Natalie Alcoba – National Post

With spring pulling back the curtain on Toronto’s lunar landscape, it’s clearer than ever that our roads need a little TLC — and they’re going to get it. The city is spending more than $215-million to maintain and resurface roads, expressways and bridges in 2014, including an additional $30-million approved by city council. That covers major rehab on the Gardiner Expressway, Lake Shore Blvd., and arteries such as Victoria Park, Lawrence, Finch, Kipling and Wellesley. All told, 185 kilometres of roads will be resurfaced this year. (The city has 5,600 kilometres of roads, total). Of course, with construction come traffic headaches, and officials urged motorists to be patient. “The challenge that we have in terms of fixing our roads, really, is funding and there are other things that are sucking up that money, like transit,” said Denzil Minnan-Wong, chairman of the public works and infrastructure committee, near Richmond and Jarvis streets on Monday, one area that will see work through the summer. “We need to commit more money.”

Most of the repairs will be daytime work

Night-time used to be prime time for road repair work in downtown Toronto. But with condos proliferating in the core, grinding or jack-hammering through the night isn’t really an option any more. That’s why most of the work this season will be done during the day, says Steve Buckley, general manager of transportation services. Lake Shore Blvd. is one spot that will still see the crews roll in after dark, and that’s because of Gardiner rehab during the day. In an attempt to speed up projects in general, the city is asking some contractors to work 12 hours a day, six days a week, said Mr. Buckley.

Comment: 10 years ago you could go bowling down the middle of the King & Bay intersection at 6pm, it was deserted. Not any more! And this is good, a city that is full and lively and busy at all hours is a wonderful thing. Go to Detroit or Atlanta and see that the opposite looks like…

Figuring out Toronto’s pothole dilemma

By all accounts, this past winter has ravaged Toronto’s roads. The city has repaired about 131,000 potholes to date, compared to 66,000 at the same time last year. But it’s not just potholes. Mr. Buckley points out that utility cuts put in 20 years ago are starting to fail, while inlets and manholes are sinking. City council earmarked an additional $4-million to deal with potholes and all manner of “road defects.” On the heels of an in-depth look at Toronto’s pothole dilemma by the National Post’s Peter Kuitenbrouwer, Councillor Minnan-Wong will be announcing a comprehensive review of how the city paves its roads at this week’s public works and infrastructure committee. It will look at everything from the type of asphalt the city uses, the depth of asphalt and the concrete base. “We seem to have a problem here in the city of Toronto that other cities may not have,” said Mr. Minnan-Wong, who wants the city to move from a reactive approach to a proactive one that would result in fewer potholes. The review probably will not be complete until the next term of council.

Pan Am push

Some of the road work is related to next year’s Pan American Games, said Mr. Buckley. Officials want to spruce up Toronto in time for the international sporting event, but also need to ensure roads are in good shape for marathoners and triathletes. The Pan Am Games are also partly to blame for the amount of road construction going on in 2014, and likely 2016, because the government wants to do as little construction as possible during the actual event. “Be patient with the construction,” pleaded Mr. Minnan-Wong. “What people are going to get, they’re going to get better roads.”

Ice storm

Believe it or not, but the city is still cleaning up after the December ice storm. With the pothole problem somewhat under control, crews will now be shifting focus to spring cleanup, said Mr. Buckley, with the city’s transportation department. Both heavy and sidewalk sweepers will be out in full force removing debris caught up in gutters and parking areas. He reminded residents that they can bundle up small branches that came down in the storm and put them on the curb for pick-up like typical yard waste. Larger pieces of felled trees on private property are the responsibility of homeowners, however.

Comment: The city looks awful! There is so much gunk being left behind by the melting snow. Garbage, tree branches, you name it. I cannot wait for a good cleaning, some rain, get everything looking good again.

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Contact Laurin Jeffrey for more information – 416-388-1960

Laurin Jeffrey is a Toronto real estate agent with Century 21 Regal Realty.
He did not write these articles, he just reproduces them here for people who
are interested in Toronto real estate. He does not work for any builders.
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