers.

Caregivers and Paratransit Users: For whom reliable curbside access is not optional, but a necessity for providing and receiving vital care and medical transport.

Tradespeople and Contractors: Requiring curb access for essential home maintenance, renovations, and repairs.

Residents Without Transit Alternatives: Those who cannot solely rely on buses due to work location, shift times, family needs, or other valid reasons.

Side streets are already congested and subject to various parking restrictions, making them incapable of absorbing the displaced parking without increasing safety risks, stress, and accessibility issues for all residents and visitors. Eliminating 100% of curbside access on Dufferin will push essential daily functions onto these overburdened side streets, particularly creating unsafe conditions during winter months.

 

Effect on Local Businesses and Community Hubs

The RapidTO plan disregards the critical needs of small businesses, schools, and vital community hubs along Dufferin:

• Independent Businesses: Rely on curbside parking for deliveries and customer access, the removal of which will severely impact foot traffic and revenue.
• Schools (Fairbank PS, St. Mary of the Angels, Alexander Muir): Risk disruption to bus loading zones and parent drop-offs, with no clear alternatives proposed for all schools.
• Community Services (Abrigo Centre, clinics, religious institutions): Serve vulnerable populations needing short-term parking and accessible drop-off, which will be compromised.

Without available parking or designated shared access periods, these essential services and businesses cannot function safely or efficiently, and the City has not provided viable alternatives.

 

Equity and Planning Justice

The RapidTO Dufferin proposal demonstrates a disregard for equity impacts on low-mobility residents, small business owners, families, individuals with accessibility needs, and caregivers. Equity-based planning demands inclusive consultation and the protection of curbside functions essential for safety, independence, and economic participation. Real accessibility includes curb access, not just proximity to a bus stop. A plan that displaces vulnerable people in the name of transit equity is not equity — it is exclusion. A just transition to transit equity must not sacrifice those already marginalized by design.

 

We Are Not Anti-Transit - We Are Pro-Community

We firmly support transit enhancements that serve our community, not displace it. Viable alternatives to the complete elimination of parking exist and must be seriously considered, including:

Timed bus lanes operating during peak hours only.

Shared curbside zones for deliveries, accessible drop-offs, and timed short-term parking.

Service expansion and improvements on parallel corridors such as Spadina, Christie, or Dupont.

Pilot programs with seasonal or data-driven adjustments rather than permanent removals.

These options can improve bus flow while preserving essential access for small businesses and vulnerable residents.

 

RapidTO Facts

There are no specific studies on the impact this corridor plan will have on Dufferin residents.

There is no current plan to increase the number of buses, and data supporting projected transit time improvements and overall traffic worsening is limited and based on significantly different corridors.

City officials have admitted there is no plan for reversal after the FIFA Cup, as permanent infrastructure ("red paint") will be laid.

The decision appears rushed and heavily influenced by financial considerations rather than community benefits.

 

Our Call to Action

We respectfully and urgently call on the City of Toronto to:

Immediately Pause the RapidTO: Dufferin Street implementation pending a comprehensive and transparent impact assessment of economic, accessibility, residential, and safety consequences, conducted with meaningful community input.

Convene a Formal Stakeholder Roundtable comprised of local businesses, residents, equity advocates, accessibility experts, and transit users for genuine collaboration.

Collaboratively Develop a Revised Plan that achieves improved transit times while preserving essential community infrastructure, accessibility, and local economic viability.

Prioritize and Pilot Test Alternatives such as timed bus lanes and shared curb zones before implementing permanent and irreversible parking removal.

 

Transit solutions should connect and serve communities, not sever their lifelines. Let’s work together to protect what makes Dufferin a real place to live — it's not just a road to travel through.

PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE

Learn more at https://www.protectdufferin.ca/

Sign the petition for Protect Bathurst here: https://www.change.org/p/oppose-rapidto-project-on-bathurst