Councillor Dianne Saxe
Toronto City Hall
100 Queen Street West 2nd Floor, Suite C47
Toronto, Ontario M5H 2N2
Dear Councillor Saxe,
Re: TEYCC Motion 2023.TE4.52 – Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue Construction Hub Coordination (April 12, 2023)
The ABC Residents Association is a not for profit federally regulated community organization representing the interests of residents in the area bounded by Bloor Street to the South, the CPR tracks to the North, Yonge Street to the East and Avenue Rd. to the West.
We are writing to you in response to the TEYCC Motion 2023.TE4.52 relating to the establishment of a construction hub in the Yonge and St. Clair area, and to request for your consideration the feasibility of a new construction hub on Yonge Street from Scrivener Square to Aylmer/Belmont Road.
Due to the city’s building intensification initiative in the city core and along the TTC transit corridor, a high number of high-rise residential developments have been proposed/approved in the ABCRA area along Yonge Street, as well as the new TTC Summerhill Station Second Exit project. (Future proposed/approved construction developments along Yonge Street at Scrivener Square, Price, Marlborough, Roxborough, Aylmer and the Rowanwood Watermain Project commencing in 2023).
As such, it is imperative that we begin taking steps to proactively envisage logistical planning of the right-of-way, reviewing haul route plans and construction schedules, and the coordination and management of multiple work zones to mitigate traffic impacts on Yonge Street and neighbouring side streets. The new construction hub would be set up utilizing the same model as the existing construction hub at the Yonge and Eglinton.
Construction hub coordination for this section of Yonge Street will be essential as more development projects begin construction. The results of the construction hub at Yonge and Eglinton shows how essential this coordination will be to the residents and businesses in our area. The area certainly meets the stated criteria for a construction hub as “an area of the City with existing residential, school and/or business uses that is experiencing a dense concentration of construction activity in the right-of-way due to planned and/or ongoing capital construction projects.” Furthermore, the new construction hub will provide oversight of these construction sites and coordination of the multiple work zones to mitigate traffic congestion on Yonge Street and neighbouring side streets and provide road safety enhancements for pedestrians and cyclists in this area.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
John Caliendo and Ian Carmichael,
Co-Chairs The ABCRA Residents Association
cc. Andrew Greene, Chief of Staff, Councillor Saxe’s Office
Holli Butrimus, Constituency Asst. and Planner, Councillor Saxe’s Office
Steve Leyland, Work Zone Construction Coordination, Transportation Services City of Toronto
Photo: Construction at Yonge & St. Clair, Mary Crandall via CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
