Better road construction project coordination needed: councillors

Some city councillors suggest better coordination of road construction projects is required as drivers navigate an increasingly frustrating string of road closures and lane restrictions this summer.

The city promised one of the most ambitious road construction seasons in recent memory — with 100 kilometres of road resurfacing underway this summer — and drivers are feeling the pain.

Some of the construction includes retaining wall repairs on the Gardiner Expressway east of Jarvis Street, streetcar track repairs along Kingston Road, and streetcar track replacement work at King Street West and Spadina Avenue, among others in the downtown core.

 

• Click here for a full list of road closures in Toronto.
• Click here for the City of Toronto’s road restrictions map.

Public Works chair Denzil Minnan-Wong said the work isn’t without driver frustration; however, there are complaints of a lack of notice and coordination on some projects.

The work along Avenue Road is good example. Residents along Avenue Road complained they were only given four days notice before road reconstruction started.

Four lanes along Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Eglinton Avenue, has been reduced to two lanes from four lanes due to the road work.

Coun. Josh Matlow said in this case, the city could have offered better notice of the work and possibly better coordination.

“I think reasonable people understand that work needs to get done, and frankly they should be upset if the work isn’t done, but they need to understand with adequate notice what’s happening, why it’s happening and what is going to happen, so that people can organize their lives better,” Coun. Matlow said.

He said the big complaint along Avenue isn’t the road resurfacing, but the fact that only four days notice was given.