Toronto · intersection

Essex & Shaw (North)

Essex St & Shaw St (North) · Toronto, Ontario · Dovercourt Village · Ward 11, University-Rosedale

In Dovercourt Village, in central Toronto, Essex & Shaw (North) is a low-volume local intersection, with a strong pedestrian presence and a well-used cycling route through it. It has a bike lane and 2 schools within 250 m at the corner. Nearby: Ossington Station (Line 2) 556 m away. Its serious-injury record over the last decade is clean.

Traffic volume
1,088
vehicles · 8-hour count, Aug 19, 2014
412 pedestrians · 1,330 cyclists
Collisions
5
police-reported, any severity · 2016–2025
0 with an injury · 3 property damage · #5077 of 5,508
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
0
TTC stops within 100 m
Ossington Station 556 m · 6 bus routes within 1 km
Cycling
Bikeway
Bike Lane - Contraflow
Bike Share: 15 docks within 150 m

Hour by hour, the 8-hour count works out to close to 140 vehicles, 12% of the median counted intersection. There is roughly one pedestrian for every 2.6 vehicles, a higher share of people on foot than the typical counted intersection (one per 13). Cyclists were 122.2% of vehicle volume, about 158× the typical share. That comes with about 0.5 reported collisions a year, 2016–2025 — well below the median of 31 for the decade. None of them involved a death or serious injury.

Map

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Essex & Shaw (North)

Getting here

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

Transit & cycling

Subway
Ossington Station (Line 2)556 m; Christie Station (Line 2)614 m
TTC bus
632612616194127 nearest 204 m
Blue Night
363300
Nearest stops
4 surface stops within 300 m
Cycling
Bike Lane - Contraflow on Shaw St installed 2013
Bike Share
Shaw St / Essex St - SMART 28 m · 15 docks · 19 stations, 363 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 (31)
  • Sacre Coeur Catholic Elementary SchoolFrench Separate · 103 m
  • St Bruno & St Raymond Catholic Elementary School (Future Site)English Separate · 235 m
  • Essex Jr Sr & Hawthorne Two BilingualEnglish Public · 253 m
  • Uchenna AcademyPrivate · 627 m
  • St Bruno and St Raymond Catholic Elementary SchoolEnglish Separate · 675 m
  • West End Alternative SchoolEnglish Public · 696 m
  • and 25 more
Parks (37)
Library
  • Toronto Public Library Davenport branch847 m
  • Toronto Public Library Palmerston branch926 m
  • Toronto Public Library Bloor/Gladstone branch1.1 km
Places of interest
  • Randolph Centre for the ArtsPerforming Arts · 1.2 km
  • Tarragon TheatrePerforming Arts · 1.3 km
  • Artscape Wychwood BarnsLandmark · 1.4 km

Around the corner

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

Restaurants & food

There are 5 restaurants, cafés and takeouts within 300 m of the corner, and 214 eating places within a kilometre — 2.9× the median for a Toronto intersection. The nearest is Paleta Kings Storage On Essex, 69 m away, which passed its last DineSafe inspection in June 2026.

Restaurants & cafés5 within 300 m · 214 within 1 km
Grocery & convenience0 within 300 m · 35 within 1 km
Nearest food premisesDistanceLatest DineSafe inspection
Paleta Kings Storage On Essex · 127 Essex St69 mPassed, Jun 2026
Ecole Elementaire Catholique du Sacre-Coeur Snp · 98 Essex St109 mPassed, May 2024
Les Bouts D'choux · 98 Essex St109 mPassed, Sep 2026
Contra Cafe · 1028 Shaw St210 mPassed, Aug 2026
Actinolite Restaurant · 971 Ossington Ave239 mPassed, Apr 2026
James Five · 1022 1022 Ossington Ave Ave358 mPassed, Feb 2026
Maison T · 1071 Shaw St368 mPassed, Apr 2025 · 1 infraction
Maison T · 1071 Shaw St368 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 Alex Duff Memorial Outdoor Pool Washroom, 374 m away, View outdoor pool hours. A drinking fountain is 360 m away at Alex Duff Memorial Pool.

  • Alex Duff Memorial Outdoor Pool Washroom · 779 Crawford St
    View outdoor pool hours
    374 m
  • Christie Pits Park Washroom · 750 Bloor St W
    9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
    458 m
  • Dovercourt Park Washroom · 155 Bartlett Ave
    9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
    620 m
Drinking water
Alex Duff Memorial Pool drinking fountain · 360 m; Christie Pits Park drinking fountain · 488 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

13 licensed child care centres within a kilometre offer 1,027 spaces; nine accept City fee subsidy. The nearest is Les Bouts D'choux (103 m, 116 spaces, infant, toddler, preschool, kindergarten, school age).

Within 1 km13 centres · 1,027 spaces
Fee subsidy9 of 13
  • Les Bouts D'choux · 98 Essex St
    116 spaces · infant, toddler, preschool, kindergarten, school age · fee subsidy · $10-a-day
    103 m
  • Hawthorne-On-Essex Day Care · 50 Essex St
    179 spaces · toddler, preschool, kindergarten, school age · fee subsidy · $10-a-day
    253 m
  • Odyssey Montessori School · 256 Christie St
    57 spaces · toddler, preschool
    479 m
  • Network Child Care Services - Ossington Avenue North · 756 Ossington Ave
    49 spaces · infant, toddler, preschool · fee subsidy · $10-a-day
    527 m

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

Emergency services

The nearest fire hall is Fire Station 345 (1.0 km), the nearest police station 14 Division (1.8 km) and the nearest ambulance station 728 m away.

FireFire Station 345 · 1 km1285 Dufferin St
Police14 Division · 1.8 km350 Dovercourt Road
AmbulanceAmbulance Station 33 · 728 m760 Dovercourt Rd

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

Apartment buildings nearby

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

21 registered apartment buildings with 1,382 rental units stand within a kilometre of the corner, six of them social or Toronto Community Housing. The nearest is 177 Pendrith St (199 m, 54 units, 3 storeys, built 1964), which scored 85 out of 100 at its August 2025 RentSafeTO evaluation. Three buildings of the 21 scored below 70; the average is 83, below the 90 typical of Toronto intersections. The Landlord and Tenant Board issued 26 final orders naming these buildings in the latest half-year of its catalogue, and 6 fire-code violations are open across them.

Registered buildings21 · 1,382 units · 6 social housing
RentSafeTO score83 average · 3 below 70
LTB orders, Jan 2026 – Jun 202626 across the 21
Open fire-code violations6
Tallest20 storeys
Nearest buildingsUnitsStoreysBuiltScoreLTB ordersDistance
177 Pendrith StToronto Community Housing · TCH543196485 · Aug 20250199 m
161 Christie St · Canlight Management Inc.154196591 · Jul 20260444 m
740 Dupont St · Greystar Canada Property Management Services Ltd21092021100 · Dec 20250481 m
470 Melita CresToronto Community Housing · Toronto Community Housing Corporation375198090 · Jun 20261561 m
805 Bloor St Wsocial housing · Neighbours Community Homes244198986 · Sep 20250 · 1 fire598 m
496 Montrose Ave · Landlord Property & Rental Management Inc243193085 · Jul 20250600 m
220 Delaware Ave · Imtradex Corp164193079 · Jul 20250637 m
767 Dovercourt Rd · Jdc Property Management Inc.193200894 · Jul 20250690 m

The City's RentSafeTO register — rental apartment buildings of three or more storeys and ten or more units — with the score from each building's latest City evaluation (out of 100; poor scores trigger a full audit). LTB orders are final Landlord and Tenant Board orders naming the address (Jan 2026 – Jun 2026); fire-code violations are open items in Toronto Fire Services' inspection data. Each building links to its full record on LandlordReport. Condominiums and houses are not registered.

Parking

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

All parking lots765 lots · ≈20,940 spaces · 62.8 ha
Within 500 m21 lots · ≈700 spaces
Green P (public)29 car parks · about 1,280 spaces
EV charging (City)273 Christie St · 508 m · 2 Level 2 ports
Bike parking8 post-and-rings within 300 m · racks for 28 bikes within 600 m
Green P car parkDistanceSpacesPeak occupancy
745 Ossington Ave · Surface544 m4667% (Q1 2026)
376 Clinton St · Surface694 m3468% (Q1 2026)
675 Manning Ave · Surface799 m4981% (Q1 2026)
9 Salem Ave · Surface871 m3374% (Q1 2026)
7 Bartlett Ave · Surface948 m3763% (Q1 2026)

Nearest lots: 96 m away, ≈27 spaces; 259 m away, ≈45 spaces; 269 m away, ≈21 spaces; 285 m away, ≈28 spaces; 287 m away, ≈13 spaces; 289 m away, ≈28 spaces. More EV charging: 705 Shaw St (707 m, 2 ports); 685 Dovercourt Rd (902 m, 2 ports); 365 Lippincott St. (1.3 km, 10 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 — 8-hour, Aug 19, 2014

The north leg carries the load — 831 southbound vehicles, or 76% of everything entering — while the east leg brought 257. Most cyclists arrived from the north (792 of 1,330). Morning rush is the busier period: 186 vehicles in the peak hour from 8:30 a.m., compared with 158 from 4:45 p.m. Heavy vehicles made up 1.1% of traffic (typical: 3.2%). The citywide median for a 14-hour count is 16,183 vehicles. The count is 12 years old — treat it as a snapshot of 2014, 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.

From the north831southbound · 792 bikes · 0.8% heavy
From the west0eastbound · 0 bikes · 0.0% heavy
Total vehicles1,088412 pedestrians · 1,330 cyclists · 1.1% heavy
From the east257westbound · 105 bikes · 1.9% heavy
From the south0northbound · 433 bikes · 0.0% heavy
AM peak hour186 vehicles from 8:30 a.m.
PM peak hour158 vehicles from 4:45 p.m.
Count8-hour · Aug 19, 2014

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

The City's counter on Essex St between Shaw St and Lane E of Ossington and S of Essex (77 m away) recorded an average of 23 km/h in its 3-day count in September 2021; 85% of drivers were at or under 34 km/h. That segment carries about 200 vehicles a day. Shaw St between Garnet Ave and Hallam St measured slower: 19 km/h on average and an 85th percentile of 28 km/h (Jun 2022). The reading is 5 years old; the City counts on request rather than on a schedule. At the school-zone speed sign on Garnet Ave (164 m away, 30 km/h limit), 0.4% of the 21,135 vehicles logged in July 2026 were doing 40 km/h or more — almost none.

Street segmentCountedVehicles / dayAverage85th percentile95th
Essex St · Shaw St – Lane E of Ossington and S of Essex · 77 mSep 2021 · 3 days23923 km/h34 km/h39 km/h
Shaw St · Garnet Ave – Hallam St · 116 mJun 2022 · 24 h2,84219 km/h28 km/h33 km/h

School-zone speed sign 164 m

Posted limit30 km/h
Median · 85th pct14 · 26 km/h
Over the limit2.2%
40 km/h or more0.4%

Garnet Ave (eastbound), 88 Garnet Avenue · 21,135 vehicles logged in July 2026 · runs weekdays, 7 am - 9 pm.

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

2017 was the peak year (2 collisions), and 2025 closed with 0. 0% of collisions here involved an injury. 2 drivers failed to remain at the scene — 40% of collisions. None of the collisions in the window involved a pedestrian or cyclist. The most recent report on file is from Jun 15, 2020.

By year

16171819202122232425
2016–2025Collisions
All reported collisions5#5077 of 5,508
With an injury0
Property damage only3
Fail to remain2
Involving a pedestrian0
Involving a cyclist0
Involving a motorcyclist0
With a fatality0
Severity not classified2
All since 20145latest Jun 15, 2020

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

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

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

Toronto Police place no thefts from vehicles and one bicycle theft at this intersection in 2016–2025.

By year

16171819202122232425
2016–2025Reported2023–2025Since Jan 2026Most often from
Theft from a vehicle000
Bicycle theft100house driveway/garage (1)

Source: Toronto Police Service, Theft From Motor Vehicle and Bicycle Thefts open data, records through May 27, 2016. 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.

Nearby intersections

Questions

Is Essex & Shaw (North) a dangerous intersection?

Not by the record: no one was killed or seriously injured here in 2016–2025, though police reported 5 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 Essex & Shaw (North)?

A low-volume local intersection. Its latest count is from Aug 19, 2014, 12% of the median for a counted intersection.

How fast do cars go at Essex & Shaw (North)?

The City's most recent speed count near the corner, on Essex St between Shaw St and Lane E of Ossington and S of Essex (September 2021), found an average of 23 km/h and an 85th-percentile speed of 34 km/h — meaning 85% of drivers were at or below that speed. At the school-zone speed sign 164 m away (30 km/h), 0.4% of vehicles were doing 40 km/h or more in July 2026.

Where can I park near Essex & Shaw (North)?

The nearest Green P car park is 745 Ossington Ave (544 m away, 46 spaces, 67% full at the daily peak in Q1 2026). The City's mapping shows 765 parking lots of any kind within 2 km — roughly 20,940 spaces — 21 of them within 500 m; most are private or customer-only lots. The nearest City EV charger is at 273 Christie St (508 m).

How do I get to Essex & Shaw (North) by transit?

Ossington Station (Line 2) is 556 m away; bus routes 63, 26, 126, 161, 94, 127 within 1 km.

What restaurants are near Essex & Shaw (North)?

5 restaurants, cafés and takeouts are within 300 m, and 214 within a kilometre, according to Toronto Public Health's DineSafe inspection list. The closest are Paleta Kings Storage On Essex (69 m), Ecole Elementaire Catholique du Sacre-Coeur Snp (109 m), Les Bouts D'choux (109 m), Contra Cafe (210 m) and Actinolite Restaurant (239 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 Essex & Shaw (North)?

The nearest is Alex Duff Memorial Outdoor Pool Washroom, 779 Crawford St, 374 m away (View outdoor pool hours). Next nearest: Christie Pits Park Washroom (458 m); Dovercourt Park Washroom (620 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 Essex & Shaw (North)?

13 licensed child care centres within 1 km, with 1,027 spaces in total; 9 accept City fee subsidy and some are in the $10-a-day (CWELCC) program. The nearest are Les Bouts D'choux (103 m, 116 spaces), Hawthorne-On-Essex Day Care (253 m, 179 spaces) and Odyssey Montessori School (479 m, 57 spaces). Spaces are licensed capacity, not vacancies.

What apartment buildings are near Essex & Shaw (North)?

21 RentSafeTO-registered apartment buildings with 1,382 rental units are within 1 km. The nearest are 177 Pendrith St (199 m, 54 units, RentSafeTO score 85), 161 Christie St (444 m, 15 units, RentSafeTO score 91), 740 Dupont St (481 m, 210 units, RentSafeTO score 100) and 470 Melita Cres (561 m, 37 units, RentSafeTO score 90). The average RentSafeTO score across the 21 is 83 out of 100; 3 scored below 70. Condos and houses are not on the City's register. Each building's full record — score history, LTB orders, fire-code inspections, permits — is on LandlordReport.

How many thefts are reported at Essex & Shaw (North)?

Toronto Police place no thefts from vehicles and one bicycle theft at this intersection in 2016–2025. 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 Dovercourt Village page.

What neighbourhood is Essex & Shaw (North) in?

Essex & Shaw (North) is in Dovercourt Village (City of Toronto neighbourhood 172). It is in Ward 11, University-Rosedale, represented by Councillor Dianne Saxe.

Sources

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