About Us

Our Mission

Our goals are to celebrate, protect and enhance the unique heritage and character of Craven Road, its urban canopy and its eclectic architecture.

Craven Road

Craven Road represents an unusual urban condition. Previously known as Erie Terrace, the street was originally developed to house lower-income laborers and immigrants in the early 20th century. With small dwellings lining only the street’s east side, and Craven south of the railway tracks having a municipal fence running along the west, this atypical thoroughfare was the site of Toronto’s highest concentration of detached homes under 500 sf. Today, Craven Road remains a close-knit community and unique architectural outpost in an increasingly unaffordable city.

Preservation

A key step to preserving the unique character of what makes Craven Road attractive was the need to understand how City of Toronto planning developments affect the density on our road. Our residents are working together to advocate for responsible development along Craven Road, that takes into account the higher than average density of our street and the fact that it is 4.5 meters wide on the north end, and 7.5 meters wide on the south end. Preservation of character includes sharing the history of this community, promoting community safety, launching programs to promote stewardship and educate residents about the benefits of preserving and enhancing our tree canopy and environment.

Toronto’s Street Safety policy

The City of Toronto has a road classification system that categorizes streets based on their function and usage. According to the system, one-way streets are classified as arterial roads, which are designed to move high volumes of traffic at higher speeds. The minimum width for an arterial road is 10.5 meters (34.4 feet). However, Craven Road is 4.5 meters wide on the north end (between Hanson Street and Danforth Avenue) and Craven Road south of the railway line is between 7.26 meters to 7.46 meters wide. Craven Road south of the railway line has parking on one side of the road, but the north end of Craven, considerably narrower, does not provide for street parking.

Neighbourhood Profile

Craven Road Links