Update on St. Clair Avenue West Exclusive Right-of-Way Construction

Timelines and Schedule

Three distinct phases of the St. Clair Avenue West Exclusive Right-of-Way project remain:

1. Westmount to Vaughan Road: Work began last fall. Work resumed in early March and is expected to be complete in early Fall 2009.
2. McRoberts to Ford Street: Work will begin April 27th and is expected to be completed in late Fall 2009.
3. Ford Street to Gunns Road: Work is expected to take place in 2009 but exact dates have not been set.

Work begins with the excavation and replacement of the watermain (which has already been completed in some sections), then proceeds to sidewalks (one side at a time), to the excavation of the centre two lanes and installation of the right-of-way, to remaining paving and finally to the installation of streetcar platforms, street trees, pedestrian lighting, etc. One lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction on St. Clair Avenue West in the construction zones. No on-street parking will be available in the work zones until track reconstruction is completed. Notification signs will be posted about temporary parking changes. Limited parking may be made available at certain locations provided it does not impede with construction. Barriers will be placed around excavated areas to protect pedestrians.

Streetcar track construction is a 24-hour operation to complete work as quickly as possible. All heavy construction will take place between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday to Friday. Weekend work will take place when required. Overnight work is needed to support construction during the day. Work includes delivery of rail, rail installation, welding and grinding. Every effort will be made to minimize construction noise during the 24-hour work periods.

Recycling and garbage collection schedules on St. Clair Avenue West will not change during the construction period.

Problems with Construction

Frequent Construction Liaison Committee meetings are being held on site with City staff which I attend in order to resolve any issued raised by local residents. Any questions or problems you are experiencing with the project may be directed to my office for action.

My Position on the Project

As you know, along with the majority of local residents I have been a very vocal opponent of the sidewalk narrowing and exclusive right-of-way construction currently underway on St. Clair Avenue West. However, City Council saw fit to approve this plan, against my vote and against the wishes of the majority of the local neighbourhood. Since then we have been working diligently to get the most out of this project for our area as possible. For example I have been able to secure hydro wire undergrounding, streetscape improvements, and several exciting business revitalization programs including the Façade Improvement Program and Shop St. Clair Program, and new parking lots, which will go a long way to helping the street and bringing it back to life, as well as capital cost-sharing projects with local businesses including new pedestrian scale decorative lighting, more on-street trees and exciting public art components at key locations.