With the World Cup set to take place in Toronto in less than a year, work began November 5 to install dedicated transit lanes along Bathurst Street to ensure reliable service during one of the world's largest sporting events. After half a decade of debate and delays over RapidTO, the citywide plan to install dedicated bus and streetcar lanes on some of the TTC's busiest routes, the City Council approved the installation of lanes on Bathurst Street and Dufferin Street south of Bloor Street in July of this year.
Looking west on Bathurst Street north of Lake Shore Boulevard as a 511 Bathurst streetcar travels up a recently installed streetcar lane, image courtesy of Nolan Xuereb
During the Covid-19 pandemic, RapidTO was launched to improve travel times for transit riders across the city of Toronto by dedicating dedicated lanes to the busiest bus and streetcar routes. Bathurst Street, served by the 7 bus north of Bloor Street and the 511 streetcar south, figured prominently in this original plan. The entire street within the City of Toronto was to receive dedicated transit lanes, with the section served by the 7 bus route north of Bloor Street identified as the first priority for installation.
A map of the city-wide plan to create dedicated transit lanes, known as RapidTO, image courtesy of the City of Toronto
Five years later, with traffic reaching record highs, progress on RapidTO had all but stalled after a small number of bus lane installations in the initiative's first year. Facing pressure from public transport stakeholders and concerns about how the flood of football fans would reach the FIFA World Cup ground at Exhibition Place in 2026, the city council restarted its priority public transport project. The council gave priority to Bathurst and Dufferin roads due to their role as the main north-south transit and vehicular links to Exhibition Place. The updated plans would have dedicated transit lanes on both streets from Eglinton Avenue West in the north to Lake Shore Boulevard and Dufferin Gate Loop in the south.
A map of the RapidTO project area along Bathurst Street, image courtesy of the City of Toronto
After these plans were announced earlier this year, a campaign against public transport began, supported by some members of the city council who were not in favor of RapidTO. The core of this opposition lay along Bathurst Street in the Annex, where retailers and residents complained about the potential loss of on-street parking. In the face of the opposition campaign, public transport priority plans have been more than halved, with all sections north of Bloor Street removed from the immediate plans and delegated for further study.
A sign in the window of a business protesting the installation of bus lanes on Bathurst Street, May 17, 2025, image courtesy of UrbanToronto forum contributor txlseries4
Despite this setback, the first phase of installing dedicated streetcar lanes between Lake Shore Boulevard and Dundas Street West began on November 5. The work took place overnight from 10pm to 4am to minimize disruption. To facilitate the painting of the center lanes of the tram, the 511 Bathurst tram will be served by shuttle buses from 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. during the installation period. On November 16, dedicated streetcar lanes between Lake Shore Boulevard and Fort York Boulevard were completed in the CityPlace neighborhood. Private vehicles appeared to be largely adhering to the new lane restrictions, although this was observed on a Sunday afternoon with very light traffic.
Looking northwest from Housey Street to the intersection of Bathurst Street and Fort York Boulevard, where dedicated streetcar lanes have been established, image courtesy of Nolan Xuereb
No dedicated lanes have been installed north of Fort York Boulevard, although the section up to Dundas Street West is expected to be completed before December, before winter weather makes painting the lanes impractical. After winter ends, the city aims to fully install dedicated transit lanes between Bloor Street and Lake Shore Boulevard by early next year, before the start of the FIFA World Cup.
A rendering looking south across the intersection of Queen Street and Bathurst Street showing soon-to-be-installed streetcar lanes, image courtesy of the City of Toronto
In the meantime, a number of traffic routing changes will be implemented along the corridor. The two main changes drivers will notice are the ban on left turns at almost all major intersections along Bathurst Street and the removal of all on-street parking. With the exception of exempt loading zones established where off-street loading is not possible, the Bathurst Street right-of-way south of Bloor Street will soon be reserved exclusively for traffic and transit and not for the accommodation of parked private vehicles.
A map showing the approved traffic operation and parking changes along Bathurst Street, image courtesy of the City of Toronto
UrbanToronto will continue to monitor progress on the installation of dedicated transit lanes on Bathurst Street and RapidTO initiatives across the city. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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