The Density Dilemma: Toronto's Multiplex Boom Hits a Parking Wall
As the city pushes for more housing units, a lack of infrastructure planning is turning residential streets into parking lots, sparking calls for permit caps.
OPINION: Increasing density without addressing the infrastructure gap is just swapping one crisis for another, leaving residents with homes they can afford but no place to actually live.
Toronto's aggressive push to solve its housing crisis is colliding with the physical reality of its streets. As CBC News first reported, the proliferation of multiplexes in neighborhoods like Dufferin-Dupont is creating a secondary crisis: a severe shortage of parking and road space.
Residents like Patricia Westerhof, a 30-year homeowner on Bartlett Avenue, report that the surge in density has forced them to drive blocks away from their homes to find parking—a significant burden when transporting groceries or visiting her 91-year-old mother.
**The Policy Gap**
In 2023, Toronto City Council allowed multiplexes to be built city-wide without special zoning permissions. A staff report from last May indicates that Ward 9 (Davenport) recorded the highest activity of any ward. Of the 452 permits issued for multiplexes, roughly half were concentrated in western Toronto and the East York District, according to CBC News.
However, parking regulations have not evolved. Nazzareno Capano, the city’s Director of Street Permits, told CBC News that current rules do not limit the number of permits issued per address. To obtain a permit, which costs approximately $165 per vehicle for a six-month term, applicants only need to provide a driver's license, vehicle registration, and proof of occupancy.
**The Infrastructure Crunch**
Ward 9 Councillor Alejandra Bravo is now pushing for a policy shift to mitigate this pressure. Bravo recently passed a motion urging city staff to investigate limiting the number of street parking permits issued to each new multiplex.
Speaking to CBC News, Bravo warned that the city cannot "invent more parking space" and must consider the parking implications of housing density to avoid placing an undue burden on existing residents.
For residents like Craig Szreier, who has lived in Ward 9 for a decade, replacing one dwelling with a multiplex that brings five or six cars is unsustainable. He expressed support for Bravo’s motion as a necessary response to the city's deregulation of multiplex construction.