Toronto · intersection · signal 1136

Willowdale & Empress

Willowdale Ave & Empress Ave · Toronto, Ontario · East Willowdale · Ward 18, Willowdale

Willowdale & Empress is an above-average intersection for traffic. It sits in East Willowdale. It has a protected bikeway and an accessible pedestrian signal at the corner. Nearby: North York Centre Station (Line 1) 848 m away.

Traffic volume
9,891
vehicles · 8-hour count, Feb 15, 2018
225 pedestrians · 7 cyclists
Collisions
39
police-reported, any severity · 2016–2025
9 with an injury · 30 property damage · #2439 of 5,508 · +4 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
North York Centre Station 848 m · 3 bus routes within 1 km
Cycling
Protected
Cycle Track
Bike Share: 0 docks within 150 m

Hour by hour, the 8-hour count works out to close to 1,240 vehicles, about the citywide median. There is roughly one pedestrian for every 44 vehicles, well below the typical one per 13. That comes with about 3.9 reported collisions a year, 2016–2025 — roughly the median for a Toronto intersection. Collisions fell 61%, from 28 in 2016–2020 to 11 in 2021–2025. None of them involved a death or serious injury.

Map

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Willowdale & Empress

Getting here

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

Transit & cycling

Subway
North York Centre Station (Line 1)848 m
GO Transit
GO bus 27 Milton / North York19 Mississauga / North York96 Oshawa / Finch Express67 Keswick / North York at Yonge St. @ Empress Ave.828 m
TTC bus
9897185 nearest 15 m
Blue Night
320385
Nearest stops
5 surface stops within 300 m — Willowdale Ave at Empress Ave
Cycling
Cycle Track on Willowdale Ave installed 2022
Bike Share
10 Kingsdale Ave 773 m · 31 docks · 4 stations, 84 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 (23)
  • Earl Haig Secondary SchoolEnglish Public · 326 m
  • Central Montessori School - WillowdalePrivate · 573 m
  • Newton International College SchoolPrivate · 637 m
  • McKee Public SchoolEnglish Public · 720 m
  • Academy of Excellence Secondary SchoolPrivate · 726 m
  • Claude Watson School For the ArtsEnglish Public · 828 m
  • and 17 more
Parks (41)
  • Empress Tot Lot519 m
  • Mitchell Field Park562 m
  • Lee Lifeson Art Park621 m
  • Ring Road Linear Park658 m
  • Willowdale Park670 m
  • McKenzie Parkette689 m
  • and 35 more
Library
  • Toronto Public Library North York Central Library branch1 km
Places of interest
  • Gibson House MuseumMuseum · 1 km
  • Mel Lastman SquareLandmark · 1 km
  • Meridian Arts Centre (formerly Toronto Centre for the Arts)Performing Arts · 1.1 km
Signal
1136, activated 1974 · SA2 · accessible (audible) pedestrian signal · leading pedestrian interval North/South/East/West

Around the corner

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

Restaurants & food

No restaurant or café sits within 300 m of the corner; 137 eating places are within a kilometre. The nearest is The Dumpling, 444 m away, which passed its last DineSafe inspection in May 2026 with 1 infraction noted.

Restaurants & cafés0 within 300 m · 137 within 1 km
Grocery & convenience0 within 300 m · 14 within 1 km
Nearest food premisesDistanceLatest DineSafe inspection
The Dumpling · 184 Willowdale Ave444 mPassed, May 2026 · 1 infraction
Old K Fried Chicken · 142 Willowdale Ave Unit-2647 mPassed, Aug 2026
McKee McKids · 35 Church Ave721 mPassed, Nov 2025
Michi Sushi · 126 Willowdale Ave737 mPassed, Apr 2026 · 1 infraction
Honeymoon Dessert · 8 Kingsdale Ave791 mPassed, May 2026
Paisano's Italian Garden Cafe · 116 Willowdale Ave793 mPassed, Aug 2026
Kinton Ramen · 5165 Yonge St809 mPassed, May 2026
Pho 88 Restaurant · 5197 Yonge St811 mPassed, May 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 Mitchell Field Community Centre Washroom, 575 m away, View centre hours; it is wheelchair-accessible.

  • Mitchell Field Community Centre Washroom · 89 Church Ave
    View centre hours · accessible
    575 m
  • Lee Lifeson Art Park Washroom · 45 Princess Ave
    hours not listed · accessible · closed — Planned Closure
    646 m
  • Willowdale Park North York Tennis Club Washroom · 75 Hollywood Ave
    9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
    722 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

Ten licensed child care centres within a kilometre offer 938 spaces; four accept City fee subsidy. The nearest is Central Montessori Schools - Willowdale Campus (573 m, 62 spaces, toddler, preschool).

Within 1 km10 centres · 938 spaces
Fee subsidy4 of 10
  • Central Montessori Schools - Willowdale Campus · 157 Willowdale Ave
    62 spaces · toddler, preschool · $10-a-day
    573 m
  • Lansing Co-Op Nursery School · 80 Church Ave
    32 spaces · preschool · $10-a-day
    674 m
  • McKee McKids Enrichment Centre · 35 Church Ave
    166 spaces · preschool, kindergarten, school age · fee subsidy · $10-a-day
    720 m
  • Yorktown Montessori School · 349 Kenneth Ave
    40 spaces · preschool · $10-a-day
    750 m

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

Emergency services

The nearest fire hall is Fire Station 114 (1.0 km), the nearest police station 32 Division (1.0 km) and the nearest ambulance station 1.0 km away.

FireFire Station 114 · 1 km12 Canterbury Pl
Police32 Division · 1 km30 Ellerslie Avenue
AmbulanceAmbulance Station 58 · 1 km12 Canterbury Pl

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

Three registered apartment buildings with 472 rental units stand within a kilometre of the corner, one of them social or Toronto Community Housing — well below the median of 23. The nearest is 414 Willowdale Ave (675 m, 65 units, 3 storeys, built 1958), which scored 97 out of 100 at its August 2025 RentSafeTO evaluation. None scored below 70; the average is 98, above the 90 typical of Toronto intersections. The Landlord and Tenant Board issued 3 final orders naming these buildings in the latest half-year of its catalogue, and 1 fire-code violation is open across them.

Registered buildings3 · 472 units · 1 social housing
RentSafeTO score98 average · none below 70
LTB orders, Jan 2026 – Jun 20263 across the 3
Open fire-code violations1
Tallest17 storeys
Nearest buildingsUnitsStoreysBuiltScoreLTB ordersDistance
414 Willowdale Ave · O'shanter Development Company Ltd.653195897 · Aug 20251675 m
422 Willowdale Avesocial housing · Canadian Helen Keller Centre164199298 · Jun 20240786 m
55 Ellerslie Ave · M&r Property Management39117196699 · Jun 20242 · 1 fire1 km

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 lots460 lots · ≈31,560 spaces · 94.7 ha
Within 500 m11 lots · ≈380 spaces
Green P (public)11 car parks · about 3,375 spaces
EV charging (City)33 Elmhurst Ave · 1.3 km · 2 Level 2 ports
Bike parkingnone recorded nearby
Green P car parkDistanceSpacesPeak occupancy
10 Kingsdale Ave · Surface790 m5344% (Q1 2026)
10 Empress Ave · Surface806 m6769% (Q1 2026)
180 Beecroft Road · Surface1.2 km173 *
95 Beecroft Rd · Garage1.3 km38615% (Q1 2026)
10 Harlandale Avenue · Surface1.3 km112 *

Nearest lots: 208 m away, ≈8 spaces; 264 m away, ≈23 spaces; 380 m away, ≈22 spaces; 398 m away, ≈197 spaces; 403 m away, ≈10 spaces; 416 m away, ≈25 spaces. More EV charging: 19 Glendora Ave (1.5 km, 2 ports); 19 Glendora Ave (1.5 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 — 8-hour, Feb 15, 2018

The north leg carries the load — 3,996 southbound vehicles, or 40% of everything entering — while the east leg brought 1,362. The afternoon peak is the heavier one — 1,688 vehicles in the hour from 4:30 p.m., 13% above the morning peak from 8:00 a.m. (1,500). Heavy vehicles made up 1.2% of traffic (typical: 3.2%). The citywide median for a 14-hour count is 16,183 vehicles. The count is 9 years old — treat it as a snapshot of 2018, 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 north3,996southbound · 1 bikes · 1.1% heavy
From the west1,667eastbound · 3 bikes · 0.8% heavy
Total vehicles9,891225 pedestrians · 7 cyclists · 1.2% heavy
From the east1,362westbound · 3 bikes · 1.2% heavy
From the south2,866northbound · 0 bikes · 1.5% heavy
AM peak hour1,500 vehicles from 8:00 a.m.
PM peak hour1,688 vehicles from 4:30 p.m.
Count8-hour · Feb 15, 2018

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 Willowdale Ave between Kingsdale Ave and Parkview Ave (144 m away) recorded an average of 45 km/h in its 3-day count in February 2020; 85% of drivers were at or under 53 km/h. That segment carries about 9,100 vehicles a day. The reading is 6 years old; the City counts on request rather than on a schedule.

Street segmentCountedVehicles / dayAverage85th percentile95th
Empress Ave · Dudley Ave – Willowdale Ave · 110 mNov 2010 · 3 days6,087
Willowdale Ave · Kingsdale Ave – Parkview Ave · 144 mFeb 2020 · 3 days9,12145 km/h53 km/h57 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

2019 was the peak year (10 collisions), and 2025 closed with 1. 23% of collisions here involved an injury, above the 15% citywide. 1 driver failed to remain at the scene — 3% of collisions, below the citywide 16%. People walking or cycling were involved in 3% of collisions here (citywide: 5%). Since January 2026, 4 more collisions have been reported; they sit outside the ranking window. The most recent report on file is from Jun 25, 2026.

By year

16171819202122232425
2016–2025Collisions
All reported collisions39#2439 of 5,508
With an injury9#1965 of 4,660
Property damage only30
Fail to remain1
Involving a pedestrian1#3142 of 3,193
Involving a cyclist0
Involving a motorcyclist0
With a fatality0
Since January 2026 (outside the window)4
All since 201457latest Jun 25, 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

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

Police records place no theft from a vehicle or bicycle theft at this intersection in 2016–2025.

Source: Toronto Police Service, Theft From Motor Vehicle and Bicycle Thefts open data, records through Jul 31, 2014. 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 East Willowdale.

Nearby intersections

Questions

Is Willowdale & Empress a dangerous intersection?

Not by the record: no one was killed or seriously injured here in 2016–2025, though police reported 39 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 Willowdale & Empress?

An above-average intersection for traffic. Its latest count is from Feb 15, 2018, about the median for a counted intersection.

How fast do cars go at Willowdale & Empress?

The City's most recent speed count near the corner, on Willowdale Ave between Kingsdale Ave and Parkview Ave (February 2020), found an average of 45 km/h and an 85th-percentile speed of 53 km/h — meaning 85% of drivers were at or below that speed.

Where can I park near Willowdale & Empress?

The nearest Green P car park is 10 Kingsdale Ave (790 m away, 53 spaces, 44% full at the daily peak in Q1 2026). The City's mapping shows 460 parking lots of any kind within 2 km — roughly 31,560 spaces — 11 of them within 500 m; most are private or customer-only lots. The nearest City EV charger is at 33 Elmhurst Ave (1.3 km).

How do I get to Willowdale & Empress by transit?

North York Centre Station (Line 1) is 848 m away; bus routes 98, 97, 185 within 1 km (nearest stop: Willowdale Ave at Empress Ave, 15 m).

What restaurants are near Willowdale & Empress?

None within 300 m, and 137 within a kilometre, according to Toronto Public Health's DineSafe inspection list. The closest are The Dumpling (444 m), Old K Fried Chicken (647 m), McKee McKids (721 m), Michi Sushi (737 m) and Honeymoon Dessert (791 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 Willowdale & Empress?

The nearest is Mitchell Field Community Centre Washroom, 89 Church Ave, 575 m away (View centre hours), with an accessible washroom. Next nearest: Lee Lifeson Art Park Washroom (646 m); Willowdale Park North York Tennis Club Washroom (722 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 Willowdale & Empress?

Ten licensed child care centres within 1 km, with 938 spaces in total; 4 accept City fee subsidy and some are in the $10-a-day (CWELCC) program. The nearest are Central Montessori Schools - Willowdale Campus (573 m, 62 spaces), Lansing Co-Op Nursery School (674 m, 32 spaces) and McKee McKids Enrichment Centre (720 m, 166 spaces). Spaces are licensed capacity, not vacancies.

What apartment buildings are near Willowdale & Empress?

Three RentSafeTO-registered apartment buildings with 472 rental units are within 1 km. The nearest are 414 Willowdale Ave (675 m, 65 units, RentSafeTO score 97), 422 Willowdale Ave (786 m, 16 units, RentSafeTO score 98) and 55 Ellerslie Ave (1.0 km, 391 units, RentSafeTO score 99). The average RentSafeTO score across the 3 is 98 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.

What neighbourhood is Willowdale & Empress in?

Willowdale & Empress is in East Willowdale (City of Toronto neighbourhood 152). It is in Ward 18, Willowdale, represented by Councillor Lily Cheng.

Sources

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