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What's Happening On Roncesvalles
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Construction
How To Get To Roncesvalles (and where to park)
As the construction is in its final weeks, it is still a bit challenging to get to Roncesvalles by car, but here’s a rundown:
Roncesvalles Avenue has a guaranteed one lane northbound all the way through. Most of Roncesvalles is open to two way traffic, with two exceptions at present: no southbound at Howard Park Avenue, and no southbound between Grenadier and Geoffrey. Beyond that, Roncesvalles is open to two-way traffic.
Please remember that there is free three hour parking on Roncesvalles in legal spots. Come on down to Roncesvalles and visit your favourite shops and restaurants. We’re under construction but open for business!
We’ve created a downloadable PDF that indicates all parking lots and TTC info during construction. Click on the image at left and see you on Roncy!
New York Times: “the rejuvenated ‘Roncey’ now makes for one of the city’s most engaging strolls.”
Today’s New York Times travel section heaps praise on Roncesvalles Village:
After a multiyear neighborhood reconstruction project that temporarily cut streetcar service and starved merchants, Roncesvalles Avenue — the area’s main artery — is thrumming again. Despite their big-city location, the street’s indie bookstores, quirky coffeehouses and smart boutiques feel more like small-town hangouts, with stroller-pushing locals popping in to chat up proprietors. Tree-lined and low-slung, with a blessed absence of the chain stores that have crept across Toronto, the rejuvenated “Roncey” now makes for one of the city’s most engaging strolls.
The article is accompanied by a slide show highlighting several Roncesvalles businesses, including Sweetpea’s, Mariclaro, Pizzeria Defina, and Fresh Collective.
Read the rest here: New York Times: A Low-Slung Piece Of Toronto Gains Casual-Hip Cachet
Roncesvalles Is Renewed!
On July 23 members of the community, members of Roncesvalles Renewed, the Roncesvalles Village BIA, Councillor Gord Perks, MPP Cheri diNovo and MP Peggy Nash, among many others, joined together to celebrate the renewal of Roncesvalles and the return of streetcars to our street.
The opening ceremonies were MC’d by Tony Cauch, chair of the Roncesvalles Village BIA. After a ribbon cutting, people went on a brief streetcar ride and then returned for a few speeches by Perks, diNovo and Nash and Mary Wiens of Roncesvalles Renewed.
Afterwards, the celebrants enjoyed a sip of champagne, a wonderful cake from Granowskas and some delicious treats from Mabel’s.
After the ceremonies, people enjoyed the all day sidewalk sale on Roncesvalles, with live music, a kids drumming circle hosted by the Classical Music Conservatory, mural painting with Painting Our Stories, a display of historical photographs, facepainting and a bike decorating display courtesy of West Side Cycle.
Two free streetcars ran up and down Roncesvalles all day, with guided tours of Roncesvalles Village, focussing on its history, businesses, and more. Tour guides included TTC supervisor Jim Lever, transit guru Steve Munro, author Andrew J. Borkowski (Copernicus Avenue), RVBIA Coordinator Keith Denning, Roncesvalles Renewed’s Abby Bushby, and Darryl Landau of the Roncesvalles Village Historical Society.
Photos courtesy of Liz Szynkowski and Tom Kane.
Also please see this great Youtube video courtesy of Joey Schwartz!
Why can’t we have full streetcar service now? (Answer: it’s complicated)
Late last week, the TTC announced that because the main reconstruction has finished ahead of schedule (the most recent scheduled completion date was July 4), partial streetcar service would resume on Roncesvalles starting last weekend. But full service will not resume until July 30. Why the delay?
The short answer: it’s apparently more complicated than it sounds.
Whenever the TTC updates its scheduling, there is a complex dance where crews, vehicles and other resources are reallocated throughout the system. Up until rather recently, there was no guarantee that the street would be ready for streetcars (and unexpected delays, ahem, have been known to occur). But construction crews finished early, and the TTC was able to get the buses rolling quickly. Meanwhile, streetcar rescheduling would have to wait for the next rescheduling period.
Until full streetcar service is restored in July, the TTC says shuttle buses will continue to run, “augmented with streetcar service when available.”
Our Trees Are Arriving!
A sure sign that construction is coming to an end on Roncesvalles Avenue is the arrival of our first trees on the street. Roncesvalles’ first new street trees are being planted today by City staff. All trees are expected to be planted by the end of next week.
Celebrating the arrival of our long-awaited trees: Councillor Gord Perks, RVBIA Chair Tony Cauch, RVBIA Beautification Committee Chair John Bowker, RVBIA Business Continuity Committee Chair Len McAuley and RVBIA Vice-Chair Andrew Chomentowski.
Please be nice to our new trees… Don’t lock your bikes to them!
Roncesvalles Avenue is generally open to two-way traffic as construction enters its final few weeks.
Construction Update
The final round of construction began in earnest today. There have been a couple of minor changes to the work plan.
Work north of Howard Park Avenue will likely begin after March 30.
Sidewalk work has started south of Marion Street. Southbound access at Marion is blocked.
Sidewalk work will start at Fern Avenue (working south) starting on or after March 29.
Gas main relocation started today. Southbound access at Howard Park Avenue is blocked.
Final Round of Construction to Begin Week of March 28
The final round of construction on Roncesvalles begins March 28.
The 504 streetcar will be replaced with a bus that will loop down Dundas and Lansdowne, west on Queen, and north on Roncesvalles.
Construction will be happening in three main areas.
Howard Park to Dundas
In this area traffic will flow one way northbound. Sidewalk and road work will begin at Howard Park on the west side and move north to Dundas, then finish on the east side. This work is expected to take roughly eight weeks.
In this area traffic will flow one way northbound.
Howard Park to Geoffrey (mainly west side)
In this area traffic will flow both ways while the gas main on the west curb lane is replaced. This should take roughly one month.
Fern to Harvard (east side)
In this area sidewalk and road bed will be replaced. This work is expected to take roughly eight weeks.
In this area traffic will flow one way northb
Everywhere else traffic will flow normally.
A second stage of construction (from Howard Park to Grenadier) will take place from June to sometime in July.
Streetcars are scheduled to resume normal operation on July 24.
The Streetcars Start Rolling!
On Sunday morning the streetcars started rolling on Roncesvalles in earnest. For the first time in eighteen months merchants and residents can enjoy riding the Rocket!
This photo — of the very first service streetcar to run on Roncesvalles, Sunday morning at 4:30 a.m. — was taken by local resident Tom Kane, who has documented every stage of construction from the very beginning. His photos have appeared in a number of stores on Roncesvalles, and are all available for online viewing here.
Construction Ends On Roncesvalles For Season
Roncesvalles Avenue is now completely open to two-way traffic and buses, clean and construction-free, with walkable sidewalks and a very driveable roadway.
Visitors to Roncesvalles Village will find open streets and open shops, just in time for the busy holiday shopping season. An extra bonus is the free parking available in legal parking spots on Roncesvalles Avenue.
Merchants and residents are enjoying a welcome return to a normal pace of life in Roncesvalles Village.
Construction Update November 17
Here’s the latest construction update for Roncesvalles Avenue. Please remember that schedules are subject to change.
==Enbridge==
As we’ve reported before, Enbridge Gas needs to come to Roncesvalles to do some work on the gas main from Howard Park Avenue south to Geoffrey St. The BIA had been very concerned that Enbridge would be coming on site during December, creating disruptions for our retailers during this very important shopping season.
We are happy to report that Enbridge will not be coming to Roncesvalles before January 10, 2011. Their work is not expected to take longer than six weeks.
We would like to thank Daphne Wee and Councillor Perks for intervening on behalf of the BIA to preserve the holiday season for our members.
Because Enbridge’s work might involve some work on the east side of the street, sidewalk and road work on the east side of Roncesvalles between Howard Park Avenue and Grenadier will not proceed until after Enbridge’s work is complete.
The BIA is requesting that Enbridge accommodate two-way traffic and transit during their work.
==Sanscon==
Sanscon is in the process of temporarily regrading the west side of Roncesvalles between Geoffrey and Grenadier and between Marmaduke and Howard Park Avenue. These sections of road will receive a temporary asphalt patch and will be open until Enbridge is working on them.
Additional crews are expected to come on board soon to speed up the work. Sanscon is determined to complete as much of their work as possible before December 3.
Businesses north of Howard Park Avenue should expect sidewalk and road replacement to begin within a week, possibly within a few days.
Today Sanscon began excavation south of Fermanagh Avenue, and will continue working in the south end over the next few weeks. We cannot predict how much they will manage to get done before wrapping up on December 3.
Sanscon has committed to not break up sidewalk or road that they cannot complete by December 3. This means that every business on Roncesvalles should have sidewalk and unobstructed access to their store from December 3 on.
Two-way traffic and transit is expected to resume on Roncesvalles on December 3 also.
We have requested that any road paving that needs to be done be timed to avoid our busy weekends in December. There is a possibility that some paving may be done over a few days during the week of Monday December 6.
If you have special requests or needs when Sanscon is working on your block, please don’t hesitate to ask the workers for your help. Sanscon has been very responsive to individual requests with respect to schedules, wider ramps, and so on.
==Work Through December==
There will be small scale work occuring on the street in December. This may involve things like: laying interlocking bricks, repairing private walkways on the west side, installing some street furniture and bike posts, and the like. None of this is expected to cause significant disruption to the street or to traffic flow.
==Completion of Work==
As mentioned above, Enbridge’s work will delay the completion of road and sidewalk in the north end. Additionally, it is likely that a few blocks in the south end of Roncesvalles will not be completed by our deadline of December 3.
Because concrete cannot be poured in very cold weather, and asphalt is difficult to obtain in the winter, Sanscon will not likely return to Roncesvalles for heavy work before April 2011.
Email us: info@
roncesvallesvillage.ca
Join us for the 2013 Roncesvalles Polish Festival! Sept. 13-15 2013!
Roncy Rocks! is coming June 15 2013!
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