Construction on Eglinton Avenue East has caused gridlock on nearby side streets, with Donlea Drive among the hardest hit. Increased traffic, exacerbated by navigation apps like Waze, has brought neighbourhood roads to a standstill, sparking growing frustration among residents.
Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin has responded with a message (on Facebook) to the community, sharing efforts underway to address the issue, including working with City staff and Metrolinx on traffic signals and intersection improvements. Residents are encouraged to contact her office directly with concerns.
Read her full statement, shared on December 10, 2024, below.
Please know that my office and I are actively working with city staff from multiple departments to resolve the traffic issues along Eglinton and along Donlea. This includes looking at intersection configuration and signal timing, among other things, and involves a number of City of Toronto departments as well as Metrolinx.
This evening I have spent considerable time on the phone both with the head of Traffic Operations and the head of Transit Expansion. One of the challenges of this perfect storm is that Metrolinx has been controlling the signals and also appears to have disabled the city’s camera access at Leslie and Eglinton, an essential item for the city to have online if they are wanting to adjust signal timing.
Please know that everyone is taking this very seriously and staff are treating this as a priority. We know the traffic has been getting worse and has been ongoing for far too long, but I ask for everyone’s continued patience as we work to properly fix the situation.
In the meantime, as we work to resolve the situation, my office will continue to send out updates to those who have reached out to us directly about the Donlea traffic, as we would do with any major issue.
Although I have a Facebook presence, my staff and I do not constantly monitor social media. Instead, our office is focussing our resources, time and energy on answering email and calls, project management and committee work, amongst other things.
If this issue is of particular concern to you, we ask that you reach out to us directly via email at Councillor_Chernoslin@toronto.ca or call our office (during business hours).
Similarly, if you have a question or concern related to municipal issues, wish to make us aware of a situation, or simply want to share an idea or something that has gone well with the City, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us on those issues too.
Thank you again for your patience as we work through this issue.
Warm regards,
Rachel
Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin, Don Valley West
Updated statement, shared December 12, 2024:
I’ve been hearing from residents non-stop about congestion on Eglinton and surrounding streets.
After being alerted that Metrolinx recently changed signal timing at Leslie & Eglinton without consulting the City, I asked the most senior Transportation Services and Transit Expansion staff to rectify this issue immediately.
Today, crews worked collaboratively with Metrolinx to recalibrate the signals at Leslie & Eglinton to finally get traffic moving again. City staff remained on-site for several hours to observe the impacts of the signal timing change.
Thank you to the community for your continued advocacy on this issue.
Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin, Don Valley West
