Traffic, Transit and Transportation

23 Parking Spaces on St. Helens Avenue [ADV]

Residents have contacted our office requesting we review a loading zone on St. Helens Avenue. Following these requests, I issued a review of the street, to identify new spaces for residents to park. The result of this study was that by switching parking to the west side of the street, we could secure 23additional parking spaces.

Automated Speed Enforcement Cameras [AM]

Speed limits are not a suggestion, they are the law, and it is far too common to see drivers risk their lives and the lives of others by speeding on our streets. To help change this culture, the City has received provincial approval to use Automated Speed Enforcement Cameras in community safety zones near schools. The City has been utilizing 50 cameras across the City (two per Ward), choosing locations based on traffic and speeding data. During their first two weeks of operation, ASEs around Toronto issued over 7,600 tickets. This is an important new program that I hope we can expand throughout the ward and city to create safer streets. In October, we will see the Ward 9 ASEs relocated to Laughton Avenue near Talbot Street and Ruskin Avenue west of Perth Avenue.

You can learn more about this program at Toronto.ca/ASE.

Bike Share 2020 Expansion [AM]
Bike Share has conducted their annual expansion, branching further north in our Ward and providing more stations in the highest use communities. In Ward 9, we have 9 new stations:

Bloor West Bikeway Expansion [AM]
The expansion of the Bloor West Bikeway is an important cycling route, connecting people from Runnymede Road into the heart of the city. While this project was originally scheduled for 2022, I worked with the City's cycling staff and my Councillor colleagues along the route to expedite the construction. This project is nearing completion and creates a safe, connected and separated bikeway. I want to thank the community and local businesses for their input through the extensive consultation processes to make sure local needs were taken into account.

Dovercourt Road Reconstruction [ES]
Work has begun on the reconstruction of Dovercourt Road, including the replacement of substandard watermains. This work is being completed in two phases, first from College Street to Dundas Street, then from Dundas Street to Queen Street. This work will be followed by road reconstruction including beautification and the installation of speed humps for traffic calming, as requested by the community during consultations last year. More information on this project can be found at Toronto.ca/Dovercourt.

Wallace Emerson Traffic Management Committee [ADV]
In 2019, I began discussions with residents in the Wallace Emerson community about traffic concernswhich had been expressed. In order to address these concerns, we created the Wallace Emerson Traffic Management Committee, which included local residents, Traffic Operations staff from the City and my office. Together, we looked at a wide range of options to make this community safer, including changing parking regulations, changing street directions and installing speed bumps. When we brought these ideas back to the community for their input, they received overwhelming support. With that support, I brought these recommendations forward at Toronto City Hall for approval in March. These improvements include:

These improvements are scheduled for implementation in Spring 2021.

Oakwood Cycling Connection [AM]
Having safe, connected and convenient cycling routes in the city is important, but it is equally as important that we properly consult with the local communities. Due to COVID-19, we have been unable to adequately consult on this project to move forward for the 2020 year. There have been a number of concerns raised by the community that we need to address before construction. We will be reaching out to the community again about consultation soon.

Peel Gladstone Reconstruction [ES]
After numerous public consultations, the final design for this reconstruction has been completed. This project will include pedestrian and cycling improvements, as well as numerous green street features. I want to thank everyone who participated in the consultations and helped to move this project forward.
The work is scheduled to begin in 2021, and the City will be delivering construction notices in advance.

The TTC and City are working together to shorten the 47 Lansdowne Bus route diversion during the reconstruction of the Lansdowne/Dundas/College intersection. Northbound buses will now follow a more regular route along Lansdowne to reduce travel times and disruption for riders. Southbound bus will continue to diver along College, Dufferin and Queen.

Please see the revised diversion map card which the TTC will be posting along the route.

With winter just around the corner, the City of Toronto is gearing up to deal with the impacts of winter – both on city streets and beneath them. The work includes managing snow and ice on city streets, and responding to the effects of cold weather on the City's watermains and water service pipes.

Cold weather and rapid swings between thaw and freezing temperatures can cause an increase in watermain breaks. Toronto Water staff are ready to respond to service calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The City is also offering tips to help residents prevent their pipes from freezing.

"We never know exactly what winter holds for us, but we're prepared with a comprehensive plan to tackle the challenges. Toronto Water crews are ready to respond, and we have a number of contingency contracts in place in case we need extra support," said Councillor Jaye Robinson (Ward 25 Don Valley West), Chair of the City's Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. "And, as always, we have a full complement of winter operations equipment including about 600 snow plows, 300 sidewalk plows and 200 salt trucks to help keep the roads and sidewalks safe and passable during the winter season."

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 those roads between 14 and 16 hours after the storm ends.

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

This winter, the City has also identified a priority network of bike lanes and cycle tracks in the downtown core that will continue to receive enhanced winter maintenance, including snow plowing and salting to improve safety for cyclists.

Local road plowing begins when the snow stops falling and if the snow accumulation reaches at least eight centimetres. 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 only to report urgent winter-related calls in addition to other matters apart from storm response.

Residents can help out this winter by doing a few things to assist with the City's snow-clearing efforts, including not pushing snow back onto the road, avoiding parking on city streets to help the plows do their work and taking public transit.

The City will only open/clear driveway windrows where it is mechanically possible to do so after eight centimetres of snow have fallen. Typically, driveway windrows are opened between one and two hours after 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. This program does not take place in the central core of the city due to narrow road widths and on-street parking.

The City will clear snow from sidewalks on roads with high pedestrian traffic and on bus routes where it is mechanically possible to do so after two centimetres of snow have fallen, and the remaining roads after eight centimetres have fallen. In the central core of the city, property owners are required to clear their sidewalks of snow within 12 hours after a storm.

You can learn more about sidewalk snow-clearing in Toronto and view a map of the areas where the service is provided at http://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 59 years of age. To address this issue, the City of Toronto has committed $1.76 billion over the next 10 years to upgrade its watermain distribution system. More information can be found at www.toronto.ca/watermains.

Cold weather can also cause pipes inside the home and on private property to freeze.  Residents are reminded to prepare their pipes for winter by wrapping foam pipe insulation around pipes most prone to freezing, especially near outside walls and in crawl spaces, attics and garages. It is also important to seal air leaks around windows and doors, and to disconnect hoses and drain the outdoor water supply. More frozen pipe prevention tips can be found at http://www.toronto.ca/frozenpipes.

Residents can learn more about how to prepare for extreme weather and weatherproof their homes at http://www.toronto.ca/extremeweatherready.

As you may be aware, the College Promenade BIA began an extensive streetscaping project over the course of the summer. The project as originally intended would have reconstructed the north and south side sidewalks of College Street from Shaw St to Rusholme Road with custom pavers. In addition the project is to enhance the public realm with a series of parkette spaces and new custom designed bicycle parking racks. The City of Toronto issued a Notice of Termination to the contractor for failing to comply with the contract provisions. The City immediately mobilized subcontractors to make necessary temporary restorations to the north side of College Street and to render the sidewalk safe and passable.  

Myself and Councillor Layton have been working tirelessly throughout the summer with the BIA and City staff in an effort to resolve issues arising from the project. We fully acknowledge and sympathize with all business owners and residents who feel they have been negatively affected by the construction and the challenges of this project. We will be meeting with staff and the BIA board to develop and implement a plan for the remaining work. The City will re-tender the remaining project work and hire a new contractor next year to complete the work on the south side of College Street and address any deficiencies.

A important part of what makes our community unique and vibrant is the great businesses which line our streets. I encourage you to shop local and support our local businesses along College Street.

This summer the College Promenade Business Improvement Area is carrying out extensive streetscape beautification work along College Street from Havelock to Shaw Streets. This work is the result of a joint planning effort between myself, the BIA, City staff, and the local community. These investments by the College Promenade BIA focus on strong collaboration with local artists and designers to create a dynamic landscape showcasing the best of Toronto's creativity.

A series of "Blue Rooms" and parkettes, designed by Stanislav Jurkovic will combine additional shade and custom designed bench seating with dynamic public artwork and lighting, adding new vibrancy and colour to the neighbourhood. Further streetscape improvements include upgraded decorative paving units, new light posts, 58 new tree plantings and new public artwork. 

In addition to these investments, a series of custom bicycle parking racks, designed by local craftsman Scott Eunson will provide a great piece of public artwork and expand bicycle parking for visitors and shop patrons. Expanding the accessibility of our business to new patrons is an important part of my work to improve the commercial vibrancy of shops across Ward 18 and this investment builds on the expansion of 15 Bike Share stations across our community. I look forward to these streetscape investments being completed and thank the community for for all the feedback which made these improvements a reality. While construction is ongoing, local businesses are still open and I encourage you to shop local and help support our local businesses during the construction!

In addition to this streetscaping work, multiple infrastructure renewal projects are taking place along College Street including TTC streetcar track replacement, road upgrades at the College and Lansdowne intersection and watermain and lead pipe replacement work on Lansdowne south of Dundas Street. For more details on these projects, please click here.

The City of Toronto will be installing cycle tracks (bike lanes) on Bloor Street from Shaw Street to Avenue Road as a pilot project to enhance cycling infrastructure and safety for all road users.

To accommodate this new cycling infrastructure, a number of changes will be made to Bloor Street in this area starting next week, including:

• Bloor Street from Shaw Street to Avenue Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction beginning Tuesday, August 2, weather permitting.
• All on-street parking in this area will be removed for the first few days of construction, starting August 1 at 6 p.m.
• New painted bike lanes, flexi-posts and signs will be installed.
• Signs will be installed to communicate changes to parking bylaws and loading areas.

Work to install the cycle tracks will take place 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday, and there is a possibility of some weekend work. As much as possible, noisy work will be limited to daytime hours. The installation work is expected to take about two weeks to complete, weather permitting.

For cyclists, Harbord Street will be an alternative route during the early part of construction. 

These changes are part of the Bloor Street bike lanes pilot project that was approved by City Council in May. The pilot project evaluation will focus on the effectiveness of the cycle tracks, options for the design of the separation between the cycle tracks and traffic lanes, the impacts on parking and loading for area businesses, and the effect on traffic flow.

More information about this project is available at http://www.toronto.ca/bloorbikelanes or at @TO_Cycling on Twitter.

In March, many City Councillors & Mayor Tory sent a joint letter to the Federal Minister of Transport Marc Garneau calling for the federal government to take action to improve protection for communities living along commercial rail lines. Our letter proposed several specific actions for the Ministry and Transport Canada to undertake in order to enhance community safety. To read the full letter, please click here.

Minister Garneau has responded to our letter and outlined the current steps and direction his staff and Transport Canada are pursuing with respect to this issue. The Minister outlined the following positive measures the Federal Government is taking.

• Speed restrictions of 40mph and 50mph on freight movements through urban areas.
• Renewed efforts to establishing a communications framework for industry, the regulators and the public that directly engages local communities.
• Review of the DOT-111 phase out period (currently scheduled for completion on May 1, 2017) to assess the potential to accelerate this timeline. 
• As part of new insurance regulations which come into force on June 18, 2016, Railways will now be required to payout compensation to victims of an accident involving crude oil without needing to prove fault or negligence.
• A new industry-financed compensation will be established to fund any claims and costs exceeding a railways insurance levels, in the event of an accident. 
• 2016 Federal budget includes $143 million for increased inspections and first responder training and equipment. 

To read the Minister's full response, please click here.

While these measures represent a decisive start towards establishing sufficient protections for communities along rail lines, I will continue to advocate for further action on this important issue.

The City of Toronto will be performing spring maintenance activities on the Gardiner Expressway as well as demolishing the Dowling Avenue bridge over the expressway starting this Friday. A full closure of the expressway is needed to ensure safety for the public and for the workers involved.

This weekend presents an opportunity for City workers to perform maintenance on the expressway as there are few major events occurring in the downtown core. The Mayor's Road Closures Committee meets monthly to select traffic closure dates with the goal of limiting disruption to motorists.

In order to mitigate traffic congestion associated with the expressway closure, the City will make changes to traffic-signal timing to enhance traffic flow on nearby routes.

The Gardiner Expressway will be closed between Carlaw Avenue and Highway 427/Queen Elizabeth Way from 11 p.m. on Friday, May 13 to 5 a.m. on Monday, May 16 for the maintenance work.

Specific activities that will be undertaken during this closure:

• demolition of the Dowling Avenue bridge that spans the Gardiner Expressway
• resurfacing 2.5 lane-kilometres of roadway
• crack sealing and repair of about 8,900 metres of asphalt surfaces
• 800 square metres of bridge deck repair
• in-depth inspection and chipping of 32 bridges west of Dowling Avenue and 24 bridge sections on the elevated portion of the expressway
• flushing of 120 bridge joints
• cleaning and repair of 600 catch basins, and flushing and inspection of culverts
• shoulder re-grading to restore drainage at several locations
• sign maintenance for entire length of roadway
• maintenance of 20 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras
• inspection and repair of seven overhead signs
• repairs on RESCU vehicle detectors
• repair of approximately 500 metres of guiderail, including end treatments and safety systems
• mechanical sweeping operations and debris removal
• inspection, repair and re-lamping of street lights
• pothole repairs, and
• pavement markings.

Motorists can use Lake Shore Boulevard, the Queensway, King Street, Bloor Street and Evans Avenue as alternative routes during the weekend closure.   

The work schedule for the project on Lake Shore Boulevard between York Street and Rees Street has been adjusted so all westbound lanes of traffic can re-open during the full closure of the Gardiner Expressway. The lane reductions currently in effect at that section of Lake Shore Boulevard will go back into effect at 5 a.m. on Monday, May 16.

The City has a web-based map to help residents and visitors make their travel plans, available at http://www.toronto.ca/roadrestrictions.

In addition, the City's T.O. INview map shows planned capital construction work taking place across the city. T.O. Inview can be accessed at http://www.toronto.ca/inview.

This work is part of the City's comprehensive and co-ordinated strategy to rehabilitate and upgrade Toronto's roads, transit and underground infrastructure for current and future needs.

Two special events in Toronto this weekend will involve road closures. Residents and visitors are encouraged to come out and enjoy these events. Businesses in the areas affected are open to pedestrian traffic but some roads will be closed to vehicles.

Festivals and other special events are important to the city, injecting hundreds of millions of dollars annually into Toronto’s economy, and they are enjoyed each year by local residents.

In addition to road closures related to special events, there is a significant amount of road work taking place in the city. People are encouraged to take public transit as a greener, faster and more affordable way of getting to their destinations.

Those who need to drive in the general vicinity of special events should allow extra time to get to and from their destination. A complete list of events and road work is available at http://www.toronto.ca/torontostreets/.

University of Toronto Science Rendezvous – Saturday closure

St. George Street, from College Street to Harbord Street, will be closed in both directions from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 7.

Sporting Life 10k – Sunday closures and delays

Yonge Street between Lawrence Avenue and Eglinton Avenue will be closed from 4:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 8 to accommodate the formation area for the run. Along the route for the run, closures will occur between 7:30 and 11:30 a.m. at the following locations:

• Yonge Street between Eglinton Avenue and Richmond Street
• Richmond Street from Yonge Street to Peter Street
• Peter Street/Blue Jays Way between Richmond Street and Front Street
• Westbound Front Street between Blue Jays Way and Bathurst Street
• Bathurst Street from Front Street to Fort York Boulevard
• Fort York Boulevard from Bathurst Street to Fleet Street

Expect delays on Lake Shore Boulevard at Fort York Boulevard as runners enter Coronation Park. 

Note: after all runners pass an intersection, that intersection will reopen to traffic in the area. It is expected that all roads will re-open by 12:30 p.m.

A special event in Toronto this weekend – the Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon – will involve some road closures on Sunday. Residents and visitors are encouraged to come out and enjoy this event. Businesses in the areas affected are open to pedestrian traffic but some roads will be closed to vehicles.

Festivals and other special events are important to the city, injecting hundreds of millions of dollars annually into Toronto’s economy, and they are enjoyed each year by local residents.

In addition to road closures related to special events, a significant amount of road work is taking place in the city. People are encouraged to take public transit as a greener, faster and more affordable way of getting to their destinations.

People who need to drive in the general vicinity of special events should allow extra time to get to and from their destination. The City has a web-based map to help residents make their travel plans, at http://www.toronto.ca/roadrestrictions.

Information about the City's planned capital construction work is available at http://www.toronto.ca/inview.

The road closures and lane restrictions described below will occur on the day of the marathon – Sunday, May 1.

The race will begin at the North York Civic Centre at 7:30 a.m. but road closures will begin earlier, at 6 a.m. The main segment of the race will take place on Yonge Street from Finch Avenue to Davenport Road.

Some lane restrictions will occur in the area bounded by Bayview Avenue in the east, South Kingsway in the west, Lake Shore Boulevard in the south and Finch Avenue in the north.

In addition, the following Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway ramps will be closed from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday:

• Gardiner Expressway eastbound ramp to Jarvis Street: access to Jarvis Street will be closed but access to Lake Shore Boulevard will remain open.
• Gardiner Expressway ramp to northbound Spadina: access to westbound Lake Shore Boulevard will be closed.
• Spadina ramp to the westbound Gardiner Expressway: access to westbound Lake Shore Boulevard will be closed.
• Don Valley Parkway Bayview/Bloor ramp: access to southbound Bayview Avenue will be closed.

The route map and identification of roads in the vicinity of the marathon that will remain open during the event are available at http://www.torontomarathon.com.