Toronto · intersection

Charles & St Nicholas

Charles St W & St Nicholas St · Toronto, Ontario · Bay-Cloverhill · Ward 11, University-Rosedale · Bloor-Yorkville BIA

In Bay-Cloverhill, in central Toronto, Charles & St Nicholas is a quiet local crossing, with more people on foot than in cars and a well-used cycling route through it. It has parks at the corner. Nearby: Bloor Station (Line 1) 277 m away. Its serious-injury record over the last decade is clean.

Traffic
4,166
vehicles · 14-hour count, Nov 25, 2025
7,670 pedestrians · 331 cyclists
Collisions
20
police-reported · 2016–2025
none killed or seriously injured
Getting there
2
TTC stops within 100 m
Bloor Station 277 m · 15 routes within 1 km
Within a walk
80/100
city median 48 · #328 of 5,672
83 places to eat within 300 m · grocery 62 m

Map

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Charles & St Nicholas

Traffic and safety

The City's latest turning-movement count, every police-reported collision within 65 m, speeds on these streets

Traffic volume14-hour count · Nov 25, 2025

The east leg carries the load — 3,815 westbound vehicles, or 92% of everything entering — while the west leg brought 7. Most cyclists arrived from the east (224 of 331). The afternoon peak is the heavier one — 441 vehicles in the hour from 5:15 p.m., 26% above the morning peak from 8:45 a.m. (351). Heavy vehicles made up 2.3% of traffic (typical: 3.2%). The citywide median for a 14-hour count is 16,177 vehicles. The count is recent, so it reflects current conditions.

From the north149southbound · 1 bikes · 0.0% heavy
From the west7eastbound · 68 bikes · 0.0% heavy
Total vehicles4,1667,670 pedestrians · 331 cyclists · 2.3% heavy
From the east3,815westbound · 224 bikes · 2.3% heavy
From the south195northbound · 38 bikes · 3.6% heavy

Peak hours: 351 vehicles in the hour from 8:45 a.m. and 441 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

2017 was the peak year (4 collisions), and 2025 closed with 2. 10% of collisions here involved an injury, below the 15% citywide. 6 drivers failed to remain at the scene — 30% of collisions, a higher hit-and-run share than the city's 16%. People walking or cycling were involved in 10% of collisions here (citywide: 5%). The most recent report on file is from Nov 17, 2025.

The KSI record for this intersection is empty back to 2006.

By year

16171819202122232425
2016–2025Collisions
All reported collisions204.8 a year per 10,000 daily vehicles
With an injury2
Property damage only14
Fail to remain6
Involving a pedestrian2
Involving a cyclist0
Severity not classified4
Killed or seriously injured0
All KSI since 20060

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 E between Yonge St and Lane E of Yonge and N of Charles (98 m away, Nov 2011) recorded volume only — about 7,036 vehicles a day — with no speed data.

Street segmentCountedVehicles / dayAverage85th percentile95th
St Nicholas St · St Mary St – Charles St W · 43 mFeb 2001 · 2 days1,350———
Charles St E · Yonge St – Lane E of Yonge and N of Charles · 98 mNov 2011 · 3 days7,036———

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.

Getting there

Transit within 1 km, cycling at the corner, and where to park

Transit and cycling

Subway
Bloor Station (Line 1)277 m · 3 min; Yonge Station (Line 2)364 m · 4 min; Bay Station (Line 2)420 m · 5 min; Wellesley Station (Line 1)496 m · 6 min; Museum Station (Line 1)532 m · 6 min; College Station (Line 1)925 m · 11 min; Rosedale Station (Line 1)1 km · 11 min
Streetcar
506 nearest 518 m · 6 min
TTC bus
97 19 94 13 nearest 85 m
Blue Night
306 320 300
Nearest stops
6 surface stops within 300 m — Yonge St at Charles St West; Yonge St at Charles St East
Cycling
no bikeway on the City cycling network touches this intersection
Bike Share
Charles St W / Balmuto St - SMART 27 m · 24 docks · 34 stations, 701 docks within 1 km

Straight-line distances to the nearest stop or station entrance in each agency's current schedule feed, including temporary diversions.

Parking within 2 km

Green P
17 car parks · about 2,114 spaces
EV charging
20 Charles St E. · 172 m · 22 Level 2 + 1 fast ports; also 9 Wellesley St W. (464 m), 74 Yorkville Ave (617 m)
Bike parking
117 post-and-rings within 300 m · racks for 72 bikes within 600 m · City Hall - Nathan Phillips Square bike station (2 km)
Other lots
33 mapped lots within 500 m, 646 within 2 km — private, commercial or institutional, and often for customers or residents only
Green P car parkDistanceSpacesPeak occupancy
20 Charles St E · Garage218 m64618% (Q1 2026)
13 Isabella St · Surface305 m3073% (Q1 2026)
15 Wellesley St E · Surface606 m12654% (Q1 2026)
74 Yorkville Ave · Garage691 m17575% (Q1 2026)
1010 Yonge St. · Surface935 m48 *—

Green P spaces and average daily peak occupancy from the Toronto Parking Authority's quarterly dataset (* = capacity from the 2019 car-park list; check Green P for rates). EV chargers are City-operated only. On-street and underground parking are not included.

Within a walk

What the City's own records put within a walk of this corner — distances are the walk along real streets and paths. Shops, banks, gyms and clinics are in no City dataset, so they are not here.

Food, shops and services

You can do a shop on foot from here: Rabba Fine Foods is 62 m away, one of five grocery stores within 300 m. Three specialist food shops — butchers, bakeries and the like — sit within 300 m, the nearest Cheese Baker at 187 m. There are 83 restaurants, cafés and takeouts within 300 m, and 364 eating places within a kilometre — 8.9× the median for a Toronto intersection. The nearest is 8 Mile Pizza, 20 m away. The nearest pharmacy is Shoppers Drug Mart, 82 m away, one of three within 300 m. The nearest hospital site is Toronto Grace Health Centre, 542 m away, then Holland Centre at 694 m. For seniors' housing: Belmont House, a long-term care home 1.0 km away; Belmont House, a retirement home 1.0 km away.

Restaurants & cafés
  • 8 Mile Pizza · 9 Charles St W20 m
  • 8mile Detroit Style Pizza · 9 Charles St W21 m
  • Joumak · 11 Charles St W21 m
  • 7 West Cafe · 7 Charles St W30 m
  • Bingz Crispy Burger · 730 Yonge St38 m
83 within 300 m · 364 within 1 km
Grocery
Rabba Fine Foods 62 m · 5 within 300 m
Food shops
Cheese Baker 187 m · 3 butchers, bakeries and food shops within 300 m
Pharmacy
Shoppers Drug Mart 82 m · 12 within 1 km
Child care
  • University of Toronto Childcare On Charles · 73 spaces, infant, toddler, preschool · fee subsidy · $10-a-day62 m
  • YMCA Child Development Centre (YMCA) · 144 spaces, infant, toddler, preschool, kindergarten, school age · fee subsidy · $10-a-day604 m · 7 min
  • Kids & Company - Bloor Street Site · 85 spaces, infant, toddler, preschool · $10-a-day645 m · 8 min
5 licensed centres · 344 spaces within 1 km · 3 accept City fee subsidy
Health and care
  • Toronto Grace Health Centre · hospital site542 m · 6 min
  • Holland Centre · hospital site694 m · 8 min
  • Belmont House · long-term care home1 km · 11 min
  • Belmont House · retirement home1 km · 11 min

Food premises Toronto Public Health has inspected since November 2023, screened by name and location to leave out the kitchens inside care homes, child care, schools and offices, and carts and stalls; a shop without a recent inspection does not appear. Pharmacies, hospital sites and care homes from the Ontario Ministry of Health's register — a hospital site may be a rehabilitation or specialty hospital without an emergency department; in an emergency call 911. How places are classed.

Parks, schools and places

Parks (34)
  • St. Mary Street Parkette84 m
  • George Hislop Park226 m
  • Norman Jewison Park342 m · 4 min
  • Clover Hill Park393 m · 5 min
  • James Canning Gardens445 m · 5 min
and 29 more within 1.5 km
Community centres
Schools (32)
  • Humber College - International Graduate SchoolCollege · 377 m · 4 min
  • The YMCA Academy Secondary SchoolPrivate · 604 m · 7 min
  • Rosedale Day SchoolPrivate · 612 m · 7 min
  • The Abelard Centre For EducationPrivate · 652 m · 8 min
  • St Joseph's College SchoolEnglish Separate · 670 m · 8 min
and 27 more within 1.5 km
Library
  • Toronto Public Library Toronto Reference Library branch491 m · 6 min
  • Toronto Public Library Yorkville branch549 m · 7 min
Places of interest
  • CAA Theatre (formerly Panasonic Theatre)Performing Arts · 170 m
  • The Japan FoundationMuseum · 346 m · 4 min
  • Toronto Reference LibraryLandmark · 464 m · 6 min
  • Isabel Bader TheatrePerforming Arts · 479 m · 6 min

Parks, schools, libraries and places of interest within 1.5 km; child care, washrooms and care homes within 1 km; a hospital site within 2 km. Distances are the walk along real streets and paths. How these are joined.

Not within a walk: a public washroom.

80of 100
Scored from the records above

The median Toronto intersection scores 48. This corner is #328 of 5,672. It counts what can be reached, not how pleasant or safe the walk is.

  • Groceries and food30/30

    5 grocery stores within 300 m · 83 places to eat within 300 m

  • Transit23/28

    Bloor Station 0.3 km · 6 stops within 300 m · 15 routes within 1 km

  • Library and places to go14/14

    library 491 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.

Apartment buildings nearby

RentSafeTO-registered rental buildings within 1 km, with the City's latest evaluation score

71 registered apartment buildings with 9,676 rental units stand within a kilometre of the corner, five of them social or Toronto Community Housing — 4.7× the median for a Toronto intersection. The nearest is 44 Charles St W (131 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.

Nearest buildingsUnitsStoreysBuiltScoreDistance
44 Charles St W · Jll79351197291 · Aug 2024131 m
25 St Mary St · Briarlane Rental Property Management Inc.26025196592 · Jul 2024173 m
30 Charles St E · 14792670 Canada Inc213191567 · Aug 2026214 m
1101 Bay St · Bentallgreenoak26528197987 · Jun 2026228 m
55 Charles St W · Azuria Group Incorporated14732198183 · Oct 2025232 m
57 Charles St W · Quadreal Property Group25021197789 · Oct 2025244 m

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.

Thefts reported at this corner

Thefts from vehicles and bicycle thefts that Toronto Police have offset to this intersection, 2016–2025

Toronto Police place 22 thefts from vehicles and 20 bicycle thefts at this intersection in 2016–2025 — 7.0× the median for a Toronto intersection with any reported theft. The pace has slowed: 8 in 2023–2025, about 2.7 a year, against 4.9 a year before that. 68% of the vehicle thefts were from the street or other outdoor spots; 55% of the bike thefts were from the street or other outdoor spots. Since January 2026, 2 more have been reported, the latest on Jun 23, 2026.

By year

16171819202122232425
2016–2025Reported2023–2025Since Jan 2026Most often from
Theft from a vehicle2272street/outdoor (15), commercial premises (3)
Bicycle theft2010street/outdoor (11), commercial premises (4)

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.

Nearby intersections

Questions

Is Charles & St Nicholas a dangerous intersection?

Not by the record: no one was killed or seriously injured here in 2016–2025, though police reported 20 lesser collisions. High counts usually track high traffic volume rather than a design flaw; volume is shown alongside so the numbers can be read in context.

How busy is Charles & St Nicholas?

A quiet local crossing. Its latest count is from Nov 25, 2025, 26% of the median for a counted intersection, and #279 for pedestrians.

Is Charles & St Nicholas a walkable intersection?

Charles & St Nicholas scores 80 out of 100 on this site's within-a-walk measure — #328 of 5,672 Toronto intersections; the city median is 48. It counts what the City's own records put within a walk — food premises, transit, libraries, parks, schools, licensed child care — not shops, banks or clinics, which no City dataset lists. Within a walk: 5 grocery stores within 300 m · 83 places to eat within 300 m; library 491 m away · 4 places of interest within 500 m; Bloor Station 0.3 km · 6 stops within 300 m · 15 routes within 1 km.

Where can I park near Charles & St Nicholas?

The nearest Green P car park is 20 Charles St E (218 m away, 646 spaces, 18% full at the daily peak in Q1 2026). The City's mapping shows 646 parking lots of any kind within 2 km — roughly 16,680 spaces — 33 of them within 500 m; most are private or customer-only lots. The nearest City EV charger is at 20 Charles St E. (172 m).

How do I get to Charles & St Nicholas by transit?

Bloor Station (Line 1) is 277 m away; streetcar route 506 stop within 1 km, the nearest 518 m away; bus routes 97, 19, 94, 13 within 1 km (nearest stop: Yonge St at Charles St West, 85 m).

What restaurants are near Charles & St Nicholas?

83 restaurants, cafés and takeouts are within 300 m, and 364 within a kilometre, counting the premises Toronto Public Health has inspected since November 2023. The closest are 8 Mile Pizza (20 m), 8mile Detroit Style Pizza (21 m), Joumak (21 m), 7 West Cafe (30 m) and Bingz Crispy Burger (38 m). DineSafe does not record cuisine or opening hours.

Is there a public washroom near Charles & St Nicholas?

Not within a kilometre in the City's lists of park washrooms, civic-building washrooms and automated street toilets. The nearest drinking fountain is 86 m away at St. Mary Street Parkette.

Is there child care near Charles & St Nicholas?

Five licensed child care centres within 1 km, with 344 spaces in total; 3 accept City fee subsidy and some are in the $10-a-day (CWELCC) program. The nearest are University of Toronto Childcare On Charles (62 m, 73 spaces), YMCA Child Development Centre (YMCA) (604 m, 144 spaces) and Kids & Company - Bloor Street Site (645 m, 85 spaces). Spaces are licensed capacity, not vacancies.

What apartment buildings are near Charles & St Nicholas?

71 RentSafeTO-registered apartment buildings with 9,676 rental units are within 1 km. The nearest are 44 Charles St W (131 m, 793 units, RentSafeTO score 91), 25 St Mary St (173 m, 260 units, RentSafeTO score 92), 30 Charles St E (214 m, 21 units, RentSafeTO score 67) and 1101 Bay St (228 m, 265 units, RentSafeTO score 87). The average RentSafeTO score across the 71 is 88 out of 100; 2 scored below 70.

How many thefts are reported at Charles & St Nicholas?

Toronto Police place 22 thefts from vehicles and 20 bicycle thefts at this intersection in 2016–2025, plus 2 since January 2026. Break-ins, robberies and other offences are published by neighbourhood only — see the Bay-Cloverhill page.

What neighbourhood is Charles & St Nicholas in?

Charles & St Nicholas is in Bay-Cloverhill (City of Toronto neighbourhood 169). It is in Ward 11, University-Rosedale, represented by Councillor Dianne Saxe. The corner falls inside the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from one of these datasets — how they are joined