Safety concerns lead residents to continue to push for speed bumps on Benlamond Avenue

By MATTHEW STEPHENS

Local residents around the Swanwick and Benlamond avenues area are expressing concerns regarding reckless driving and a lack of effective speed mitigation infrastructure.

“Yesterday, my three-year-old daughter was nearly struck by a car speeding down Benlamond Avenue. The vehicle was forced to screech to a halt — the driver was so certain of impact that they jumped out of the car believing she had been hit,” said a concerned local resident.

“This is not an isolated incident. Families and daycare groups walk along Benlamond, Glen Oak (Drive), Norwood (Road), and Swanwick every single day, and there have been repeated near misses.”

According to the resident, Toronto Council had approved the construction of speed bumps, which were supposed to be built along Benlamond Avenue by summer of this year.

Many residents have safety concerns for children attending local schools and daycare facilities in the area.

“Our ‘triangle’ also comprises two extraordinarily nearby public schools, multiple daycares, a highly frequented public park, and a pedestrian-exclusive route connecting Glenmount (Park Road) to our area via a staircase,” said local resident Monika Schmidt.

“I have felt time and again that concerns raised about speeding, vehicles driving the wrong way on a one-way road, and short cutting through our neighbourhood have fallen on deaf ears.”

Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford said a petition to build speed bumps was sent to his office in January of this year. He said progress came to a halt when city staff failed to prepare a report to Toronto and East York Community Council to authorize the installation.

“In January 2025, my office received a petition from residents in support of installing speed humps on Benlamond Avenue, between Main Street and Norwood Road. Following this, I directed city staff to prepare a report to Toronto and East York Community Council to authorize the installation. Unfortunately, staff did not complete this step,” Bradford told Beach Metro Community News.

Bradford said he has “directed staff to report back immediately to the next Community Council meeting with the details required to authorize the installation of speed humps on Benlamond Avenue.”

He has also directed city staff to “accelerate” the installation of “temporary geometric safety improvements” to intersections along Benlamond Avenue and neighbouring streets in the area, which will come in advance of permanent installation scheduled for 2027.

Schmidt, who is a longtime resident in the area, said the community has been advocating for speed bumps in the area since the 1990s.

“When I was a child, there was a push by residents of Swanwick Avenue to make the intersection at Swanwick and Enderby (Road) safer. At the time, there was no stop sign on Swanwick, and so cars would fly from one end at Main Street to the other at Norwood without so much as looking at Enderby,” said Schmidt. “The city conducted a study, and concluded that apparently, a stop sign was sufficient.”

City studies on speed mitigation infrastructure in the area around Benlamond Avenue have been ongoing since 2007. A city assessment at that time determined speed and traffic volumes on the streets in the surrounding area (particularly Swanwick Avenue) were “too low to justify traffic calming,” and therefore, speed bumps would not be installed on Benlamond or Swanwick avenues.

In the past 18 years, traffic flows have changed and more daycares have opened on Benlamond. Area residents have also requested that the city extend speed bumps and traffic calming measures onto Glen Oak, install a four-way stop at the Glen Oak / Norwood / Benlamond / Swanwick intersection, and add a pedestrian crosswalk on Norwood by the park, where daycare groups and families cross on a daily basis.

Bradford said he plans to work with city staff and members of the community to implement as many safety measures as possible in the area.

“Some residents have proposed additional specific improvements, including to Glen Oak and Norwood. I will be following up with staff and residents to look into these proposals,” said Bradford. “I’m committed to improving safety on our neighbourhood streets, and I appreciate the continued advocacy and engagement from residents on this important matter.”