Press conference at Kos Café highlights local opposition to RapidTO

By Abigail Harris

On Wednesday June 11, over a hundred residents and small business owners gathered on the patio of Kos Café at Bathurst and Dupont to call on the city to pause the proposed RapidTO transit corridor expansion north of Bloor. 

The event was hosted by Protect Bathurst, a grassroots coalition of Toronto residents, local business owners, accessibility advocates, and community leaders who argue that their lifestyles and livelihoods will be negatively impacted by the city’s plan. 

The proposed design includes installing priority bus lanes in the north and southbound curb lanes on a 7.5-kilometre stretch of Bathurst from Eglinton Avenue West to Bloor Street West and implementing priority streetcar lanes from Bloor Street West to Lake Shore Boulevard.  

All curb-lane access to parking, loading, unloading, deliveries, and service vehicles would be removed, eliminating 138 on-street paid parking spaces, according to the city. 

The project’s development was authorized in July 2024 by city council to improve the efficiency and convenience of public transportation ahead of next summer’s FIFA World Cup 26™, but also to provide more reliable bus and streetcar transit in the long term.

Various speakers took the stage, voicing their concerns about what the proposed plan would do to the area’s safety, accessibility, and economic health. 

Paul Macchiusi, local resident, owner of Minerva Cannabis, and host of the event, told the audience that the RapidTO plan will improve public transport at the expense of residents and local business owners.

“RapidTO is proposing to change our streets from mixed use neighborhood arteries into 24/7 high speed bus and emergency vehicle corridors,” Macchiusi said. “There will be nowhere for someone to stop and help an aging parent, nowhere for children to get dropped off and go to daycare, nowhere for residents to unload groceries.”

Macchiusi said the city has not taken enough time or the right steps to address perceived issues with the plan and has not participated in larger discussions with the community.

“The RapidTO plan is flawed, and it’s being rushed,” Macchiusi said. “Residents and business owners have repeatedly raised concerns about the safety, traffic divergence, business liability, and basic accessibility, and every time that we have, the answers have been vague, dismissive, or simply absent.” 

Michelle Morgan, owner of Annex Art, expressed her concerns about the impact of the priority TTC lanes on her business. 

“A large part of my business is children’s programming, including after school art classes, summer camps, workshops, and special events,” Morgan said. “The only access to my storefront is on Bathurst Street, and I fear that I’ll lose a large part of my business to those who rely on parking access to the studio.”

The day before the press conference, Dianne Saxe, city councillor and TTC board member, offered a compromise to the issue, proposing that the installation of the TTC priority lanes between Bathurst Station and Dupont be halted until the next municipal election. 

During a Q&A period, Macchisui addressed Saxe’s proposed solution to the complex issue.

“She’s provided us with a compromise, which is a great first step into working into a better plan,” Macchisui said. “Hopefully that will be better than what RapidTO has presented.”

Andrew Greene, chief of staff at Councillor Saxe’s office, was in attendance and addressed concerns from community members after the event.

“Councillor Saxe supports the idea of having a holistic approach and not doing anything rash in the neighborhood,” Greene said. “No one wants to do anything to damage this community. We want to make better transit; we don’t want to destroy communities to do it.” 

The comment period for this project has closed. The proposal will be considered by the executive committee on July 16.

To sign up for email updates or to learn more about the project, visit www.toronto.ca, search for RapidTO, and select Bathurst Street under “Projects.”

READ MORE:

• LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Empty cars don’t buy things responses (July 2025)
• OPINION: Empty cars don’t buy things—people do (May/June 2025)
• FORUM: Easing congestion into summer (May/June 2025)