Toronto · intersection

Cherry & Polson

Cherry St & Polson St · Toronto, Ontario · South Riverdale · Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth

In South Riverdale, Cherry & Polson is a quiet local crossing. At the corner: a multi-use trail. Nearby: 5 TTC routes within a kilometre.

Traffic volume
4,340
vehicles · 14-hour count, Feb 26, 2026
294 pedestrians · 120 cyclists · #2054 busiest
Collisions
324
police-reported, any severity · 2016–2025
28 with an injury · 200 property damage · #255 of 5,508 · +14 since Jan 2026
KSI collisions
0
killed or seriously injured · 2016–2025
none in the window
Red-light camera
None
not on the City's camera list
Transit
2
TTC stops within 100 m
4 bus routes within 1 km
Cycling
Trail
Multi-Use Trail
Bike Share: 19 docks within 150 m

The latest City count averages about 310 vehicles an hour over its 14-hour span, 27% of the median counted intersection. Foot traffic runs at about one pedestrian per 15 vehicles, close to the citywide median. Cyclists were 2.8% of vehicle volume, about 3.6× the typical share. On average 32 collisions a year were reported here in 2016–2025 — 74.7 per 10,000 counted vehicles, 15× the median rate for counted intersections. Collisions edged down 13%, from 173 in 2016–2020 to 151 in 2021–2025. No one was killed or seriously injured in any of them.

Map

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Cherry & Polson

Getting here

Transit within 1 km, cycling at the corner, and what's within a 1.5 km walk

Transit & cycling

TTC bus
2021147265 nearest 40 m
Blue Night
365
Nearest stops
3 surface stops within 300 m — Cherry St at Polson St; Cherry St at Polson St South Side
Cycling
Multi-Use Trail on Martin Goodman / Waterfront Trl installed 2001; Multi-Use Trail on Biidaasige Park Trl installed 2025
Bike Share
Cherry St / Polson St 59 m · 19 docks · 12 stations, 293 docks within 1 km

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

Within walking distance 1.5 km

Schools (5)
  • George Brown College - Young Centre For the Performing ArtsCollege · 1 km
  • Voice Integrative Private SchoolPrivate · 1.1 km
  • George Brown College - Waterfront CampusCollege · 1.2 km
  • Market Lane Jr & Sr Public SchoolEnglish Public · 1.4 km
  • Inglenook Community SchoolEnglish Public · 1.4 km
Parks (19)
  • Biidaasige Park411 m
  • Jennifer Kateryna Koval's'kyj Park436 m
  • Cherry Beach Sports Fields771 m
  • Cherry Beach Clarke Beach Park941 m
  • Aitken Place Park1 km
  • Sherbourne Common1.2 km
  • and 13 more
Places of interest
  • Polson PierLandmark · 462 m
  • Cherry Beach/ Clarke Beach ParkNature/ Park · 865 m
  • Soulpepper Theatre CompanyPerforming Arts · 884 m
  • Young Centre for the Performing ArtsPerforming Arts · 1 km
  • The Distillery Historic DistrictLandmark · 1.1 km
  • Thompson Landry Gallery - Stone Building & Cooperage SpaceGallery · 1.1 km
  • Illuminarium TorontoAttraction · 1.1 km
  • Sugar Beach ParkNature/ Park · 1.4 km

Around the corner

Food premises, public washrooms, child care and emergency services — distances are straight-line from the node

Restaurants & food

Toronto Public Health inspects 4 eating places within 300 m of this corner; within a kilometre the count is 16 — well below the median of 73 within a kilometre. The nearest is Kotowski, B. - Toronto Plate No. 04603 (Hot Dog Cart), 0 m away, which passed its last DineSafe inspection in March 2026 with 1 infraction noted.

Restaurants & cafés4 within 300 m · 16 within 1 km
Grocery & convenience0 within 300 m · 0 within 1 km
Nearest food premisesDistanceLatest DineSafe inspection
Kotowski, B. - Toronto Plate No. 04603 (Hot Dog Cart) · Polson 18 None0 mPassed, Mar 2026 · 1 infraction
Spike's Snack Bar · 176 Cherry St115 mPassed, Jun 2024 · 2 infractions
Enterprise 2000 · 176 Cherry St115 mPassed, Jun 2026
Stella Borealis · 176 Cherry St Unit-36115 mPassed, Jun 2026
Cherry Street Bar-B-Que · 275 Cherry St318 mPassed, Aug 2026 · 3 infractions
Cherry Street Bar-B-Que · 275 Cherry St318 mPassed, Aug 2025 · 1 infraction
River Gambler · 176 Cherry St327 mPassed, May 2026
Cabana Toronto · 11 Polson St396 mPassed, Aug 2026

Every establishment Toronto Public Health inspects under DineSafe, screened by name to leave out kitchens inside schools, care homes and offices. A conditional pass means infractions had to be fixed by a follow-up visit, not that the premises is closed.

Washrooms & water

The nearest public washroom is Old Fire Hall 30 Park Washroom, 315 m away, open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; it is wheelchair-accessible. A drinking fountain is 247 m away at Biidaasige Park.

  • Old Fire Hall 30 Park Washroom · 31 Commissioners St
    9 a.m. to 10 p.m. · accessible
    315 m
  • Old Fire Hall 30 Community Centre Washroom · 31 Commissioners St
    hours not listed · accessible
    321 m
  • Cherry Beach Sports Fields Washroom · 275 Unwin Ave
    9 a.m. to 10 p.m. · accessible
    743 m
Drinking water
Biidaasige Park bottle filling station, drinking fountain · 247 m; Biidaasige Park bottle filling station, drinking fountain · 256 m

Park washrooms, washrooms in City buildings and automated street toilets, with hours and status as the City publishes them (park washrooms are seasonal). Malls, shops and TTC stations are not included.

Child care

One licensed child care centre within a kilometre offers 62 spaces; it accepts City fee subsidy. The nearest is Aquabella Child Care (1.0 km, 62 spaces, infant, toddler, preschool).

Within 1 km1 centre · 62 spaces
Fee subsidy1 of 1
  • Aquabella Child Care · 75 Edgewater Dr
    62 spaces · infant, toddler, preschool · fee subsidy · $10-a-day
    1 km

Licensed centres only; spaces are licensed capacity, not vacancies.

Emergency services

The nearest fire hall is Fire Station 333 (1.5 km), the nearest police station 51 Division (1.4 km) and the nearest ambulance station 2.1 km away.

FireFire Station 333 · 1.5 km207 Front St E
Police51 Division · 1.4 km51 Parliament Street
AmbulanceAmbulance Station 59 · 2.1 km235 Cibola Ave

Nearest station by straight line — not a response time, and not necessarily the station that would answer a call.

Parking

Every mapped lot within 2 km, Green P with peak occupancy, City EV charging and bike parking

All parking lots370 lots · ≈32,630 spaces · 97.9 ha
Within 500 m18 lots · ≈5,710 spaces
Green P (public)15 car parks · about 3,974 spaces
EV charging (City)51 Dockside Dr. · 1.2 km · 5 Level 2 ports
Bike parkingno post-and-rings within 300 m · racks for 8 bikes within 600 m
Green P car parkDistanceSpacesPeak occupancy
115 Unwin Avenue · Surface722 m123 *
70 Distillery Lane · Garage1 km103 *
40 Rolling Mills Rd. · Garage1.1 km25 *
31A Parliament Street · Surface1.1 km230 *
51 Dockside Dr · Garage1.2 km30619% (Q1 2026)

Nearest lots: 103 m away, ≈169 spaces; 114 m away, ≈228 spaces; 144 m away, ≈214 spaces; 274 m away, ≈94 spaces; 305 m away, ≈18 spaces; 314 m away, ≈553 spaces. More EV charging: 51 Dockside Dr (1.2 km, 6 ports); 2 Church St. (1.9 km, 28 ports); 500 Commissioners St (1.9 km, 2 ports).

Lot count and area from the City's topographic mapping of parking-lot footprints (every visible surface lot, public or private); spaces are estimated at one per 30 m² of lot. Lots not run by Green P are private, commercial or institutional and may be for customers or residents only. Green P spaces and average daily peak occupancy from the Toronto Parking Authority's quarterly dataset (* = capacity from the 2019 car-park list; rates are not shown because that list is stale — check Green P). EV chargers are City-operated only; on-street and underground parking are not included.

Traffic volume

The City's latest turning-movement count — 14-hour, Feb 26, 2026

This is a three-leg intersection with no east leg. Traffic is heaviest from the north: 2,181 southbound vehicles entered from that leg, 50% of the total, against 496 from the west. Most cyclists arrived from the north (60 of 120). Evening rush dominates here: 372 vehicles in the peak hour from 2:30 p.m., against 344 in the morning peak from 9:30 a.m. Trucks and buses were 28.1% of traffic, well above the typical 3.2% — a sign of a goods-movement or bus corridor. For scale, a typical counted intersection in Toronto sees 16,183 vehicles over 14 hours. This is a fresh count, taken within the last year.

From the north2,181southbound · 60 bikes · 26.7% heavy
From the west496eastbound · 46 bikes · 5.6% heavy
Total vehicles4,340294 pedestrians · 120 cyclists · 28.1% heavy
From the east0westbound · 8 bikes · 0.0% heavy
From the south1,663northbound · 6 bikes · 36.6% heavy
AM peak hour344 vehicles from 9:30 a.m.
PM peak hour372 vehicles from 2:30 p.m.
Count14-hour · Feb 26, 2026

Approach figures are vehicles entering the intersection from that leg over the whole count. A count is one day's traffic, not an annual average; the City recounts on an ad-hoc schedule.

How fast traffic moves here

Midblock speed counts on the intersection's streets, the nearest school-zone speed sign, and traffic calming

On Cherry St between Polson St and Commissioners St, 236 m from the corner, a 3-day count in February 2026 put the average speed at 37 km/h and the 85th-percentile speed at 48 km/h, with the fastest one in twenty at 54 km/h or more. That segment carries about 5,400 vehicles a day.

Street segmentCountedVehicles / dayAverage85th percentile95th
Cherry St · Polson St – Commissioners St · 236 mFeb 2026 · 3 days5,44537 km/h48 km/h54 km/h

Midblock counts are automatic counters laid across the road for one to seven days; the 85th-percentile speed is the figure engineers use — 85% of drivers were at or below it. Counts are ad hoc, so some are years old. A midblock reading is not the speed through the intersection itself, and posted limits are not in the count data.

All police-reported collisions

Every collision reported to Toronto Police within 65 m, any severity, 2016–2025

The worst year was 2023, with 51 collisions; 2025 recorded 20. 28 collisions (9%) involved an injury; the citywide share is 15%. 112 drivers failed to remain at the scene — 35% of collisions, a higher hit-and-run share than the city's 16%. 11 collisions involved a pedestrian or cyclist (3%), typical for the city. Since January 2026, 14 more collisions have been reported; they sit outside the ranking window. The most recent report on file is from Jun 21, 2026.

By year

16171819202122232425

Exposure-adjusted: 74.7 collisions per year per 10,000 daily vehicles, using the latest 14-hour count.

2016–2025Collisions
All reported collisions324#255 of 5,508
With an injury28#560 of 4,660
Property damage only200
Fail to remain112
Involving a pedestrian10#242 of 3,193
Involving a cyclist1#2246 of 2,576
Involving a motorcyclist4
With a fatality2
Severity not classified94
Since January 2026 (outside the window)14
All since 2014400latest Jun 21, 2026

Source: Toronto Police Service, Traffic Collisions Open Data — every collision reported to police since 2014, within 65 m of this node. Records through Jun 30, 2026.

Killed or seriously injured

Collisions in which someone died or was seriously injured, within 65 m, 2016–2025 — the basis of the danger rankings

No collision involving a death or serious injury has been recorded within 65 m of this intersection since the record begins in 2006. The police all-collisions file records 2 fatal collisions here in 2016–2025; the KSI file, which is compiled separately and geocoded to the nearest leg, places them just outside the 65 m radius.

KSI = killed or seriously injured. A collision is counted if its recorded location is within 65 m of this intersection's centreline node, whether the police coded it as intersection-related or mid-block. Records can lag a year or more, so the current year is excluded from rankings.

Thefts reported at this corner

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

39 thefts from vehicles and five bike thefts were reported around this corner in 2016–2025 — 7.3× the median for a Toronto intersection with any reported theft. The pace has slowed: 9 in 2023–2025, about 3.0 a year, against 5.0 a year before that. 85% of the vehicle thefts were from the street or other outdoor spots; 60% of the bike thefts were from the street or other outdoor spots. Since January 2026, 2 more have been reported, the latest on Mar 30, 2026.

By year

16171819202122232425
2016–2025Reported2023–2025Since Jan 2026Most often from
Theft from a vehicle3962street/outdoor (33), commercial premises (5)
Bicycle theft530street/outdoor (3), commercial premises (1)

Source: Toronto Police Service, Theft From Motor Vehicle and Bicycle Thefts open data, records through Mar 30, 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 South Riverdale.

Nearby intersections

Questions

Is Cherry & Polson a dangerous intersection?

Not by the record: no one was killed or seriously injured here in 2016–2025, though police reported 324 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 Cherry & Polson?

A quiet local crossing. It ranks #2054 of 2,390 counted intersections for vehicles, 27% of the median for a counted intersection.

How fast do cars go at Cherry & Polson?

The City's most recent speed count near the corner, on Cherry St between Polson St and Commissioners St (February 2026), found an average of 37 km/h and an 85th-percentile speed of 48 km/h — meaning 85% of drivers were at or below that speed.

Where can I park near Cherry & Polson?

The nearest Green P car park is 115 Unwin Avenue (722 m away, 123 spaces). The City's mapping shows 370 parking lots of any kind within 2 km — roughly 32,630 spaces — 18 of them within 500 m; most are private or customer-only lots. The nearest City EV charger is at 51 Dockside Dr. (1.2 km).

How do I get to Cherry & Polson by transit?

Bus routes 202, 114, 72, 65 within 1 km (nearest stop: Cherry St at Polson St, 40 m).

What restaurants are near Cherry & Polson?

4 restaurants, cafés and takeouts are within 300 m, and 16 within a kilometre, according to Toronto Public Health's DineSafe inspection list. The closest are Kotowski, B. - Toronto Plate No. 04603 (Hot Dog Cart) (0 m), Spike's Snack Bar (115 m), Enterprise 2000 (115 m), Stella Borealis (115 m) and Cherry Street Bar-B-Que (318 m). Each one's latest inspection result is shown on this page; DineSafe does not record cuisine or opening hours.

Is there a public washroom near Cherry & Polson?

The nearest is Old Fire Hall 30 Park Washroom, 31 Commissioners St, 315 m away (open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.), with an accessible washroom. Next nearest: Old Fire Hall 30 Community Centre Washroom (321 m); Cherry Beach Sports Fields Washroom (743 m). These are the City's own washrooms — in parks, civic buildings and automated street toilets — not those in malls, coffee shops or TTC stations.

Is there child care near Cherry & Polson?

One licensed child care centre within 1 km, with 62 spaces in total; it accepts City fee subsidy and it is in the $10-a-day (CWELCC) program. The nearest is Aquabella Child Care (1.0 km, 62 spaces). Spaces are licensed capacity, not vacancies.

How many thefts are reported at Cherry & Polson?

Toronto Police place 39 thefts from vehicles and five bicycle thefts at this intersection in 2016–2025, plus 2 since January 2026. Police offset every reported occurrence to the nearest intersection before publishing it, so the count covers the streets, driveways and parking around this corner rather than the corner itself. Break-ins, robberies and other offences are published by neighbourhood only — see the South Riverdale page.

What neighbourhood is Cherry & Polson in?

Cherry & Polson is in South Riverdale (City of Toronto neighbourhood 070). It is in Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth, represented by Councillor Paula Fletcher.

Sources

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