Background

Every day, tens of thousands of Londoners use Wonderland Road as a vital north-south corridor to cycle, walk, drive or take transit. Wonderland Road (also known as Highway 4) is a critical transportation corridor for the movement of goods and services through the City. But this essential arterial road has become increasingly congested – a problem that is expected to worsen as London grows, despite significant City investments in road, transit, and cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.

In 2017, the Wonderland Road Environmental Assessment was initiated to consider in greater detail:

• whether Wonderland Road should be widened to six lanes between Southdale and Sarnia Roads
• determine appropriate ways to accommodate pedestrian, cyclist, transit and other users.

Several public engagement sessions were held to share information and gather feedback from the public and stakeholders on issues, opportunities and strategies related to the future of Wonderland Road. Many of these conversations focused on whether road widening projects have a strategic role to play in the future of the City’s transportation network, given the evolving understanding of climate change issues.

Current status

The Wonderland Road Environmental Assessment is exploring bus friendly and more sustainable mobility options (i.e. cycle lanes) for this corridor. This could include the use of higher-order transit facilities (i.e. dedicated bus lanes) or localized widenings (i.e. left/right turn lanes) to address specific areas of concern.  The use of a multi-modal level of service approach which considers all modes of transportation (i.e. walking, cycling, bus, and vehicles) is being used for this study which will ensure that active transportation and transit-related improvements are identified and protected for future consideration.   This study will also need to consider climate change, consistent with the City’s declaration of a Climate Emergency. This Environmental Assessment is to be included in the evaluation of major transportation projects using the Climate Emergency Screening Tool, currently under development.

Engaging with the public and stakeholders has been a vital part of the Wonderland Road Environmental Assessment process, and the project team has shared information and gathered feedback at a number of community-focused events in 2017 and 2019.