Prolonging lane shutdown exacerbates gridlock, anger
Recipe for driver frustration: Close part of a busy downtown street for construction, and then keep it closed after the job looks to be done.
At the risk of sounding seditious, it’s time to put voice to what a lot of people around here are thinking: To hell with condominium developments.
OK, they provide jobs jobs jobs for construction workers and are good for the local economy. That can’t be disputed.
But for those of us who aren’t on the jobsite, the endless accommodation required to build condo canyons — everything from road closures to mud on the street — is frustrating and wearying. No wonder Mayor John Tory has decided the encroachment of construction into traffic lanes for months or years at a time is unacceptable and must be reduced.
So when a condo project requiring closure of part of a key downtown route is still barricaded when it doesn’t seem to be needed, drivers can’t be blamed for hitting the roof.
Colleen Franklin sent us a note saying two condos have “been under construction for the past two years, at least. They have had a lane closure on Davenport Rd., just east of Avenue Rd., all of this time.
“They have taken down the hoarding around the site, but have kept the concrete barriers up. They still need to put the sidewalk back, but have not done anything about it, and the hoarding has been down for at least a month.
“I know that so many drivers would be happy to have the lane freed up again,” she said, adding that the builders need to be “nudged” to do it.
A nudge would be excessively kind. Maybe a slap from the city, which grants them permits to block traffic lanes for construction, would be a better and more satisfying response.
With all the construction in the downtown core, keeping one lane of Davenport closed for even a day longer than necessary only makes a bad traffic situation even worse. Status: Andre Filippetti, who’s in charge of right-of-way management in that area, emailed to say he’s asked a staffer to look into the permit and the status of work at the development, to see if there’s a way to get the blocked lane re-opened right away. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Send an email to jlakey@thestar.ca. Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.