The Hidden Cost of Density: Toronto's Multiplex Boom and the Parking Crunch
As the city pushes for more housing, working-class residents in Ward 9 are paying the price in lost time and street-side stress.
Toronto's push to solve the housing crisis through densification is hitting a tangible wall: the curb. As CBC News first reported, while the city's decision in 2023 to allow multiplexes to be built without special zoning permissions was intended to ease the housing shortage, residents in the Dufferin-Dupont neighborhood are discovering that more roof space often means less road space.
For homeowners like Patricia Westerhof, who has lived on Bartlett Avenue for 30 years, the shift is felt in the daily grind. Westerhof reports that she and her husband now frequently have to drive blocks away from their own home just to find a spot. This 'parking tax' on time and effort becomes particularly acute during nighttime hours, when transporting groceries, or when visiting with her 91-year-old mother.
According to reporting from CBC News, the friction is most evident in Ward 9 (Davenport). A May staff report indicated that the five most active wards for multiplex building permits are concentrated in East York District and western Toronto, with Ward 9 seeing the most activity. While the city does not provide specific statistics for that ward alone, the report notes that roughly half of the 452 building permits issued for multiplexes were located in those two regions.
The root of the frustration lies in a regulatory gap. As Nazzareno Capano, the city’s Director of Street Permits, told CBC News, current rules allow anyone with a driver's license, vehicle registration, and proof of occupancy to obtain a permit. There is currently no limit on how many permits can be issued per address. These permits cost approximately $165 per vehicle every six months.
Craig Szreier, a ten-year resident of Ward 9, notes that when a single dwelling is converted into a multiplex, it can suddenly introduce five or six cars into a space that previously supported one. This surge is putting immense pressure on a finite resource. City staff informed CBC News that while there are 105 street parking areas and 378 individual streets with permit parking, the city can issue up to 10% more permits than there are actual spaces available. Currently, 25 individual streets and eight permit parking areas have waitlists.
In response, Councillor Alejandra Bravo has passed a motion to address the crunch. Bravo told CBC News that the city cannot "invent more parking space" and is calling for staff to investigate limiting the number of street parking permits issued to new multiplexes city-wide. The goal is to encourage public transit use while ensuring that the drive for density doesn't leave existing community members stranded blocks from their own front doors.