Scarborough residents say they’re frustrated by delays to plan to widen Port Union Rd.

Thestar.com
August 9, 2018
Andrew Palamarchuk

A Scarborough group says residents are “frustrated” by construction delays to widen Port Union Rd., a project that has been in the works for more than 14 years.

“In general residents are frustrated with the delays,” Kathy Rowe, president of the Centennial Community and Recreation Association, said in an email. “The widening should have been started several years ago. The traffic on Port Union Rd. is getting heavier by the day.”

A single lane of traffic moves northbound along Port Union Road, heading to Island Road, where construction to increase the size of the roadway to two lanes will soon begin in an effort to accommodate rising traffic issues.

Kevin Narraway, president of the West Rouge Community Association, said the project is important.

“We do think that it’s necessary for it to move forward,” he said. “In terms of the delay in particular, we also understand the city has probably a myriad of different capital projects that they need to balance.”

Narraway said there’s an influx of traffic moving northbound on Port Union, causing congestion, when GO trains arrive at the Rouge Hill station in the late afternoon and evening.

“We have traffic trying to bypass Port Union (by) using East Ave.,” he said. “We’re hoping that that widening would alleviate some of the traffic congestion that we see through our neighbourhood during those times.”

The work, involving a two-kilometre stretch of Port Union between Lawrence Ave. and Island Rd., will include installing a new second northbound lane, completing sidewalks on both sides of the street, installing bike lanes on both sides of the street and adding left/centre-turn lanes in some locations. In addition, a landscaped median will be installed between Lawrence and Clappison Blvd. Port Union currently has two southbound lanes but only one northbound lane.

The local city councillor, Jim Hart, said Port Union is the only main road in the city that he’s aware of with that type of configuration. “It’s a busy road with no bike lanes, so in my view there are safety issues for cyclists,” he added. “It’s also highly unusual to have a main street in the City of Toronto without sidewalks all the way up and down on both sides, so it’s not a particularly pedestrian-friendly street.”

Hart said the plan has taken so long because it’s a new and enhanced project, which comes third in the pecking order after health and safety and state of good repair projects.

The city said the project will ease traffic congestion and “improve conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.” Construction was slated to begin this year.

Susan Pape, a senior communications co-ordinator with the city, said that given the complexities of the design, which is still in progress, the timeline has been extended to beyond this year. “The city will reassess the expected start date once the design is complete,” she said in an email.

Construction is now expected to begin in 2019.

The project has been talked about for more than 14 years. The original environmental assessment study was completed in early 2004 and identified a preferred design.

An update to the 2004 report was approved by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in August 2015. The updated preferred design made changes to “reduce property and other impacts to the community and to meet current City standards and practices.” For example, it called for the bike lanes to be widened from 1.5 metres to 1.8 metres.

In April 2017 the city began “field investigations” that are required for the detailed engineering design and construction work. The investigations included a survey of the area and an analysis of soil samples at various locations along Port Union to confirm ground conditions. The city at the time anticipated that construction work would begin in 2018.

After Metroland Media inquired about the project late last month, the city updated its webpage about the plan.

The updated webpage said that the city is developing the project design and that once the design is finalized, the city “will provide details on a construction start date.”