[taal]

I hesitated posting this as clearly there are many issues with the numbers here:
http://spacingtoronto.ca/2011/06/09/finally-the-map-of-walking-in-toronto-with-the-top-25-walking-intersections/

Link to interactive map:
http://www.globalnews.ca/maps/110601_pedestrians_numbers.html

EGLINTON and YONGE: 42680
BAY and DUNDAS: 35585
BAY and WELLINGTON: 32319
DUNDAS and YONGE: 31802
CARLTON and YONGE: 29115
QUEEN and YONGE: 28209
ADELAIDE and BAY: 27086
KING and YONGE: 25743
BLOOR and YONGE: 25696
BAY and BLOOR: 24246
ST CLAIR and YONGE: 24195
UNIVERSITY and YORK: 24056
ADELAIDE and YONGE: 23297
GERRARD and YONGE: 22771
BLOOR and CHURCH: 22634
BAY and KING: 22398
DUNDAS and UNIVERSITY: 21610
HARBORD and ST GEORGE: 21163
BAY and COLLEGE: 21161
JOHN and QUEEN: 20656
WELLESLEY and YONGE: 20133
BAY and QUEEN: 20124
AVENUE and BLOOR: 18872
FRONT and JOHN: 18295
UNIVERSITY and WELLINGTON: 17246

So for those who didn't read the article, these counts are done during weekdays from roughly 7am-6pm. But the issue is that it's been done over the last 3 years some in the winter and others in the summer.

So for example the Yonge and Dundas location was done in late January. Not sure about the rest.

It doesn't suprise me that Yonge and Eglinton is as high as it is but clearly it's not busier then some of the top 5. I'd guess Y&E was done in the summer.

The fact that it's weekdays factors in quite a bit. Queen and Spadina is no where on the list, if you check it is only reported at 10K, but in the summer, it'd likely be much higher.

Interesting nonetheless ...

 

[Kitsune]

heck... where is Bay and Front? Lots of issue with those numbers.....

 

[valkoholic]

Traffic counts conducted by the City of Toronto are notoriously inaccurate. I've seen counts off by a factor of two when compared to private firms. They also conduct them at really odd times (summer, Fridays, etc.) which skews the results. That Yonge and Eglinton count is a prime example, many of the numbers in it are just wrong. I highly doubt that Yonge and Eglinton is busier than the major downtown intersections pedestrian-wise.

 

[bigkiwibird]

Imagine some of these numbers if there was no PATH system.

 

[wopchop]

I shudder to think about Bay & Front in a world with no PATH system. Scary.

 

[TrickyRicky]

Hey, does anyone know if there is a master list for these numbers? I picked out some I was interested in but this info has at least passing interesting implications for business owners and commercial real estate.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Everyone: I was wondering how this information was collected: Was it electronic (using an electric eye or some other media) or was it collected by hand stationing checkers with clickers at each street crossing? It is still interesting noting how much foot traffic some parts of Toronto get...LI MIKE

 

[spider]

Any chance that these numbers were collected by the same people and/or methodology that produce the TTC ridership figures?

 

[taal]

Yea I was hesitant to post it as they look incredibly far off.

Essentially they do the measurement on 1 day, and it can be any day of the year.

For any that live around Y&E I can attest it's extremely busy. Probably busier then many downtown. But in no way does it compare to the likes of Yonge and Dundas / Bloor and Yonge ... It's definitely a lot busier then say Bay and Dundas.

But just the fact they believed you can compare the counts between the winter and summer is just ridiculous.

 

[Dan416]

I don't think there's any way in hell any intersection in Canada is busier than Yonge & Dundas. I just do not believe it.

 

[nfitz]

Pedestrian-wise, I'd have though Front and York (and University) was busier ... but that doesn't even seem to have made the list.

 

[Dan416]

Pedestrian-wise, I'd have though Front and York (and University) was busier ... but that doesn't even seem to have made the list.

Maybe over peak hours maybe, but over a whole day I'd say Y-D is busier.

 

[valkoholic]

Everyone: I was wondering how this information was collected: Was it electronic (using an electric eye or some other media) or was it collected by hand stationing checkers with clickers at each street crossing? It is still interesting noting how much foot traffic some parts of Toronto get...LI MIKE

This would've been counted manually. The City has started using electronic counting but these counts are too old for that.

 

[Johnny Au]

The intersection of Harbord and St. George is one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in the city, mainly because of university students (and the fact that the northwest corner of that intersection is Robarts Library, which has large usage). I believe that the data for that intersection is taken during the busiest time of the day when there are many classes and between September and December.