Toronto · intersection

The Esplanade & Market

The Esplanade & Market St · Toronto, Ontario · St Lawrence-East Bayfront-The Islands · Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York · Old Town Toronto BIA

The Esplanade & Market is a low-volume local intersection, with more people on foot than in cars and a well-used cycling route through it. It sits in St Lawrence-East Bayfront-The Islands, in the downtown core. It has a protected bikeway, 2 schools within 250 m and parks at the corner. Nearby: King Station (Line 1) 484 m away and Union Station GO 782 m away.

Traffic volume
2,589
vehicles · 8-hour count, Mar 24, 2022
3,369 pedestrians · 160 cyclists
Collisions
42
police-reported, any severity · 2016–2025
3 with an injury · 31 property damage · #2328 of 5,508 · +2 since Jan 2026
KSI collisions
0
killed or seriously injured · 2016–2025
none in the window · 1 before 2016
Red-light camera
None
not on the City's camera list
Transit
2
TTC stops within 100 m
King Station 484 m · 6 streetcar routes · 7 bus routes within 1 km
Cycling
Protected
Bi-Directional Cycle Track
Bike Share: 35 docks within 150 m

Across the 8-hour count, traffic averaged roughly 320 vehicles an hour, 28% of the median counted intersection. Pedestrians outnumber vehicles 1.3 to 1 — rare for a Toronto intersection, where the median is one pedestrian for every 13 vehicles. Cyclists were 6.2% of vehicle volume, about 8.0× the typical share. Police have logged an average of 4.2 collisions a year here over 2016–2025 — roughly the median for a Toronto intersection. Collisions fell 32%, from 25 in 2016–2020 to 17 in 2021–2025. None of them involved a death or serious injury.

Map

Everything on this page, plotted around the node — filter the layers to see one thing at a time

Layers click a category to show or hide it · None then one category to see it alone
The Esplanade & Market

Getting here

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

Transit & cycling

Subway
King Station (Line 1)484 m; Union Station (Line 1)687 m; Queen Station (Line 1)757 m
GO Transit
Union Station GO — Barrie, Kitchener, Lakeshore East, Lakeshore West, Milton, Richmond Hill, Stouffville782 m; GO bus 16 Hamilton / Toronto Express31 Guelph / Toronto21 Milton65 Newmarket / Toronto61 Richmond Hill68 Barrie / Newmarket71 Stouffville90 Lakeshore East18 Lakeshore West35 Union Pearson Express at Union Station Bus Terminal612 m
VIA Rail
Toronto 781 m
Streetcar
503504508501509510 nearest 270 m
TTC bus
75121199711420265 nearest 76 m
Blue Night
304301310320365
Nearest stops
8 surface stops within 300 m — Lower Jarvis St at the Esplanade; The Esplanade at Lower Jarvis St
Cycling
Bi-Directional Cycle Track on The Esplanade installed 2025
Bike Share
Lower Jarvis St / The Esplanade 101 m · 15 docks · 60 stations, 1,436 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 (25)
  • Downtown Alternative SchoolEnglish Public · 108 m
  • St Michael Catholic Elementary School - Bldg 1English Separate · 163 m
  • George Brown College - St James CampusCollege · 363 m
  • Keystone International SchoolsPrivate · 452 m
  • Victoria Street LINCEnglish Public · 584 m
  • Market Lane Jr & Sr Public SchoolEnglish Public · 595 m
  • and 19 more
Parks (43)
  • Market Lane Park200 m
  • Toronto Sculpture Garden256 m
  • Berczy Park285 m
  • St. James Park337 m
  • David Crombie Park360 m
  • Courthouse Square Park407 m
  • and 37 more
Library
  • Toronto Public Library St. Lawrence branch358 m
  • Toronto Public Library City Hall branch1.1 km
Places of interest
  • St. Lawrence Market and Market GalleryAttraction · 76 m
  • Gooderham Flatiron BuildingLandmark · 204 m
  • Toronto Sculpture GardenFeatured Park · 256 m
  • Museum of Illusions TorontoMuseum · 285 m
  • St. Lawrence Centre for the ArtsPerforming Arts · 296 m
  • Young People's TheatrePerforming Arts · 324 m
  • St. James ParkNature/ Park · 330 m
  • Meridian Hall (formerly Sony Centre for the Performing Arts)Performing Arts · 383 m

Around the corner

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

Restaurants & food

There are 90 restaurants, cafés and takeouts within 300 m of the corner, plus 29 grocery and convenience stores, and 347 eating places within a kilometre — 4.8× the median for a Toronto intersection. The nearest is Bindia, 46 m away, which passed its last DineSafe inspection in May 2026 with 3 infractions noted.

Restaurants & cafés90 within 300 m · 347 within 1 km
Grocery & convenience29 within 300 m · 53 within 1 km
Nearest food premisesDistanceLatest DineSafe inspection
Bindia · 12 Market St46 mPassed, May 2026 · 3 infractions
Market Street Catch · 14 Market St Nonegrocery50 mPassed, May 2026 · 1 infraction
Bindia St Lawrence Market Winter Market 2025 · 16 Market Stgrocery55 mPassed, Nov 2025
Balzac's Coffee · 10 Market St55 mPassed, May 2026
Shoppers Drug Mart · 18 Lower Jarvis Stgrocery88 mPassed, Oct 2025
Pizza Hut · 77 Lower Jarvis St113 mPassed, Nov 2025
Alex Farm Products · 93 Front St E Unit-28114 mPassed, Jun 2026
Bomba Gelato · 93 Front St E114 mPassed, Mar 2026 · 1 infraction

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 St Lawrence Tent, 38 m away, Mon-Sat Closed, Sun 10:00am-5:00pm. A drinking fountain is 190 m away at David Crombie Park.

  • St Lawrence Tent · 125 The Esplanade Street
    Mon-Sat Closed, Sun 10:00am-5:00pm
    38 m
  • St Lawrence South · 91 Front Street East
    Mon Closed, Tue-Fri 8:30am-7:30pm, Sat 6:30am-5:30pm, Sun 9:30am-5:30pm · accessible
    114 m
  • St Lawrence North · 92 Front Street East
    Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:30pm, Sat 5:00am-4:00pm, Sun Closed · accessible
    158 m
Drinking water
David Crombie Park drinking fountain · 190 m; Berczy Park bottle filling station · 311 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

14 licensed child care centres within a kilometre offer 934 spaces; nine accept City fee subsidy. The nearest is St. Lawrence Infant Toddler Centre (4 Market Street) (36 m, 40 spaces, infant, toddler).

Within 1 km14 centres · 934 spaces
Fee subsidy9 of 14
  • St. Lawrence Infant Toddler Centre (4 Market Street) · 4 Market St
    40 spaces · infant, toddler · fee subsidy · $10-a-day
    36 m
  • St. Lawrence Co-Operative Day Care (2 Princess Street) · 2 Princess St
    49 spaces · toddler, preschool · fee subsidy · $10-a-day
    482 m
  • St. Lawrence Co-Operative Day Care School Age (230 the Esplanade) · 230 the Esplanade
    74 spaces · preschool, kindergarten · fee subsidy · $10-a-day
    575 m
  • Kids & Company Scotia Plaza · 104 Yonge St
    64 spaces · infant, toddler, preschool · $10-a-day
    588 m

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

Emergency services

The nearest fire hall is Fire Station 333 (525 m), the nearest police station 51 Division (884 m) and the nearest ambulance station 632 m away.

FireFire Station 333 · 525 m207 Front St E
Police51 Division · 884 m51 Parliament Street
AmbulanceAmbulance Station 40 · 632 m58 Richmond St E

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

34 registered apartment buildings with 4,813 rental units stand within a kilometre of the corner, 24 of them social or Toronto Community Housing. The nearest is 110 The Esplanade (56 m, 205 units, 9 storeys, built 1993), which scored 96 out of 100 at its July 2024 RentSafeTO evaluation. None scored below 70; the average is 90, about the citywide norm. The Landlord and Tenant Board issued 40 final orders naming these buildings in the latest half-year of its catalogue, and 36 fire-code violations are open across them.

Registered buildings34 · 4,813 units · 24 social housing
RentSafeTO score90 average · none below 70
LTB orders, Jan 2026 – Jun 202640 across the 34
Open fire-code violations36
Tallest31 storeys
Nearest buildingsUnitsStoreysBuiltScoreLTB ordersDistance
110 The Esplanadesocial housing · Affordable Property Management2059199396 · Jul 20240 · 6 fire56 m
25 Henry Lane TerToronto Community Housing · Toronto Community Housing Corporation1966197977 · Jul 20251126 m
85 The Esplanadesocial housing · Affordable Property Management1287199793 · Jul 20250 · 7 fire129 m
140 The EsplanadeToronto Community Housing · TCH1027199381 · Nov 20251130 m
1 Church StToronto Community Housing · Toronto Community Housing Corporation11513199683 · Sep 20243146 m
49 Henry Lane TerToronto Community Housing · TCH155198084 · Jul 20250209 m
36 Church St416196583 · Nov 20250234 m
55 The EsplanadeToronto Community Housing · Toronto Community Housing Corporation16612198380 · Jul 20250238 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 lots628 lots · ≈23,760 spaces · 71.3 ha
Within 500 m39 lots · ≈730 spaces
Green P (public)23 car parks · about 6,825 spaces
EV charging (City)2 Church St. · 207 m · 24 Level 2 + 4 fast ports
Bike parking190 post-and-rings within 300 m · racks for 59 bikes within 600 m · Indoor bike station, 97 Front St W (897 m)
Green P car parkDistanceSpacesPeak occupancy
2 Church St · Garage208 m1,97216% (Q1 2026)
87 Richmond St E · Surface537 m2092% (Q1 2026)
185 Queens Quay East · Surface599 m83 *
323 Richmond St E · Garage646 m25253% (Q1 2026)
51 Dockside Dr · Garage662 m30619% (Q1 2026)

Nearest lots: 53 m away, ≈21 spaces; 55 m away, ≈8 spaces; 91 m away, ≈17 spaces; 152 m away, ≈60 spaces; 158 m away, ≈2 spaces; 216 m away, ≈12 spaces. More EV charging: 51 Dockside Dr. (677 m, 5 ports); 51 Dockside Dr (677 m, 6 ports); 40 York St (1 km, 12 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, Mar 24, 2022

The west leg carries the load — 905 eastbound vehicles, or 35% of everything entering — while the north leg brought 266. Most cyclists arrived from the east (75 of 160). The afternoon peak is the heavier one — 387 vehicles in the hour from 2:00 p.m., 18% above the morning peak from 8:15 a.m. (327). Trucks and buses were 5.5% of traffic, well above the typical 3.2% — a sign of a goods-movement or bus corridor. The citywide median for a 14-hour count is 16,183 vehicles. The count is 5 years old — treat it as a snapshot of 2022, 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 north266southbound · 14 bikes · 3.4% heavy
From the west905eastbound · 62 bikes · 6.3% heavy
Total vehicles2,5893,369 pedestrians · 160 cyclists · 5.5% heavy
From the east879westbound · 75 bikes · 7.2% heavy
From the south539northbound · 9 bikes · 2.4% heavy
AM peak hour327 vehicles from 8:15 a.m.
PM peak hour387 vehicles from 2:00 p.m.
Count8-hour · Mar 24, 2022

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 most recent midblock count on Market St between The Esplanade and Front St E (65 m away, Feb 2002) recorded volume only — about 960 vehicles a day — with no speed data.

Street segmentCountedVehicles / dayAverage85th percentile95th
Market St · The Esplanade – Front St E · 65 mFeb 2002 · 3 days960
The Esplanade · Lower Jarvis St – George St S · 116 mFeb 2020 · 7 days7,212

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

2022 was the peak year (10 collisions), and 2025 closed with 0. 7% of collisions here involved an injury, below the 15% citywide. 8 drivers failed to remain at the scene — 19% of collisions, a higher hit-and-run share than the city's 16%. People walking or cycling were involved in 5% of collisions here (citywide: 5%). Since January 2026, 2 more collisions have been reported; they sit outside the ranking window. The most recent report on file is from Apr 23, 2026.

By year

16171819202122232425
2016–2025Collisions
All reported collisions42#2328 of 5,508
With an injury3#3497 of 4,660
Property damage only31
Fail to remain8
Involving a pedestrian0
Involving a cyclist2#1386 of 2,576
Involving a motorcyclist2
With a fatality0
Severity not classified8
Since January 2026 (outside the window)2
All since 201451latest Apr 23, 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

Nothing in 2016–2025, the ten complete years the rankings use. 1 earlier KSI collision is on file, the last on Apr 22, 2014.

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 eight thefts from vehicles and five bicycle thefts at this intersection in 2016–2025 — 2.2× the median for a Toronto intersection with any reported theft. The pace has been steady at around 1.3 a year. 88% of the vehicle thefts were from the street or other outdoor spots; 60% of the bike thefts were from commercial premises — shops, offices and their lots.

By year

16171819202122232425
2016–2025Reported2023–2025Since Jan 2026Most often from
Theft from a vehicle820street/outdoor (7), apartment parking (1)
Bicycle theft520commercial premises (3), street/outdoor (2)

Source: Toronto Police Service, Theft From Motor Vehicle and Bicycle Thefts open data, records through Nov 5, 2025. 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 St Lawrence-East Bayfront-The Islands.

Nearby intersections

Questions

Is The Esplanade & Market a dangerous intersection?

Not by the record: no one was killed or seriously injured here in 2016–2025, though police reported 42 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 The Esplanade & Market?

A low-volume local intersection. Its latest count is from Mar 24, 2022, 28% of the median for a counted intersection.

Where can I park near The Esplanade & Market?

The nearest Green P car park is 2 Church St (208 m away, 1,972 spaces, 16% full at the daily peak in Q1 2026). The City's mapping shows 628 parking lots of any kind within 2 km — roughly 23,760 spaces — 39 of them within 500 m; most are private or customer-only lots. The nearest City EV charger is at 2 Church St. (207 m).

How do I get to The Esplanade & Market by transit?

King Station (Line 1) is 484 m away; Union Station GO is 782 m away; streetcar routes 503, 504, 508, 501 and 2 more stop within 1 km, the nearest 270 m away; bus routes 75, 121, 19, 97, 114, 202, 65 within 1 km (nearest stop: Lower Jarvis St at the Esplanade, 76 m).

What restaurants are near The Esplanade & Market?

90 restaurants, cafés and takeouts are within 300 m, and 347 within a kilometre, according to Toronto Public Health's DineSafe inspection list. The closest are Bindia (46 m), Balzac's Coffee (55 m), Pizza Hut (113 m), Alex Farm Products (114 m) and Bomba Gelato (114 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 The Esplanade & Market?

The nearest is St Lawrence Tent, 125 The Esplanade Street, 38 m away (Mon-Sat Closed, Sun 10:00am-5:00pm). Next nearest: St Lawrence South (114 m); St Lawrence North (158 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 The Esplanade & Market?

14 licensed child care centres within 1 km, with 934 spaces in total; 9 accept City fee subsidy and some are in the $10-a-day (CWELCC) program. The nearest are St. Lawrence Infant Toddler Centre (4 Market Street) (36 m, 40 spaces), St. Lawrence Co-Operative Day Care (2 Princess Street) (482 m, 49 spaces) and St. Lawrence Co-Operative Day Care School Age (230 the Esplanade) (575 m, 74 spaces). Spaces are licensed capacity, not vacancies.

What apartment buildings are near The Esplanade & Market?

34 RentSafeTO-registered apartment buildings with 4,813 rental units are within 1 km. The nearest are 110 The Esplanade (56 m, 205 units, RentSafeTO score 96), 25 Henry Lane Ter (126 m, 196 units, RentSafeTO score 77), 85 The Esplanade (129 m, 128 units, RentSafeTO score 93) and 140 The Esplanade (130 m, 102 units, RentSafeTO score 81). The average RentSafeTO score across the 34 is 90 out of 100. 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 The Esplanade & Market?

Toronto Police place eight thefts from vehicles and five bicycle thefts 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 St Lawrence-East Bayfront-The Islands page.

What neighbourhood is The Esplanade & Market in?

The Esplanade & Market is in St Lawrence-East Bayfront-The Islands (City of Toronto neighbourhood 166). It is in Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York, represented by Councillor Ausma Malik. The corner falls inside the Old Town Toronto Business Improvement Area.

Sources

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