A couple weeks ago we started talking about ugly streets in Toronto — a discussion that ultimately led to the compilation of a list of the city's leading eyesores. That was fun while it lasted, but I wonder if there isn't a far more relevant topic to put to this kind of nomination process. Ugly streets, after all, don't really bother people all that much. Not only are they generally avoidable (unless you happen to live on one), they even add a bit of character to a city's urban fabric. On the contrary, poorly planned and/or dangerous intersections are a real problem that many Torontonians — regardless of their mode of transportation — deal with on an everyday basis.

I've encountered more than a few foam-at-the-mouth-worthy cross-streets in my day, the most notable of which is probably Bathurst and Lake Shore, where it's almost mind-boggling that accidents don't take place every hour. Here you get a bit of everything: cars making unexpected U-turns on the west side, other cars driving into the streetcar ROW to the south (I've seen some pretty tragic under-vehicle scrapes while waiting), no advance green for left hand turns heading onto Lake Shore from the north, and all manner of obstacles for cyclists, including what seem at times to be predatory streetcar tracks.

Surely, however, there are rivals out there. From a pedestrian standpoint, there's the Toronto Police's (2008) list of the most dangerous intersections, which includes the following: Bathurst and Finch, Birchmount and Sheppard, Bathurst and King, Yonge and Finch, and Dundas and Spadina (to name a few). Thinking solely in terms of vehicular accidents, on the other hand, Sheppard Ave and Allen Rd would be an obvious nominee, as 1.5 serious collisions take place there on average each month.

I've also experienced fits of rage while waiting to pass Yonge and Steeles, Eglinton and Laird, Avenue and St. Clair, and Dundas and Keele.

No doubt there are many others worthy of our collective ire. So let's try to whittle the list down. What do you think is the worst intersection in Toronto and why? If possible, let us know what mode of transportation the nominee in question is particularly unfriendly to.

Lead photo by Todd Metcalfe in the blogTO Flickr pool.