You can now turn left on Rosedale Valley Road

While the new Bayview bike lane has received the lion's share of attention in terms of improvements made to the street over the summer, drivers also have reason to rejoice: one of Toronto's most frustrating left hand turn bans has finally been lifted. You can now head west on Rosedale Valley Road without having to do an illegal u-turn.

This might not come as terribly exciting news to non-drivers, but the new ability to make a legal left from Bayview opens up a great way to get to the centre of the city from the east side, one that had been forbidden for as long as I can remember.

It's also good news for cyclists and pedestrians, though. It was always dangerous when drivers decided to make u-turns or to use the Brick Works parking lot to double back to Rosedale Valley Road from the north. Motorist should be more predictable now that this change has been made to the intersection.

There is, however, one casualty in the rearrangement of the streetscape. Cars heading east on Rosedale Valley Road were previously able to head south on Bayview via a separated merge channel, which has now been removed so as to accommodate left hand turns from those heading north. That will likely cause a bit of congestion as motorists adjust to the changes.

What do you think of the changes to the intersection? Let us know in the comments.

by Derek Flack via blogTO