Toronto residents fed up with construction closures: Forum poll
Two polls surveyed a random sampling of 757 participants by Forum Research.

TheStar.com
Oct. 31, 2016
Evelyn Kwong

A majority of Torontonians are finding continuous construction to be an “inconvenience” and “difficult” in the midst of a burgeoning number of infrastructure projects around Toronto’s downtown core.

In a telephone survey released by Forum Research, almost half of the 757 participants, 45 per cent, said that “continuous construction downtown makes it difficult to get around.” Additionally, 76 per cent disagreed with contractors and developers closing off sidewalks and traffic lanes for long-term projects.

“Torontonians are as fed up as Mayor Tory is with these constant lane closures and sidewalk diversions,” Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, Forum Research President said.

“One has to ask, will Toronto ever be finished?”

What’s most notable in the poll, Bozinoff says, is that those who live closer to the downtown core are feeling more inconvenienced than those living in the suburbs.

Of the Scarborough respondents, only 29 per cent said construction downtown makes it hard to get around compared to another 52 per cent in Scarborough who said they were not affected. But of those living in the former city of Toronto, 53 per cent said downtown construction made it hard to get around with only 16 per cent that didn’t feel affected.

“It’s not just people spouting off. The people really don’t like the idea of long-term sidewalk and traffic closures,” Bozinoff said. “This shows it’s a major inconvenience to people.”

On the brighter side, less than a quarter, 23 per cent, see continuous construction as a “sign that the city is thriving,” according to the poll.

By 2031, approximately 118,000 workers will be needed for $214 billion worth of planned construction activity, and another 29,000 workers are needed to replace those expected to retire, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.

“We certainly sense and appreciate the frustration for what I’ll call a short-term byproduct of building a great city,” Steve Deveaux, chairman of the Building Industry and Land Development Association, told the Star’s Betsy Powell earlier this month.

Mayor John Tory warned the city will no longer “rubber stamp” applications from developers who want to close streets and sidewalks for construction projects for “unacceptably” long periods of time.

“It is time we started to place a much greater emphasis on the broader public interest when it comes to these kinds of decisions,” Tory told reporters earlier this month.

According to the poll, more than half the voters agree with Tory, with 51 per cent saying that traffic and sidewalk closures should only be allowed to last a day or less, or a weekend. Three in 10 people thought that a week or two was appropriate.

Forum Research also conducted a poll on last weekend’s closure of the Gardiner expressway, and found that over half the drivers entering and exiting the city faced gridlock issues.

Among the 757 respondents, 48 per cent drove into the city during the weekend. Of that portion, more than half, 58 per cent, found that they encountered “a great deal” of traffic congestion.

“While we all recognize the Gardiner needs regular maintenance, we don’t realize the extent to which it is a major feeder artery to the city,” Bozinoff said.

“When it’s closed, the whole city knows it.”

The two polls surveyed a random sampling of 757 participants by Forum Research. The margin of error is 4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.