The City of Toronto and its Consultant, WSP | MMM Group, have contracted FER-PAL Infrastructure to structurally reline the watermain on Dufferin Street. As part of this work, temporary bypass water services were installed along the effected strip and may have been installed at your home to provide water service to local properties. 

On November 22nd, the contractor began to remove these bypass lines. Regular water service continues to be restored to the area as the removal progresses. The Dufferin Street Watermain Relining Construction Project is projected to end on December 31st, 2017. 

As all the temporary piping has not yet been removed and colder temperatures are arriving, the City of Toronto has a number of strategies. With the colder temperatures, The City of Toronto recommends that you leave a water tap running inside your home 24 hours a day to ensure continuous water flow through the temporary pipes and to prevent any freezing from occurring. You will not be charged for the water consumed as the temporary water line does not flow through your water meter. If you have a frozen temporary waterline please call 311 or contact the contractor FER-PAL Construction Ltd.'s emergency service office (24 hours a day seven days a week) at 416-742-3713 or at 1-866-344-1058. For more information and additional tips to prevent pipes from freezing in the winter, please see the attached information sheets here and here.

Once the contractor has restored regular water service, restoration of the roadway, sidewalks and landscaping will commence in phases. Phase 1 includes road permanent restoration on Dufferin St between Parr St and Bloor St and is expected to be completed imminently. Phase 2 will include temporary road restoration on Dufferin St Between Geary Ave and Bloor St and is expected ot be completed this December. The Final phase of restoration will include permanent sidewalk and landscaping restoration and will take place in the spring of 2018 when the warmer weather arrives.

If you have any questions I encourage you to contact the Field Ambassador for this work, Mikaela Sword who can be reached at 647-923-3430 or [email protected].

The City of Toronto in 2016 will be coordinating its infrastructure and road improvements works to reduce the impact to residents, businesses and traffic in Toronto. The planned projects in 2016 include $263 million for roads, bridges and expressways, $227 million for sewer and watermain projects, and $71 million for basement flooding protection work. 

Efforts to minimize traffic and congestion include extended work hours (including 24/7 work where feasible), traffic signal timing changes on alternate routes and bundling projects where work can be combined. Through these efforts, the City aims to reduce the length of work and ensure collaboration and efficiency to reduce impacts to residents, businesses and traffic.

Major projects for this year include:

• Completing the west deck replacement of the Gardiner Expressway from Jameson Avenue to Spadina Avenue
• Road resurfacing on Bayview Avenue from just south of Highway 401 to Steeles Avenue
• Road resurfacing on Warden Avenue from Sheppard Avenue to Steeles Avenue
• Road resurfacing on Martin Grove Road, from Vulcan Street (north of Highway 409) to Finch  Avenue
• Watermain replacement and road work on Gerrard Street from Yonge Street to Sherbourne Street
• Road resurfacing on Don Mills Road from Lawrence Avenue to York Mills Road
• TTC track replacement, and road and sidewalk repairs on College Street at Bathurst Street and Lansdowne Avenue
• Watermain replacement, TTC track replacement and road resurfacing on Richmond Street from Church Street to York Street
• Watermain replacement on Queen Street from Bathurst Street to Spadina Avenue
• Trunk sewer replacement on Lake Shore Boulevard from Dwight Avenue to Superior Avenue
• Watermain replacement on Finch Avenue at Highway 27. 

The City has repaired 64,000 potholes this year and residents are asked to report issues to www.toronto.ca/311 to facilitate their timely repair.

To plan their routes and avoid delays, residents are encouraged to visit www.toronto.ca/roadrestrictions for a live map of road restrictions and travel conditions. Residents can also consult www.toronto.ca/inview for further information and maps of construction activities happening across the city. 

As of December 2014 the City contractors have finished most of the parts of this project:

• All road work
• All sidewalk replacement along Bloor Street (some sidewalk will be replaced on side streets as part of streetscaping)
• All Bloor Street tree planting, including guards and watering grates
• Bump-out construction
• Lay-by reconstruction in front of the Bickford Centre

Also, new street furniture (e.g. benches, waste bins, bike post and ring) and signage for Bloor Street is in place, with some pre-existing street furniture being reinstated shortly.

In the Spring 2015, contractors will return to finish up the last of the project tasks:

• Additional Bloorcourt streetscape upgrades at side streets e.g. decorative pavers, bronze markers, seat walls, custom tree pits, decorative signage, swing gates and landscaping at Crawford St, Shaw St, Roxton Rd, Carling Ave, Ossington Ave, Concord Ave, Delaware Ave, Dovercourt Rd, Westmoreland Ave, Rushholme Rd, Salem Ave, Havelock St, Bartlett Ave, and Gladstone Ave.
• Two large planters with new trees at the front of the Bickford Centre driveway
• Address any remaining deficiencies such as minor impacts at store fronts, adjustments to pavers, deficient landscaping features, etc.

The trailer will be removed from Bloor & Christie for the winter and returned for work in the spring.

We thank the community for your continued patience and cooperation.  We all look forward to seeing the final upgrades in place for enjoying next summer.

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[This information, written by Jason Diceman, has been re-posted from http://torontobloor.wordpress.com/2014/12/22/done-for-the-winter-back-in-spring-2015-to-finish-on-side-streets/]

City of Toronto Media Relations issued the following:
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News Release

November 20, 2014

City of Toronto gearing up for winter

After one of the most challenging winters in recent memory last winter, the City of Toronto is getting ready to once again deal with snow and ice on city streets.

The infrastructure beneath the streets also feels the chill. Cold weather and rapid swings between thaw and freezing temperatures put water pipes under stress. Crews are ready to respond to watermain breaks 24/7, 365 days a year. The City is also offering tips to residents to prepare the pipes in their home for winter's onslaught.

“Last year was a very difficult winter, with significantly colder weather and a large amount of snow," said Mayor Rob Ford. "But with our crews and staff, we were able to handle what winter threw at us. Again this year, we are confident that our fleet of equipment – 600 snow plows, 300 sidewalk plows and 200 salt trucks – will keep the roads and sidewalks safe and passable during winter for the travelling public."

The City's first priority during a snowfall is to keep the main roads clear for emergency and TTC vehicles. After that, crews move on to the local roads and usually complete clearing these roads between 14 and 16 hours after the storm ends.

As soon as the snow begins, Transportation Services sends out its fleet of salt trucks to the expressways and main roads. Local roads and laneways are salted soon after this. When 2.5 centimetres of snow has accumulated, plowing will begin on the expressways and, when five centimetres has accumulated, plowing will begin on the main roads. Plowing on the expressways and main roads will continue until the operation is complete.

When the snow stops and if the snow accumulation reaches eight centimetres, local road plowing will begin. During this time, as staff focus on planned snow clearing routes, snow service requests will not be taken by 311. Residents are also asked not to call 311 during the storm to ask when their street will be plowed. Residents should call 311 to report urgent winter related calls only.

"Residents can play a role in assisting our snow clearing efforts," said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34 Don Valley East), Chair of the City's Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. "By doing a few simple things such as not pushing snow back onto the road, avoiding parking on city streets to help the plows do their work, and taking public transit can go a long way to helping our staff do their work during winter storms."

The City will only open driveway windrows wherever it is mechanically possible to do so after eight centimetres of snow has fallen. Typically, driveway windrows are opened between one and two hours of the road being plowed. The service is meant to only open up a width of about three metres – not the full width of the driveway.

The City will clear snow from sidewalks on local roads where it is mechanically possible to do so after eight centimetres (five centimetres in January and February) of snow has fallen. In the central core of the city, property owners are required to clear their sidewalks of snow 12 hours after a storm has taken place. To learn more about sidewalk snow clearing in Toronto and to view a map of the areas where the service is provided, click onhttp://www.toronto.ca/transportation/snow/sidewalks.

More information about the City of Toronto’s snow clearing operations is available at http://www.toronto.ca/transportation/.

Cold weather is a major cause of watermain breaks but it is not the only one. The City is dealing with aging infrastructure with the average watermain 55 years of age. Toronto is currently spending $110 million to improve the watermain distribution system. This includes replacing approximately 40 to 60 kilometres of watermain pipes per year and continuing three rehabilitation programs: cathodic protection, cleaning and cement mortar lining, and structural lining. More information is available at http://www.toronto.ca/watermains.

Last winter’s extremely cold temperatures also caused an increase in frozen residential drinking water pipes. Residents are reminded to prepare their pipes for winter by insulating the pipes most susceptible to freezing with foam pipe covers available at building supply or home improvement stores. This includes pipes near outside walls and in crawl spaces, the attic and garage, and outdoor pipes that may be exposed. Commercial customers should also wrap all exposed fire lines. More information is available at http://www.toronto.ca/frozenpipes.

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visithttp://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.

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Media contacts:
Snow clearing: Steve Johnston, Strategic Communications, 416-392-4391, [email protected]
Watermain breaks and frozen water pipes: Lyne Kyle, Strategic Communications, 416-392-8259, [email protected]

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North east sidewalk starting soon. Havelock step to go. New trees in progress.

By this weekend work should be completed on the south sidewalk and base asphalt from Montrose Ave. to Havelock St. Work will then be moving to the remaining north sidewalk at Bartlett Ave. headed east towards Montrose Ave. Expect noise, dust and sidewalk closures as excavation and reconstruction take place. Sorry for the inconvenience.

As part of this project we will be re-grading the Havelock St. and Bloor St. intersection to remove the legacy two-step curb and ramp on the north side.

Get a last look at the two-step curb at the top of Havelock St. – to be replaced with a normal one-step curb and pedestrian curb cut.

Tree planting started on June 9, on the south side. City Forestry Operations is planting 

approximately 10 trees a day. The species are Maple, Elm and Locust. You can learn more about the improved growing conditions for boulevard trees being provided on Bloor in this recent CBC news report.

Concord Avenue south of Bloor is closed this week as the new sidewalk “bump out” is installed. Further planting and streetscape upgrades will be completed there in the fall.

All major road and sidewalk work between Lansdowne Ave. and Havelock St. should be completed by the end of June. The area east of Havelock St. will be completed by the end of July.

Additional streetscape upgrades will be completed in the fall.

Thanks again for your patience and cooperation.

Example of old temporary asphalt and planters to be replaced

The Bloor Street West road and sidewalk work will restart on May 5 with two crews working simultaneously at each end of the work area: one finishing off elements from Landowne Avenue going east, and the other starting sidewalk reconstruction on the south side from Montrose Avenue (by Christie Pits Park) going west.  Expect lane reductions, parking restrictions and traffic delays (sorry!).

This year’s work will again include:

• repair existing road base, curb and sidewalks (as required)
• replace existing elevated tree planters with tree pits
• add “bump outs” of widened sidewalk area on some side streets with additional decorative treatments
• grind the existing pavement and resurface the roadway

We expect all the road work to be completed by July 25, 2014.  Additional streetscape upgrades east of Dufferin Street, including  special pavers, seat walls, trees, bike racks and the Bickford Centre driveway, will be completed in early Fall 2014.

Trees to be Removed

You can expect to see the remaining streets trees in planters west of  in the work area to be removed in the next few weeks. While we are sad to see any  trees cut down, we will start planting 159 new healthy elm, maple and locust trees starting in late May.  There will be a total increase of 49 street trees.  The new trees will be planted at sidewalk level with concrete covers and decorative iron tree protections.  The removal of the old planters will provide more sidewalk space and these improved conditions will encourage a long and healthy future for these trees.

Reminders for business owners:

• Please label your curbside waste collection bins with your address.

• Please remove any privately owned items from the sidewalk area. The City will not be responsible for damage to
  any privately owned items installed on City property.

• Expect limited access to street front entrances during sidewalk excavation and concrete installation. Contractors will notify your business prior to starting in front of your entrance.

Again, your co-operation and patience during the construction period is crucial and appreciated. 

UPDATE: Monday afternoon, March 24th

There has been a major sewer chamber collapse in front of #1379 Bloor Street West which has also damaged the sewer system entering and exiting this chamber. The sewer system is still flowing and is not causing any sewer back up or basement flooding.

Toronto Water's District Contractor is on site. To perform this work, Bloor Street West must be closed from Symington Ave to Lansdowne Ave for a estimated time of 7 days. Unfortunately due to the amount of damage beneath the road surface all four lanes must be closed at this time for safety of the public and the construction crew working within this site.

In order to re-open this road quickly, it will be necessary for crews to work around the clock. To ensure ample warning for people commuting along Bloor Street, the contractor has set up "Road Closure Ahead" signage so that commuters have warning prior to reaching Symington and Lansdowne.

Toronto Police will be on site performing traffic control to allow local traffic to enter side streets for business and homes.

I will be in close contact with Toronto Water staff for the duration of this work and will keep our community informed through my website social media. Follow me on Twitter @Ward18AnaBailao and Facebook Councillor Ana Bailao for the most up to date information on news affecting Ward 18.

[Photo by @peanut_butter_b on Twitter]