East Don Trail and Pedestrian Streets at City Council

Next week’s city council meeting has two member motions proposed which the cycling community ought to pay attention to. The first is a proposed land exchange at Donalda Club for a future expansion of the East Don Trail and the second seeks to create a pedestrian streets program for Toronto. Let’s dive in to see what they have to offer.

The original East Don Trail ends at Milne Hollow Park

East Don Trail

The original East Don Trail from Milne Hollow Park to Wynford Heights Crescent was completed back in October 2012.  Since then, the Toronto and Conservation Authority (TRCA) opened Phase 2 of the current East Don Trail project back in 2020 while Phase 1 has been substantially completed as of last month. A Phase 3 trail is expected to connect Phases 1 and 2 which is nearing completion of the feasibility and conceptual design phase (Stage A) and is expected to advance to detailed design (Stage B) later this year per an update I got from the TRCA. Still no update on when Phase 3 will start construction.

However, the Donalda Club golf course currently stands in the way between the original East Don Trail and the (still closed) Betty Sutherland Trail near York Mills and Don Mills. To address this gap, Councillors Jon Burnside and Paul Ainslie submitted Member Motion MM42.13  which would see a land exchange take place between the City of Toronto and Donalda Club in order to allow for an eventual extension of that trail in question. Donalda Club is currently leasing the lands until 2035 which the city would forego future leasing revenues while the city would gain ravine lands not used by the golf course.

The grey dotted line on this map shows the current trail gap between the Betty Sutherland Trail (pink) and the original East Don Trail (blue). Final alignment TBD. Phase 1 is marked in dark green, Phase 2 in light green, and the planned Phase 3 in grey.

Should this trail gap be built, it would bring us one step closer to completing the Loop Trail, though the Don Mills Crossing Bridge – which is still moving forward – is another way to address that gap. There would still be that on-road gap from the Don Mills Trail to the Betty Sutherland Trail.

Pedestrian Streets Program

To build momentum from last month’s approval of the Pedestrianizing Church Street Pilot (which kicked off yesterday), Councillors Josh Matlow and Chris Moise submitted Member Motion MM42.39  which would incorporate findings from that project to establish a pedestrian streets program for Summer 2027. The City of Toronto has already been working on a pedestrian streets policy since early 2025, while such a program would also help the city achieve their road safety and climate action goals, as well as boost business activity. The Church Street pilot could have an influence on whether Downtown Yonge Street or Kensington Market could get such a treatment beyond just Pedestrian Sundays for the latter.

Church Street during Pride Weekend in June 2025

While a pedestrian streets program is much needed in Toronto given the success other cities such as Montréal and New York City have had with their pedestrianization initiatives, this motion provides an opportunity to call for the reinstatement of open streets. Open streets programs temporarily close streets to motor vehicles to allow for walking, cycling, and physical activity which Toronto hasn’t held since 2022 despite OpenStreetsTO seeing as many as 100,000 visitors in 2019 and ActiveTO on Lake Shore West being very popular during the pandemic. If Toronto is to bring back this program, it needs three things to make it successful over the long term. These include dedicated and permanent city funding, increased frequency with a goal of every Sunday (10 AM – 4 PM) from Victoria Day to Labour Day, and a significantly longer route. Past OpenStreetsTO events were held only two Sundays annually on Bloor from Christie to Parliament and Yonge from Bloor to Queen, while they relied on external partners for funding.

TORONTO SUMMER STREETS 2027 Should be 2026 but World Cup + election panic... Candidates: commit to 2027, city funded. • A PROGRAM, NOT 1-2 day event: EVERY Sunday. • All Ages & Abilities & Backgrounds connecting as ONE CITY. • Making easier to LIVE Healthier & Happier.

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— Gil Penalosa (@penalosag.bsky.social) May 24, 2026 at 9:41 AM

Since the pedestrian streets policy aimed to look at both permanent and temporary / seasonal road closures for pedestrian use, open streets would likely fall within scope of this plan. To further build support for the motion, Councillor Josh Matlow has a petition on his website.

Take Action

With the next City Council meeting starting on Wednesday, June 24, I encourage you to please e-mail councilmeeting@toronto.ca, as well as copy Mayor Olivia Chow (mayor_chow@toronto.ca) and your city councillor to show your support for either (or both) of these motions. Be sure to reference the motion number – MM42.13 for the East Don Trail matter or MM42.39 for the Pedestrian Streets Program – and encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to do the same.

I included a letter template for MM42.39 below which was sent via the open streets petition.

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TO: councilmeeting@toronto.ca
CC: mayor_chow@toronto.ca; (your councillor’s e-mail); open.streets.toronto@gmail.com
Subject: MM42.39 (Creating a Pedestrian Streets Program for Toronto

Dear Mayor Olivia Chow and Members of City Council,

I would like to express my full support for this motion from Councillors Josh Matlow and Chris Moise regarding the creation of a pedestrian streets program for Toronto. This motion builds on the momentum from the Church Street Pedestrianization Pilot which officially started on Friday, June 19. While the Church Street Pilot would help inform this process and there are other streets that could use pedestrianization such as Downtown Yonge and Kensington Market, I believe bringing back open streets needs to be part of this discussion as well.

(explain your past experiences with pedestrian streets and open streets)

In the event open streets gets brought back to Toronto, there are three things that are needed to ensure its long-term success. The first is dedicated and permanent funding from the city; something which open streets events in other cities such as Bogota, New York, Ottawa, and Hamilton enjoyed whereas past OpenStreetsTO events relied on external partners for funding. The second is increased frequency beyond the two Sundays annually per past events. Ideally, open streets should be held every Sunday (10 AM – 4 PM) from Victoria Day to Labour Day. Finally, there is a need for a significantly longer route. One bold suggestion that has been floated around is to host it along Yonge Street from York Mills Road to Queen’s Quay and along Bloor-Danforth from the Humber River to Warden Avenue for a total of 30 kilometres. However, there are many other events happening across the city – including street festivals – that would need to be accounted for which could lead to route changes.

Pedestrian streets and open streets offer many benefits including increased foot and bicycle traffic, improved business activity and public health outcomes, and bringing people of all ages, backgrounds, and neighbourhoods together. Given this, I urge Mayor Chow and City Council to support this motion and amend it to include bringing back open streets.

Sincerely yours,
(your name and address)