ST. CLAIR AVENUE WEST EXCLUSIVE RIGHT-OF-WAY FOR STREETCARS PROJECT

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 proposed paper will document the implementation of this dedicated right-of-way and how the community reacted to this change. Detailed design modifications were made, where feasible, in response to the concerns expressed by the community. These concerns included the following: • the dedicated right-of-way acting as a barrier to the access and left hand turns; • sufficient capacity for vehicles and on-street parking; • lane widths; • the reduction of sidewalk space for pedestrians; • the possible use of bicycle lanes and • the availability of funding for streetscaping and beautification of the reconstructed right-of-way. The introduction of a dedicated right-of-way in place of the lanes shared between vehicles and streetcars had a significant impact on the community. 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 proposed paper will describe how the project team managed public consultation and modified the detailed design, where feasible, to alleviate these public concerns.