In 2004, the City of Toronto and Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) completed a Class Environmental Assessment (Schedule C) study for transit improvements on St. Clair Avenue West from Yonge Street to Gunns Road. An Environmental Study Report (ESR) was prepared. The preferred design concept in the ESR was for the two centre lanes of St. Clair Avenue to be reserved for exclusive use by streetcars protected by a raised trackbed. Before the study, the TTC tracks were shared between streetcars and vehicles. Construction for the first phase of the project from Yonge Street to Vaughan Road was substantially completed in 2006. The paper will document the implementation of this dedicated right-of-way and how the community reacted to this change. The project was extremely controversial because the local Councillors and public were concerned as to how the right-of-way could be shared equitably between the competing use of streetcars, vehicles and pedestrians and what effect this would have on the local businesses. The community was also concerned on the effect of the actual construction on traffic and the adjacent businesses. The paper will describe how the project team managed public consultation and modified the detailed design, where feasible, to alleviate these public concerns. For the covering abstract of this conference see ITRD number E216511.
Samenvatting