Building done, but lane remains closed
Closing one lane of a busy street to make room for condo construction may be unavoidable, but how long should the travelling public put up with it?
That question is often asked by drivers and cyclists who trundle along Queen St. E. and must squeeze into one lane due to a lane that has long been closed to traffic, just east of Logan Ave.
We have often made the point that the ongoing accommodation required for the construction of condo buildings tries the patience of those required to get out of the way. How many times must people be expected to shrug and smile while ceding space that is rightly theirs in the name of business and progress?
It’s invigorating to live in a city that never stops growing, but it wears thin if you have no skin in the development game.
Phil Nazar sent us a note about two condo construction projects on the south side of Queen, near Logan. One, near the southwest corner, was built without closing a lane on Queen to traffic, he said. The other job, just east of Logan, required closure of the curb lane, funneling two lanes of traffic into one at an intersection where streetcars are picking up and letting off passengers, he said.
“Even though the exterior construction finished two months ago, the lane is still blocked,” said Nazar, who rides a bike along Queen to get to and from work.
“The reason it is blocked is there were two (utility) poles installed in that lane,” inside concrete barriers set up to barricade it to traffic, he said. “I’m sure that was done for a legitimate reasons, but what is the legitimate reason for the delay in removing the poles? I’m all for building housing (especially deeply affordable housing), but I am not all for making the city more cumbersome to navigate because of the slowness in removing unnecessary impediments.”
STATUS: We asked transportation services Tuesday why the lane remains closed, but we’re still waiting for an answer. Spokesperson Hakeem Muhammad said they’re trying to get details from the city’s real estate division. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Email
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