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Work to install dedicated bus and streetcar lanes on Dufferin and Bathurst streets in Toronto's West End has yet to resume following a multi-month winter hiatus. As part of the city-wide RapidTO initiative, these lanes were fast-tracked by City Council ahead of the arrival of the FIFA World Cup this June, as both the Bathurst streetcar and Dufferin bus serve as major links to the Exhibition grounds.
The implementation of dedicated transit lanes on Dufferin and Bathurst streets has been a long time coming, despite the "rapid" moniker applied to the project. Initial plans were published in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the City sought to use abnormally low traffic rates to install dedicated lanes for the TTC's busiest surface transit routes. Promises of a fast and cheap rollout, requiring just a few days of road closures and the purchase of paint, provided the driving momentum behind the initiative.
Nearly half a decade later, the whole concept appeared to have fallen off the City's radar, as no new "priority" roadways received transit lanes following the successful pilot installation of bus lanes along Eglinton Avenue East, Kingston Road, and Morningside Avenue in late 2020. City Council only formally adopted the entire RapidTO network in 2024, yet no work followed this nominal approval from the municipal government.
In early 2025, with the FIFA World Cup — and tens of thousands of fans — set to arrive in just over a year, Council expressed a renewed interest in getting the West End's infamously delayed surface transit options out of traffic. City staff were directed to prioritize the segments of Dufferin and Bathurst streets between Eglinton Avenue West and King Street West, and Lake Shore Blvd West respectively.
As public consultation began in the spring of 2025, a wave of complaints emerged along the planned corridors, particularly along Bathurst Street in The Annex. The discontent centred around the loss of on-street parking and supposed increases in congestion, with City Council bending to the pressure in a few short months. The planned transit lanes along Bathurst and Dufferin, already cut down to just south of Eglinton Avenue West from their initial northern termini at Steeles Avenue West, were further reduced to only be implemented south of Bloor Street West. The northern segment between Bloor Street West and Eglinton Avenue West was reserved for "further consideration", with no updates on this part of the project being released in the nine months since the redesignation.
Despite these setbacks, the first phase of installation—south of Dundas Street West on both Dufferin and Bathurst streets—got underway late last year. On Dufferin Street, both curb lanes had their parking permissions revoked and red transit priority lanes installed, removing the need for the hyper-frequent 29/929 buses to weave in and out of traffic to reach riders at bus stops. On Bathurst, with the project corridor now reduced to the sole domain of the 511 streetcar, both centre lanes received a similar paint treatment, with small carveouts at specific intersections to facilitate left turns.
With the first round of changes complete, the second phase of installation was set to resume in the spring, following the end of weather conditions prohibitive to the effective painting of red lanes. However, within a few short weeks of the transit lanes arriving south of Dundas Street West on Dufferin and Bathurst, clear issues emerged. The red paint was constantly flaking off, depositing itself in adjacent yards and planter boxes, making the purpose of the street markings unclear to those not familiar with RapidTO. Seen below is a stretch of Bathurst street south of Adelaide Street West this past week, where vast swaths of markings have fallen away in under six months.
In recent updates on the City's project page for each corridor, an acknowledgement of this issue is made, with promises to "refresh" faded segments this Spring. Despite the City's description of the paint's condition, vast swaths appear to require a full reinstallation, which must now be preempted by the sandblasting of remaining paint.
While work on correcting last autumn's failed work has yet to get underway, an update from the City announced that the resumption of new lane installation between Dundas Street West and Bloor Street West was projected to begin on April 6 along Dufferin Street, and the week of April 13 on Bathurst Street.
To verify if lane painting had resumed in line with the city's posted timelines, particularly as the FIFA World Cup rapidly approaches, UrbanToronto headed up and down Bathurst and Dufferin streets this past Friday, April 17. Things got off to a poor start after starting at Bathurst station and travelling south along the corridor of the 511 Bathurst streetcar. No signs of lane painting, or even preliminary parking restrictions, were evident, with streetcar operations trundling along much the same as they have for the last century.
Moving south into Harbord Village, where Bathurst is lined with an eclectic mix of aged rowhomes and small apartments, conditions were much the same.
Approaching Toronto Western Hospital and its rising new surgical tower, little change was to be found on this bright spring day—a day that could even appear perfect for lane painting to a passing observer. It is worth noting that between Nassau and Dundas streets, a small carve-out from the transit priority lanes will be granted to facilitate easy access for emergency vehicles and the continuation of a taxi stand out front of Toronto Western.
Turning to Dufferin street, where work was planned to resume nearly two weeks prior to this visit, a similar dearth of project delivery was to be found. Just south of Dufferin station, across from the long-standing Dufferin Mall and soon-to-occupy 'Bloor Crossing' master-plan community, the typical four-lane configuration of Dufferin street had undergone no changes.
Approaching Dundas Street West, which serves as the boundary between the two phases of implementation, no work could be seen to have been undertaken north of the intersection of Dufferin Street and Dundas Street West.
With this project — the expedited carve-out of a carve-out — nearing a full year since its start last Spring, it is hard to say the respective streets appear ready to handle the deluge of fans expected in just a matter of months. Perhaps more importantly, they do not yet appear ready to improve the commutes of the tens of thousands of daily bus and streetcar riders. Whether or not City Hall will be able to successfully implement, and crucially enforce, this new transit infrastructure remains to be seen.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this, but in the meantime, you can leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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