City council has paved the way for roadwork to take place along Main Street this summer.
Last month, council approved resurfacing Main Street between Kingston Road and Gerrard Street East as well as a number of proposed changes to that stretch.
“The city is taking this opportunity to make alterations at the same time to improve the safety for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, improve traffic flow and transit operations, as well as modifying parking regulations to permit extended on-street parking hours,” said Randy McLean, manager of beautiful streets for the city, in a statement forward by city spokesperson Cheryl San Juan.
Intersections at Kingston Road and Benlamond and Swanwick Avenues will be reconfigured as part of the construction project.
“The safety improvements at the intersections along Main Street… will result in shorter crossing distances, better sightlines and provide a larger boulevard area for pedestrians,” McLean explained.
A TTC Wheel-Trans stop will be added north of Kingston Road as part of the changes, and new paid parking spots are going to be created between Kingston Road and Lyall Avenue.
However, there will be fewer paid spaces overall from Swanwick to Gerrard when construction is complete, according to a Transportation Services report.
McLean explained adding the paid, rather than free, parking spaces—which won’t have peak-hour restrictions—to Main Street is intended in part to provide relief to quieter streets in the area.
“Parking on much of Kingston Road is restricted during peak periods. Paid parking on Main Street provides short term convenience for local businesses taking pressure off neighbourhood streets,” he said.
The work is expected to cost approximately $700,000 and could start as early as late spring.
Main Street had initially been slated for resurfacing in 2015. “[It] was deferred to coordinate construction with other nearby projects and allow for the design of road safety improvements,” McLean stated. “Due to the poor condition of Main Street it was necessary to apply temporary paving until the complete road resurfacing work could be undertaken,” he added.
Also, staff wanted to ensure that Main Street was open during Gerrard Street reconstruction and work on the Victoria Park Avenue underpass, McLean said.
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