The City notice for Wanless Crescent is dated March 23, 2026. It announced a road reconstruction and a new sidewalk on the north side between Braeside Road and Wanless Avenue, with work scheduled from April 21 to July 10, 2026. The second page has the instructions that matter most to an owner. Homeowners were told to remove anything they had placed within City property limits, including plants, pavers, decorative objects, sprinkler systems and heated driveway components. The notice also stated that "the City will not be responsible for damage to any privately owned items on City property."
That notice previews what five more Lawrence Park streets are approved to go through. On a street with no curb and no sidewalk, the edge of the lawn looks like the edge of the lot. Often it is not. When a buyer here prices a house by the frontage they can see, part of what they are pricing may be a strip of road allowance that the City controls and has scheduled for change.
Where the lot ends and the street begins
Toronto's Municipal Code Chapter 743 defines the boulevard as the part of a public street between the travelled roadway and the adjoining property line. The City keeps the authority to use or alter it for municipal purposes. The adjoining owner is responsible for upkeep of that strip, including vegetation, driveways, walkways and any permitted encroachments. City-planted street trees are excluded. The City's General Manager can also require boulevard landscaping, driveways or encroachments to be removed or modified to make room for City work. If the owner does not comply, the City can do the work itself and recover the cost.
Section 743 G of the Chapter 743 bylaw text covers reconstruction directly:
"The City is not responsible for repairing or replacing any encroachment damaged as a result of ... street repairs or reconstruction, and the General Manager may remove or modify, at the property owner's expense, any encroachment situated within a street."
A buyer cannot tell from a listing photo where that property line falls. The Association of Ontario Land Surveyors explains that a Surveyor's Real Property Report shows structures and physical features relative to the property boundaries. That includes whether driveways and gardens actually sit on the property. The association also cautions that survey plans are specific to their purpose and date, and older ones may be out of date.
Five streets, and what the City has approved for each
The City's 2018 study recommended rebuilding a number of Lawrence Park streets, in whole or in part. The rebuilt streets get 7.2-metre pavements and curb and gutter, and five of them also get a new sidewalk on one side. The Lawrence Park Transportation Plan adopted by North York Community Council in June 2025 adds speed humps. It also confirms that streets being rebuilt will get road narrowing and chicanes.
| Street | Approved change |
|---|---|
| Mildenhall Road | New sidewalk, east side |
| St. Leonards Avenue | New sidewalk on one side; 21 speed humps between Weybourne Crescent and Bayview Avenue |
| Dawlish Avenue | New sidewalk on one side; 8 speed humps between Weybourne Crescent and Dundurn Road |
| Pinedale Road | New sidewalk on one side |
| Glenallen Road / Strathgowan Crescent | New sidewalk on one side |
The other speed humps in the plan are spread across Buckingham Avenue, Cheltenham Avenue, Dinnick Crescent, Glengowan Road, Lawrence Crescent, Lympstone Avenue and St. Leonard's Crescent. Their installation was targeted for 2025 to 2026.
The choice of these five streets was contested. At a May 26, 2016 public meeting, the Lawrence Park Ratepayers' Association and the Mildenhall Ratepayers Association supported a 7.2-metre road with one sidewalk on Mildenhall Road. According to the City's September 2016 consultation summary, some participants wanted sidewalks on every street. Others wanted none except possibly on Mildenhall, and the proposed sidewalks on St. Leonards, Dawlish and Glenallen drew specific objections. The City's Transportation Plan page states plainly that these Council-approved changes are not being revisited. For a buyer on one of these five streets, the timing is the open question.
A start date that has already moved once
A June 2024 City presentation expected Phase One construction to begin in 2026. The March 25, 2026 site-work notice moved that start to no earlier than fall 2027. The notice says the project will run in two phases and that preliminary design for the first phase is under way. It scheduled field investigations for detailed design from April 15 to July 31, 2026. Those investigations included boreholes drilled in the middle of the road or on the sidewalk, with other site work possible anywhere in the public right-of-way, boulevard included. Across both phases, the City's target window for the major road work is 2027 to 2032.
That timing affects buyers and sellers differently. Someone buying on an affected street this winter could close, renovate the front yard and then face construction, all within the City's window. For an owner who sells before detailed design is published, the street has a known future and no published drawings. The City has promised that future notices and public events will give more detail on the design and chances to comment.
What the City restores, and what is at the owner's risk
Recent City notices draw a line between what the contractor disturbs as part of its work and what owners have left on City property. The Wanless Crescent notice says the construction area will be restored with sod, concrete or asphalt as required. It also says interlocking brick or flagstone on a granular base that the contractor removes will be replaced. A February 2025 notice for Boswell Avenue said the contractor would restore driveways affected by construction. It still disclaimed responsibility for private items on City property. On Wanless, Wristen's Home Specialties was contracted to inspect properties within 30 metres of the work before construction began. The City's stated reason is that damage claims are hard to confirm without that record.
Trees are their own question. The City's 2016 Lawrence Park FAQ said right-of-way landscaping, irrigation, fencing and heated driveways would be reviewed with homeowners at detailed design. The City's 2017 revised tree assessment estimated 848 trees unaffected, 247 to be preserved if possible and 106 to be removed and replaced. These figures predate detailed design and are not commitments for any particular property.
Permits matter here too. The City's Street Use By-law page says hedges and gardens can be planted on the boulevard without an encroachment agreement. Trees, sprinkler systems and retaining walls taller than 0.90 metres require an agreement and fees. Repaving or resurfacing a driveway that crosses the road allowance requires a Transportation Services street work permit. If a house comes with a heated driveway apron or an irrigated boulevard, it is fair to ask whether those were ever permitted.
Why September's numbers give buyers time to ask
TRREB's September 2026 Market Watch, released October 6, 2026, recorded 37 detached sales in district C04. The average price was $2,650,889 and the median $2,335,000. The district had 181 active listings and 145 new listings that month. At September's pace, that is close to five months of supply. Homes sold at an average of 97% of list price after 23 days on market. TRREB reports these at the district level and does not break out a separate Lawrence Park row. The district's detached benchmark price was $2,390,800 in September 2026, down 3.58% year over year. Across the City of Toronto, the average detached price was down 7.6% year over year in the same month.
These figures matter here because of what they allow. With inventory deep enough that offers are not being rushed, buyers have a realistic chance to commission a survey, ask the City about their street and price the front yard for what it is. These are the questions to bring to a house on one of the five streets:
- Does a current Surveyor's Real Property Report show where the property line falls in relation to the lawn, hedges, walls and driveway?
- Which features in the boulevard are permitted encroachments, and which needed an agreement or a street work permit?
- Is the street in Phase One? The City's notice shows that area on a map, and [email protected] handles project questions.
- Do the seller's photos or records document the front yard well enough to support a pre-construction inspection later?
- If a renovation is planned, does any landscaping or interlock budget assume ground the City may reclaim?
None of this is legal advice. Encroachment and permit questions depend on the specific property, so confirm them with Transportation Services, an Ontario land surveyor and your real estate lawyer before you firm up an offer.
If you are weighing a house on Mildenhall, St. Leonards, Dawlish, Pinedale or Glenallen and Strathgowan, or selling one, Ample Realty Team can go through the City's notices, the survey and the boulevard with you before price is discussed. We can also help you value your home with the street's future already accounted for. Get Your Free Home Valuation.
