The Worst Intersections In Toronto That Newcomers, Tourists & Basically Everyone Should Avoid
The views expressed in this Opinion article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
If you live in Toronto, chances are you already know all of the worst intersections in the city, but for the uninitiated, you can find yourself in quite a bind if you don't know which spots to avoid.
Whether you're a pedestrian, cyclist or driver, each chosen mode of transportation bears its own set of merits and issues, but there are truly some spots in the city where it's a terrible time no matter if you're in a car, on a bike or on foot.
In fact, Toronto traffic has been ranked as some of the worst in the world (even worse than New York City!) with a study showing that the city's average travel time per 10 kilometres clocks in at 29 minutes.
So, with that in mind, we asked the Narcity team which intersections in Toronto they find to be the most horrendous, and if you're a newcomer or a tourist (or just a fed-up Torontonian), they're definitely spots you should either avoid entirely, only hit up during non-peak hours, or have your loins girded for in preparation to wait out snarls of congestion and generally questionable behaviours from everyone involved.
Old Weston and Rogers
If you've ever found yourself at the five-way disaster that's actually been dubbed the "pentagon of death," you'll know why this mess of an intersection is on the list.
For the uninitiated, let me try to explain: this five-way intersection somehow connects two residential streets through two major roads that somehow combine together into a third road.
As well, there are "huge lineups to turn and you have to wait several lights to get through," says a Narcity employee.
Anytime I've been around this area, motorists seem to have no idea what they're supposed to do or how to get to the road they're aiming for, and quite frankly, I go out of my way to avoid it because it genuinely makes me nervous for my safety and those around me.
University and Front
Due to its proximity to Union Station, the Gardiner and Lakeshore, University and Front is an absolute nightmare around rush hour, when someone big is performing in the city or if the Leafs, Jays or Raptors are playing.
One of the main issues with this intersection is that cars will creep out into the road when they have a green light but before they have enough room to fully cross over to the other light. That leads to cars blocking the intersection when the parallel light turns green, thus blocking that lane from being able to move at all.
In recent years I've seen police guiding traffic around rush hour to avoid that exact situation, but if you can avoid it, I'd 100% recommend you do so.
King and Bathurst
King/Bathurst derailment this morning. traffic and pedestrian chaos
byu/gigantic57 intoronto
"King & Bathurst is sneaky bad! I got hit by a car on my bike in that intersection," explained another Narcity employee. "There’s this weird streetcar stop median between the two southbound lanes on Bathurst and people always panic about getting stuck on the wrong side of it."
Also if the streetcar on King gets derailed it can cause mayhem, but that's more of a problem for King Street in general.
Yonge and Dundas
Yonge and Dundas is uniquely terrible in that it's a bad time no matter if you're on foot, on a bike or travelling by car.
It's always incredibly busy and noisy and often pedestrians cross or jaywalk without paying attention to their surroundings and motorists get distracted by all of the shenanigans going on in the square.
And, if you've never heard that one guy with the megaphone shouting about religion (who seems to have been there for years), you really can't call yourself a true Torontonian.
Jarvis and Lakeshore
from toronto
There's really no good way to travel south to Lakeshore/the Gardiner during rush hour, but going down Jarvis always seems to be the most time-consuming out of all of them.
I distinctly recall one time when it took me well over an hour to get from Jarvis and Queen to the right turn onto Lakeshore, which is roughly a one-kilometre stretch. Add in the random closures and accidents that seem to happen on a regular basis, and it's just absolutely brutal.
Queen and Spadina
@torontoaffirmations #queenandspadina #mcdonalds #joshhutcherson #toronto #fyp #canadian #adayinmylife #torontolife #torontofood #torontorealestate
Queen and Spadina, specifically the northwest side near the McDonald's, can be a hectic spot.
There are multiple Reddit threads and TikToks that show some of the more unfortunate going-on in that area, and unless you're a weathered Torontonian, just do yourself a favour and steer clear. Trust me on this one.
As well as having some truly awful intersections, big-name celebs who have visited Toronto have called out how bad traffic is in the city on multiple occasions.
While Tom Cruise was in the city in 2023, he was asked if he could tackle the impossible mission of braving two hours of traffic in Toronto without succumbing to road rage.
“I have done that challenge and I have been in that traffic," Cruise said. "I’ve made movies in Toronto and I’ve visited Toronto, I have friends in Toronto."
“What’s up with the traffic in Toronto?" he asked. "Have they figured this out?”
And when comedian Andrew Phung was asked by Narcity what he would do in Toronto if he could be incognito for a day, he had an interesting response.
"Honestly, I just want to be in Toronto but minus the traffic," he shared. "If I could experience Toronto without 60% of the traffic. This city is amazing, there is an energy and a vibe to this city but the traffic will kill your soul. So that's what I would want. I'd want to be here, no traffic."
A lot of people would likely agree with that!
What likely makes the situation worse for everyone involved is the fact that Canadians have been ranked globally as some of the worst drivers in the world.
According to the car insurance company Compare the Market, Canadian motorists come in ninth for worst drivers globally, behind Thailand, Peru, Lebanon, India, Malaysia, Argentina, United States and Turkey.
Stay safe on the roads, everyone!
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
