Brace yourself for construction season
Good news? There will be far fewer potholes. Bad news? A frenzy of road work is on the way
Downtown Toronto is going to be a hot mess of road closures and detours in a summer that will also see an unusually high number of subway shutdowns.
“It’s going to be a tough summer, especially downtown,” Councillor Jaye Robinson, the public works chair, told reporters Tuesday near a lane closure at Church St. and Gerrard St. E.
Repaving, pipe replacements and other work postponed last summer because of the Pan Am Games have boosted the number of major road closures for the rest of the year to an unusually high 22.
Add to that 30 subway closures — half of them before the end of summer — as the TTC uses extra budget funding to tackle desperately needed repairs and replacements, a full roster of summer events that trigger road closures, plus the usual condo construction and film shoots that close lanes, and you have the makings of a virtual parking lot.
“There are a lot of busy weekends coming up this summer,” Robinson said. “We’re asking you to take some time to plan your trip in advance. Consider alternative routes and use public transit whenever you can.”
Canada Day weekend is expected to be the toughest time to get around, between closures, special events and the gigantic annual Pride parade on July 3.
As well as work delayed by the Pan Am Games, the schedule is busier because Mayor John Tory and council have made it a priority to spend money to replace aging infrastructure, including century-old pipes.
Robinson assured drivers that city departments are working together to co-ordinate, and in some cases piggyback on, road closures to get as much done as quickly as possible and avoid repeated digging at the same spot.
The city is spending extra money to get some projects finished quicker, paying contractors to hire extra crews and work extended shifts, in some cases around the clock.
Robinson said she knows noise and vibrations can aggravate people outside business hours — she got an earful from her residents over work done on Eglinton Ave. last year — but said the same people who complain are often later happy when the work is finished ahead of schedule.
“It’s short-term pain for long-term gain,” she said.
Some 122 kilometres of roadway will be resurfaced. The city also needs do work on 238 kilometres of sewer and water mains. Road closures include: Lane closures on Gardiner Expressway from Jameson Ave. to Spadina Ave. until the end of July.
Bayview Ave. between Truman Rd. and Steeles Ave. E. between July and October.
Gerrard St. E. between Yonge St. and Sherbourne St. between June 2016 to July 2017.
Yonge St. between Wilson Ave. and Highway 401 from June to September.
Don Mills Rd. between Lawrence Ave. E. and York Mills Rd. from June to September.
Burnhamthorpe Rd. between Windust Gate and Etobicoke Creek from June to July.
Richmond St. between Church and York Sts. from September to December.
Queen St. between Bathurst St. and Spadina Ave. from May to September.
Ellesmere Rd. between Markham Rd. and McCowan Rd. from May to October.
Other events that will trigger road closures include the Sunday May 1 Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon, the June 5 Becel Heart & Stroke Ride for Heart ; and the Oct. 16 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
The good news is there are fewer potholes than usual. The mild winter, city staff say, created about half as many as the previous year. Still, crews have filled about 64,000 of them this year and ask residents to report any they see.