Dermott Place Community Lane in Cabbagetown
From "Traffic Regulation Review"
Go to the project
Dermott Place is a small laneway running south of Carlton to Spruce in Cabbagetown.
It has no traffic sign, road calming or yield at the end of the street for vehicles at the sidewalk at Spruce St.
Without a STOP sign or other signage, at the end of Dermott Place and Spruce St, vehicles do not have to stop, or slow down for oncoming pedestrians including many with small children.
This has created a serious safety issue.
Please consider potential options that may be available to us:
1) a STOP Sign, and other signage (local traffic only, watch for children)
2) speed calming measures on Dermott Place, (including reduction of speed), and,
3) pedestrian cross-walk at Dermott Place and Spruce St
and to be sure to consult with the community on Spruce, Dermott and surrounding streets, to explore the best use of this lane way in our community to ensure that vehicles and delivery trucks using this small lane as a "speedy" thorough fare do not cause a potential accident or tragedy.
Comments(16)
Please to comment.
Most recent comments have loaded.
Profile of Myles Magner
Posted by:Myles Magner
4 weeks ago
Totally agree with:
1) Slow/Caution/Watch for Pedestrians signs at the entrances to Dermott from Carlton and the No Frills parking lot.
2) Stop and Watch for Pedestrians signs at bottom of Demott at Sprice.
3) Speed bumps with signs including just above Spruce.
4) Maybe convex mirrors at Spruce so drivers exiting Dermott can see pedestrians and oncoming traffic better.
Not sure a crosswalk/flashers are workable here…
Profile of Kelly O’Sullivan
Posted by:Kelly O’Sullivan
3 weeks ago
@Myles Magner thanks for the reply, was chatting with folks, and the crosswalk is for Spruce St, perhaps before Dermott Place (to the west) and other ideas that came up were to consider making Spruce St a complete one-way. Spruce turns into a race to Bayview & River in the mornings and evenings with vehicles short cutting down Dermott Place.
No left turns perhaps, something has to be done before there is an accident.
The neighbourhood has more and more children, families, folks with bikes, dogs, more people walking, roller blading and that is a good thing.
It would be great to have Dermott Place moving at a slower pace for people, local traffic at a crawl like a trailer park... 15 km folks.
Let's think "big" perhaps... then have Spruce St become the entrance way to the Don Valley for bikes, people, children, dogs, strollers, roller blades and vehicles that want to meander down a street in Toronto, and not use it to race at high speeds to hit River or Bayview during rush hour.
A first step though, and the easiest, as Bob has already shared, some signs to slow down, watch for children and to STOP.
Profile of Bob Marlow
Posted by:Bob Marlow
2 months ago
Further to everything else, there is only one narrow sidewalk on Dermott place. So people walk in the street. Kids play in the street. Traffic should only be for deliveries or for residents. There should never be any “high speed traffic” as has been mentioned. So let’s get a stop sign that is firmly fixed in place and a warning sign for both drivers and pedestrians and put this to bed. It ain’t rocket science folks. Don’t drive too fast and stop at stop signs or where you can’t see your way forward.
Profile of Bob Marlow
Posted by:Bob Marlow
2 months ago
It’s just a little one way laneway that people live on. Why won’t a stop sign work like they work everywhere else? That hedge is security for that homeowner. It’s not leaving. A stop sign is the only option. This is getting ridiculous.
Profile of Bob Marlow
Posted by:Bob Marlow
2 months ago
@Bob Marlow people must just slow right down on the street I live on. Learn to drive properly. I am a homeowner on Dermott place. Drivers go too fast and have no patience. Stop at stop signs. Don’t steal stop signs!
Profile of Shannon Greenwood
Posted by:Shannon Greenwood
2 months ago
As a driver the hedge is too high ? It’s a safety issues for pedestrians and drivers . Yes a stop sign is nice , but you can still stop and not be able to see the pedestrians. I try not to drive on that road but sometimes you have no choice.
Profile of Kelly O’Sullivan
Posted by:Kelly O’Sullivan
2 months ago
@Shannon Greenwood as I understand, the hedge has already been addressed by the City, and was reduced to the level that is allowed on residential property.
Let's get a stop sign and signage on this laneway and see if it will help.
And a reminder, this is not a street folks, and respectfully, you sharing that you try not to drive down Dermott Place is not a bad thing.
Not that you do this, but it should not be a short cut for drivers trying to get home - yes if there is a traffic redirection, but it gets used as a thorough fare to get out of rush hour traffic, or as a short cut to River or Gerrard St from Carlton St or the No Frills Parking lot.
All that needs to STOP in my opinion, to reduce the risk even further, and make it a lane way where we can stroll with dogs, and kids on bikes, and if a vehicle comes along, you give a honk an inch along... 15 km an hour max like at the trailer park.
Profile of Bob Marlow
Posted by:Bob Marlow
2 months ago
That hedge is not going away. A large and firmly fixed stop sign is required. They keep getting stolen. Plus reduce the speed limit on Dermott pl to 20km/h or less
Profile of Bob Marlow
Posted by:Bob Marlow
2 months ago
@Bob Marlow I have lived on Dermott pl since 1978. The stop sign at the end of the street needs to be replaced and very firmly fixed in place. The signs are too easy to steal. There should also be a warning sign to drivers to watch out for pedestrians. Perhaps a warning to pedestrians to beware of traffic. This is all that is necessary. Dermott place is a laneway, not a real street. This is not a big problem. It needs no deep thought.
Profile of Kelly O’Sullivan
Posted by:Kelly O’Sullivan
2 months ago
@Bob Marlow I agree, the hedge is not the issue here - the solution is simple - Dermott Place Laneway needs signage, watch out for pedestrians, a huge STOP sign and a bigger sign to remind our oversized FedEx delivery trucks it is not a short cut..
Profile of Gerrit Boerman
Posted by:Gerrit Boerman
2 months ago
@Bob Marlow
In case this came across the wrong way: the hedge is fine, it’s their property after all, but it exacerbates the risk of high speed traffic barreling into the sidewalk.
So, yes, signage and maybe elevate the sidewalk so it becomes a natural speed bump. This is often done in Northern European cities.
Profile of Bob Marlow
Posted by:Bob Marlow
2 months ago
@Gerrit Boerman There should not be ANY HIGH SPEED TRAFFIC on this tiny street. Only local traffic for deliveries or for residents. Let’s get that straight.
Profile of Gerrit Boerman
Posted by:Gerrit Boerman
2 months ago
@Bob Marlow I’m sorry, but I do not understand why you are so angry. Local neighbours are just trying to have a conversation here.
Profile of Gerrit Boerman
Posted by:Gerrit Boerman
2 months ago
I fully support this. The hedge on Spruce street is too high and someone will get hurt
Profile of Kelly O’Sullivan
Posted by:Kelly O’Sullivan
2 months ago
@Gerrit Boerman I appreciate the support, for those of us that live next door, the hedge is not the issue IMO, the birds love it and it keeps folks from using peoples front yards as places their dogs can dump or other issues...
if you see the pic, there is no stop sign, slow down, nothing to make vehicles stop - that is the safety issue - I like Bob's proposal, get signage up - simple and easy solution to a problem waiting to happen
Total likes: 9, total dislikes: 0
. Sign in to react.
Share
Posted by
Profile of Kelly O’SullivanKelly O’Sullivan on March 6, 2026
Current status
New
Tags
Mobility
Safety
Public services
Location
Unable to display map. WebGL2 support is required.
Ensure that your browser and hardware meet the minimum requirements.
https://esriurl.com/webgl-faq
EN
AR
ZH
TL