Charles & Balmuto

Traffic volume14-hour count · Nov 25, 2025

This is a three-leg intersection with no south leg. Traffic is heaviest from the east: 3,159 westbound vehicles entered from that leg, 68% of the total, against 552 from the west. Most cyclists arrived from the east (215 of 423). Evening rush dominates here: 468 vehicles in the peak hour from 5:15 p.m., against 358 in the morning peak from 9:30 a.m. Heavy vehicles made up 3.3% of traffic (typical: 3.2%). For scale, a typical counted intersection in Toronto sees 16,177 vehicles over 14 hours. This is a fresh count, taken within the last year.

Peak hours: 358 vehicles in the hour from 9:30 a.m. and 468 from 5:15 p.m. (approach figures are vehicles entering from that leg over the whole count — one day's traffic, not an annual average).

Collisions 2016–2025 · within 65 m

The worst year was 2019, with 10 collisions; 2025 recorded 5. 4 collisions (8%) involved an injury; the citywide share is 15%. 13 drivers failed to remain at the scene — 25% of collisions, a higher hit-and-run share than the city's 16%. 5 collisions involved a pedestrian or cyclist (10%) — a high share for a Toronto intersection. Since January 2026, 1 more collision has been reported; they sit outside the ranking window. The most recent report on file is from Aug 23, 2026.

No collision involving a death or serious injury has been recorded within 65 m of this intersection since the record begins in 2006.

A collision counts when its recorded location is within 65 m of the centreline node, intersection-related or not. KSI = killed or seriously injured, the basis of the danger rankings; records can lag a year or more, so the current year is outside the window. How collisions are counted.

Traffic on these streets

The City's most recent midblock count on Charles St W between La Scala Lane and Bay St (96 m away, Nov 2011) recorded volume only — about 6,873 vehicles a day — with no speed data.

Midblock counts are automatic counters laid across the road for one to seven days; 85% of drivers were at or below the 85th-percentile speed. A reading is not the speed through the intersection itself, and posted limits are not in the count data. How speeds are read.

Not within a walk: a public washroom.

• Groceries and food30/30

  4 grocery stores within 300 m · 78 places to eat within 300 m

• Transit23/28

  Bloor Station 0.3 km · 7 stops within 300 m · 15 routes within 1 km

• Library and places to go12/14

  library 515 m away · 4 places of interest within 500 m

• Parks and recreation7/10

  5 parks within 500 m · nearest centre 1.3 km

• Schools and child care6/8

  1 school within 500 m · 1 licensed child care within 500 m

• Crossing on foot0/10

  no crossing features on file

Our own measure, not a licensed walkability rating: every point comes from a City dataset listed under Sources, and the six parts add up to the score. How the score is built · the full ranking.

Within a kilometre there are 71 RentSafeTO-registered apartment buildings — 9,676 rental units, 4.7× the median for a Toronto intersection — five social or Toronto Community Housing. The nearest is 44 Charles St W (103 m, 793 units, 51 storeys, built 1972), which scored 91 out of 100 at its August 2024 RentSafeTO evaluation. Two buildings of the 71 scored below 70; the average is 88, about the citywide norm.

71 registered buildings · 9,676 units · 5 social housing · tallest 51 storeys. The score is the City's RentSafeTO evaluation out of 100; buildings of three or more storeys and ten or more units are registered, condominiums and houses are not. Each building links to its full record on LandlordReport.

12 thefts from vehicles and 52 bike thefts were reported around this corner in 2016–2025 — 11× the median for a Toronto intersection with any reported theft. The pace has slowed: 7 in 2023–2025, about 2.3 a year, against 8.1 a year before that. 75% of the vehicle thefts were from the street or other outdoor spots; 50% of the bike thefts were from school or campus property. Since January 2026, 2 more have been reported, the latest on Apr 3, 2026.

Police offset every occurrence to the nearest intersection before publishing, so these are thefts on the streets and premises around this node, not necessarily at the corner itself. Other offences are published by neighbourhood only — see Bay-Cloverhill.

• Traffic counts: City of Toronto, Traffic Volumes – Multimodal Intersection Turning Movement Counts, latest count Nov 25, 2025.
• Serious-injury collisions: City of Toronto / Toronto Police Service, Motor Vehicle Collisions involving Killed or Seriously Injured Persons, records through Oct 11, 2026.
• All collisions: Toronto Police Service, Traffic Collisions Open Data, records through Sep 30, 2026.
• Cameras: City of Toronto, Red Light Cameras.
• Speeds and calming: Midblock Vehicle Speed, Volume and Classification Counts.
• Within a walk: DineSafe (Toronto Public Health), inspections Nov 2023 – Oct 2026; Park Washroom Facilities, Washroom Facilities in City Buildings, Automated Public Toilets, Park Drinking Water Sources; Licensed Child Care Centres; Ministry of Health Service Provider Locations (Ontario) — Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.; City of Toronto School Locations, Parks and Recreation Facilities, Library Branch General Information, Places of Interest and Attractions, Traffic Signals Tabular, Neighbourhoods.
• Apartment buildings: City of Toronto Apartment Building Registration and Apartment Building Evaluation (RentSafeTO), as compiled by LandlordReport (imported Sep 10, 2026).
• Thefts: Toronto Police Service, Theft From Motor Vehicle and Bicycle Thefts open data, occurrences offset by police to the nearest intersection, records through Jun 30, 2026.
• Ward and BIA: Wards and Elected Councillors (Ward 11 councillor), Business Improvement Areas.
• Getting there: TTC Routes and Schedules (GTFS), GO Transit GTFS, UP Express GTFS, VIA Rail GTFS, MiWay (Mississauga) GTFS, Durham Region Transit GTFS, Brampton Transit GTFS, York Region Transit GTFS, Bike Share Toronto, Cycling Network; Topographic Mapping – Physical Area of Parking Lots, Green P Parking with Parking Occupancy, City-Operated EV Charging Stations, Street Furniture – Bicycle Parking, Bicycle Parking Racks, High-Capacity Bicycle Parking, Indoor Bike Stations. Data provided with permission of Metrolinx where GO and UP Express appear.
• Coordinates: 43.66848, -79.38739 · centreline node 13463768.