Traffic in Liberty Village is so bad and it's only getting worse

The traffic in Liberty Village neighbourhood is a mounting issue — and it's only getting worse.

For months now, Liberty Village residents and workers have been inundated by bumper-to-bumper traffic throughout the neighbourhood that never quite seems to lighten up.

After a massive rehabilitation project reduced the Gardiner to two lanes and construction on King West closed the street entirely between Dufferin and Shaw, commuters travelling east-west in the south part of the city are being increasingly funneled onto Liberty Street.

Liberty Street, for its part, just can't handle it.

Shout out to Toronto City Council for making the King West-Liberty Village Riding untraversable due to poor city/event planning and traffic management. Absolutely destroying local businesses and the livability of the area because of gridlock. @ausmalik @cityoftoronto @oliviachow pic.twitter.com/QirsINiJEa

— Ry Ehrenworth (@ryanehrenworth) July 4, 2024

The two-lane roadway (one lane going either direction), with street parking, bus routes that turn at the east and west ends of the street and thousands of residents and workers trying to get in and out every day, isn't built to take on traffic from two major city veins — and people are starting to feel the strain.

In addition to the traffic particularly ramping up at the expected times — before or after TFC games at the nearby BMO stadium or after a concert at Budweiser Stage lets out — the issue, Liberty Village residents say, seems to be ongoing. All day, every day.

One resident writes to blogTO that the traffic in Liberty Village is the "worst of any place in Toronto by far," claiming that it recently took him an hour to get from Strachan to Dufferin along East Liberty — a 1.3 km distance.

This weekend, the issue is due to heat up even further as the Honda Indy rolls into town, closing off Lakeshore West from Strachan to British Columbia Avenue and Strachan from Fleet Street to Lakeshore West — rendering Liberty the only open east-west street south of Queen in that area all weekend long.

The indy is in town. Lakeshore closed off starting at midnight. This is going to be a traffic mess all weekend. Tell your daughter to be prepared.

Side note. It's normally bad in liberty village daily. But esepcailllllly bad this weekend.

— Meems (@mememelly) July 19, 2024

While the Indy is only shutting down roads in the city until Sunday evening, the issue of the Gardiner and King West poses a more long-running issue for residents and workers in the area.

As it stands, the King Street construction is expected to wrap up in November of this year, while the Gardiner will be in various states of closure until, brace yourself, mid-2027.

Until then, maybe it's time to invest in a really good bike.