07/18/2025
Nancy’s Deputation for RapidTo: Transit Priority on Dufferin Street and Bathurst Street
Wednesday July 16th, 2025
My name is Nancy. I owned and operated a Physiotherapy Clinic on Bathurst Street just North of Bloor. Unfortunately, I was abruptly forced to shut down at the end of last month for unrelated reasons. If the loss of on-street parking was truly harmful for business, I would not be re-opening my operations around the corner on Bloor, just West of Bathurst.
As we know, Bloor has already removed on-street parking for bike lanes years ago. At the time, there was also fear from Bloor businesses that it would negatively impact sales and the street’s overall vitality. But now years later, sales have either increased or stayed the same.
It was in fact, a neighbouring Bathurst business owner who came to warn me in a frenzy, TWICE, that if we as healthcare business owners don’t speak up, then we will be forced to shut down. Especially because we need curbside parking for our patients with mobility needs.
I wanted to uncover the true realities of her claim – is it reality – or is it fear?
For 3 weeks in May, I conducted a survey; we asked our patients: “Do you drive and park on Bathurst Street to access our services?” The survey showed that only 15% of respondents answered “Yes”. This lines up with city’s data, which showed a utilization rate of just 18-37% of Green P parking spots on Bathurst between Dupont and Bloor.
In my Physiotherapy practice, I predominately focus on health promotion and injury prevention over rehab. By the time that someone is injured, it will take significantly more money and time to rehab, than if they were stronger and more mobile in the first place.
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