Essex & Ossington

Traffic volume8-hour count · Sep 15, 2021

No single direction dominates: each approach carried between 3,389 and 3,738 vehicles. Most cyclists arrived from the north (83 of 142). The morning and afternoon peaks are nearly equal: 1,027 vehicles in the hour from 8:15 a.m. and 999 from 4:00 p.m. Trucks and buses were 5.1% 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 16,177 vehicles over 14 hours. The count is 5 years old — treat it as a snapshot of 2021, not today's volume. It was an 8-hour count, which is not directly comparable with the 14-hour counts the City has used since September 2023.

Peak hours: 1,027 vehicles in the hour from 8:15 a.m. and 999 from 4:00 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 2024, with 3 collisions; 2025 recorded 2. 2 collisions (18%) involved an injury. 5 drivers failed to remain at the scene — 45% of collisions. 1 collision involved a pedestrian or cyclist (9%). The most recent report on file is from Oct 9, 2025.

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.

How fast traffic moves here

On Ossington Ave between Northumberland St and Leeds St, 346 m from the corner, a 7-day count in June 2022 put the average speed at 41 km/h and the 85th-percentile speed at 49 km/h, with the fastest one in twenty at 54 km/h or more. That segment carries about 12,100 vehicles a day. The reading is 4 years old; the City counts on request rather than on a schedule. Essex St between Shaw St and Lane E of Ossington and S of Essex measured slower: 23 km/h on average and an 85th percentile of 34 km/h (Sep 2021). At the school-zone speed sign on Garnet Ave (361 m away, 30 km/h limit), 0.4% of the 21,793 vehicles logged in August 2026 were doing 40 km/h or more — almost none.

Speed sign

Garnet Ave (eastbound), 361 m — 30 km/h zone. Median 12 km/h, 85th percentile 25 km/h; 0.4% at 40 km/h or more. 21,793 vehicles logged in August 2026; runs weekdays, 7 am - 9 pm.

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.

The crossing

pedestrian crossover

• Groceries and food11/30

  7 grocery stores within 1 km · 1 place to eat within 300 m

• Transit20/28

  Ossington Station 0.5 km · 4 stops within 300 m · 9 routes within 1 km

• Library and places to go2/14

  library 1.1 km away

• Parks and recreation6/10

  2 parks within 500 m · nearest centre 1 km

• Schools and child care8/8

  2 schools within 500 m · 3 licensed child care within 500 m

• Crossing on foot3/10

  pedestrian crossover

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 nine RentSafeTO-registered apartment buildings — 425 rental units — three social or Toronto Community Housing. The nearest is 177 Pendrith St (254 m, 54 units, 3 storeys, built 1964), which scored 85 out of 100 at its August 2025 RentSafeTO evaluation. One building of the 9 scored below 70; the average is 86, below the 90 typical of Toronto intersections.

9 registered buildings · 425 units · 3 social housing · tallest 9 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.

Ten thefts from vehicles and four bike thefts were reported around this corner in 2016–2025 — 2.3× the median for a Toronto intersection with any reported theft. The pace has slowed: 2 in 2023–2025, about 0.7 a year, against 1.7 a year before that. 70% of the vehicle thefts were from the street or other outdoor spots.

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 Dovercourt Village.

• Traffic counts: City of Toronto, Traffic Volumes – Multimodal Intersection Turning Movement Counts, latest count Sep 15, 2021.
• 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; School Safety Zone Watch Your Speed Program (locations and monthly summary).
• 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 9 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: 43.66652, -79.42757 · centreline node 13464182.