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What's Happening On Roncesvalles
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Construction
Construction On Roncesvalles Moving Quickly
A little more than a month into the second and final round of construction, residents and shopkeepers in Roncesvalles Village are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Track work is proceeding quickly. Comments like “Wow, they’re moving fast!” are commonly heard.
Track is in place on nearly half the street, and sidewalk replacement and road repair has begun in the south end. Several blocks are open in the south end, with more opening soon.
The BIA, residents’ associations, City staff and Sanscon Construction meet biweekly and confer nearly daily to deal with problems as they come up.
While construction is never trouble-free, Sanscon has made significant efforts to accommodate normal life in Roncesvalles Village, opening up the street as quickly as they can, accommodating weddings and funerals, providing barricades and an extra-wide pedestrian bridge for the Polish Credit Union’s 65th anniversary party, helping with parking, garbage and delivery, and taking pedestrian access and dust control on Roncesvalles seriously.
To address concerns that the BIA had over parking and access to shops, Sanscon has made efforts to limit the extent of the road closure for track work while getting track work done as quickly as possible so that the street can open up.
Track work is at its very height right now, with active track work in five blocks in the south end and two blocks at the north end. But progress has been quick, and we are looking forward to the expected resumption of two-way traffic and transit on Roncesvalles in late September.
Construction inevitably brings its share of headaches; however, there is a growing positive attitude on the street. As Rob Rostecki, owner of Rostecki’s Pharmacy (313 Roncesvalles Avenue), quipped about the challenges of construction: “One year of suck is worth fifty years of awesome.” Echoing this, Sara Filmore of Planet Kid (87 Roncesvalles Avenue) said: “I’m excited that they’re finally underway. It’s going to be fantastic when it’s done.”
Construction Update, August 16 2010
Hello everyone:
Here is the latest update on construction on Roncesvalles. Please remember that schedules and other information is subject to change.
Track work is proceeding well on Roncesvalles, and is currently on schedule for completion in late September.
==South End Track Work==
Track work is complete up to Galley, and the blocks from Marion to Galley are open for short term parking and deliveries. The contractor expects to be able to open up the blocks from Galley to Fern this weekend, and open the Garden and Fern intersections.
==North End Track Work==
At present excavation has stopped at Geoffrey. Beginning August 17, track work will proceed up to just south of Grenadier Road. Grenadier will remain open for the time being.
==Track Work North Of Howard Park==
In order to keep on schedule, the contractor has made a change to their original plans for track work. Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday August 17, track installation will begin north of Howard Park Avenue to Dundas. This should be complete in roughly one week. During this time, one lane northbound will be maintained. The west-side intersections of Hewitt and Boustead will be closed and these streets will be made two-way. The City has sent notifications to affected residents (see attachment.)
==Roncesvalles and Dundas Intersection==
On August 23, as we’ve already reported, intersection track work will begin at the intersection of Dundas and Roncesvalles. This is expected to last about two weeks.
From August 23 to 30: One lane northbound on Dundas through this intersection. No northbound from Roncesvalles, no southbound to Roncesvalles or Dundas. 504 buses will divert along Howard Park Avenue, Parkside and Bloor to Dundas West Station.
From August 30 to September 7: One lane northbound on Dundas through this intersection, one lane southbound on Roncesvalles through this intersection.
==Staging On Roncesvalles South of Howard Park==
Very early this morning three trailers loaded with pre-assembled TTC track were backed down Roncesvalles from Bloor to be stored on Roncesvalles between Marmaduke and Howard Park Avenue. This track is the southern part of the intersection track for Roncesvalles and Dundas. Installation of this track is to begin this coming Monday, August 23.
These trailers will be stored on Roncesvalles for about ten days.
Of course, the BIA has tried to find alternatives to this inconvenience. Unfortunately, there don’t seem to be any. These pieces of track need to be south of the excavation in order to be installed, and the loaded trailers are too long to safely make tight turns, according to TTC staff. Also, the loaded trailers are too wide to come up Roncesvalles through the construction zone.
==Final Track Work==
Track work at the Howard Park Avenue intersection is expected to begin after September 16. The final run of track on Roncesvalles will be from Grenadier to Howard Park Avenue.
Once track work is complete, two-way traffic and buses will resume on all of Roncesvalles.
Construction Update, August 7 2010
This is day 24 of construction, and we have a few updates. Please remember that schedules and timelines are approximate and subject to change.
==Work Progress==
Harvard to Marion: track is complete. West side sidewalk work begins next week.
Marion to Pearson: the final layer of concrete is done. Opening up soon.
Pearson to Galley: the final layer of concrete is done. Opening up soon.
Galley to Garden: track is laid in and the second layer of concrete is being poured
Garden to Fern: the first layer of concrete is poured and track is ready for placement
Fern to Westminster: excavation and grading
Westminster to Geoffrey: sawcutting in preparation for excavation
You can expect the track work zone to expand a bit more before it starts to contract, but it will start shrinking soon. Each stage of track work requires nearly a block: sawcutting, excavation, grading, initial layer of concrete, track installation, second and third concrete layers. That’s about six blocks in total.
==Opening Up Roncesvalles==
People have expressed concern about the progress of the work, because right now there is no street parking from Harvard up to Westminster and the work zone is getting longer and longer. We have had a conversation about this today with the president of Sanscon, and stressed the importance of opening up the street wherever possible. Here’s where we stand:
The block from Harvard to Marion will remain one lane northbound for about three weeks while Sanscon does west side road repair and sidewalk work. (Sidewalk work will start there next week.)
As track work is completed north of Marion things will start to open up. Sanscon has poured the final layer of concrete from Marion to Galley, and as soon as the concrete has cured (about two days after pouring) they will open up those blocks. So we expect parking to return to Roncesvalles from Marion to Galley early next week, and as track work is completed north of there the street will continue to open up. We expect that the track work zone will be roughly five to six blocks long as it progresses up the street, sometimes longer, and sometimes shorter.
Parking restrictions will return to limited areas of the street where sidewalk and road work is occurring.
==West Side Intersection Closures==
Marion Street: open
Pearson Ave. will open in the next few days
Galley Ave. will open in the next few days
Garden Ave.: will open in about a week
Fern, Wright, High Park: will gradually open over the next three weeks
As excavation proceeds north, you can expect the west side intersections of Westminster and Geoffrey to close. Residents and businesses will be notified by the City as this time approaches.
There will be additional intersection closures when the contractor is doing road repair, but these are expected to be brief.
Construction Sucks
Cheeky Community Campaign to Support Local Business Turns Heads In Roncesvalles Village
Normally, shop local campaigns are the result of the efforts of a BIA or other business association. But once again, the residents of Roncesvalles Village have shown great initiative and genuine support for their community.
After all, this is the community that uniquely came together to save its neighbourhood movie theatre, the Revue Cinema, back in 2006, and now operates it as a not-for-profit, community-run cinema.
The second and final round of construction began on Roncesvalles in mid-July. The replacement of streetcar tracks and sidewalks, along with significant streetscape improvements, is expected to be finished in late 2010. During this time residents and visitors will enjoy three hours free parking on Roncesvalles Avenue in legal spots, a welcome attraction as construction progresses.
Within days of the backhoes breaking ground, “Construction Sucks” posters began appearing in storefronts all over Roncesvalles Avenue. These terrific posters are the brainchild of members of Roncesvalles Renewed, a community group which has worked tirelessly since 2003 to guide the streetscape renewal of Roncesvalles Avenue.
The poster was designed by Edmond Ng at Concrete Design Communications Inc., a local design and branding firm. Romina Fontana, Managing Director, explained: “Concrete has been in the neighbourhood for approximately fifteen years. We were happy to accept this as a pro bono job to support the neighbourhood, and our fellow business owners, during the construction.”
Businesses in Roncesvalles Village have shown real enthusiasm for the campaign, and gratitude for the support. One business owner remarked “I love this neighbourhood!” on receiving her poster. That customers have found a humorous way to show support for local businesses struggling with construction woes is truly remarkable. To quote John Bowker, owner of She Said Boom! and
member of Roncesvalles Renewed: “Roncesvalles Village may grumble about construction, but we never whine.”
504 Bus Route Update
There has been a great deal of confusion over the past few days about the 504 bus. It has been taking a rather strange route, detouring all the way to Shaw St. before coming to the bottom of Roncesvalles. This was because of an emergency watermain repair that blocked eastbound traffic on King St. Our understanding is that this is now over, and things are somewhat more normal.
There will be ongoing work on King St. for the next while, so the 504 bus is serving Roncesvalles and King St. using this route:
SOUTHBOUND: Dundas West Station, south on Dundas and Lansdowne, west on Queen to Roncesvalles, east on King to Shaw.
NORTHBOUND: west on King, north on Roncesvalles to Dundas West Station.
Please note that, if you’re coming from Dundas West Station and you want to go north on Roncesvalles, you should transfer from the southbound 504 to a northbound 504 at Queen and Roncesvalles.
This is a bit inconvenient, but we appreciate that the TTC has to do some fancy footwork to dodge around all the construction that is happening in Toronto these days.
Construction Update, July 7 2010
Please note that the information in this update is provisional. We are reporting the best information that we have at present. Details may change. We will keep everyone updated as new information becomes available.
==
Final Round of Construction To Start Mid-July 2010
In mid-July 2010 streetcar track and sidewalk construction will begin on Roncesvalles.
ALL work will start in the south and gradually move north. Work will be happening 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with some work at night and on Sundays also.
The track work zone will occupy an area about five blocks long, and will occupy three lanes of traffic.
Through the work zone there will be one lane northbound only. Pedestrian crossings may be temporarily disrupted. Parking/delivery areas will be in staging areas (where equipment and material is stored but there is no active construction.)
The track work zone should move past your location in roughly three weeks.
To the north and south of the track work zone traffic will flow normally. Cars can drive on completed track.
Track work at Howard Park Avenue and at Dundas St. will involve closures of those intersections that may last up to ten days.
Track work should be complete around October 1.
When track work is complete, we expect to get two-way traffic and transit restored.
Sidewalk construction will follow behind streetcar track construction. This will involve repairing or rebuilding sidewalk, removing nearly all existing tree planters, installing infrastructure for new trees (soil trenches under the sidewalk) and other improvements.
Sidewalk work zones are expected to be one block long. In these zones, pedestrians will be directed to a safe lane on the road, and wheelchair accessible ramps will lead to every doorway. There will be parking restrictions in these areas. Each block is estimated to take between two and three weeks to complete.
Transit platform construction will follow behind sidewalk construction. Each platform will take several weeks to build. There will be minimal pedestrian or traffic disruption in these zones, which will be about a block long. There will be parking restrictions in these zones.
Sidewalk and platform work should be complete in November or December.
If work is not finished by December 3, the contractor will clean up and leave Roncesvalles until spring 2011.
Our new trees will be planted in spring 2011.
During track construction, a 504 shuttle bus will loop from Dundas West Station, down Lansdowne to Queen and up Roncesvalles as before. Once track work is complete (about October 1) two-way transit will return.
See You in 2011 for the Roncesvalles Polish Festival! In The Meantime…
The construction this year makes a major festival on Roncesvalles impossible. The RVBIA is planning a number of smaller events throughout the year.
In May we had a blast with our Spring Fever Event, and in June we had a great time with our first annual Roncy Rocks! festival.
Roncylicious, our celebration of Roncesvalles’ great food culture, is returning in August, starting with a great one-day on-street food party on Saturday August 7!
And join us later in the year for more great Roncy events.
Three Hours’ Free Parking On Roncesvalles Avenue!
There will be no parking meters on Roncesvalles until construction is complete. You can park for up to three hours in any legal parking spot on Roncesvalles Avenue for free! Please be mindful of all parking signage.
Tickets will still be issued for illegal parking or parking for longer than three hours in a legal spot. If you receive a ticket that you wish to dispute, please call Councillor Perks’ office at (416) 392-7919.
Don’t forget about nearby parking lots at: Queen and Triller, the Polish Credit Union, Howard Public School (public pay parking evenings, weekends, holidays and school breaks) and at Dundas and Roncesvalles (by Starbucks.)
Where Can I Learn More?
You can: join our Facebook page follow us at twitter.com/RoncesVillage, or join our mailing list by emailing
Thanks, and keep supporting your favourite shops on Roncesvalles!
Roncesvalles Now Open To Two-Way Traffic! Buses start two-way on Monday
After nine months of construction, the TTC has announced that two-way bus service will return to Roncesvalles on Monday, April 26 at 5 am. The buses will leave Dundas West station and travel south to the Sunnyside loop, where passengers may board the streetcar and continue along King. The westbound 504 King streetcar will continue to turn back east at the TTC’s Roncesvalles yard, requiring passengers travelling to the subway to transfer to the bus at Queen/Roncesvalles.
With the end of water main/sewer replacement, construction will now pause along Roncesvalles for a few months. Likely in June, the long-awaited streetscape improvement project will finally begin. Streetcar tracks will be replaced, along with most of the sidewalk. New streetscape improvements will include new trees planted at grade in healthy growing conditions, accessible streetcar stops, the leveling of the Roncesvalles “two-step,” shorter crosswalks, and new public spaces. The construction is scheduled to be completed by November. Since this is all surface work, it is expected, or at least hoped, that construction will proceed without the unplanned delays that occurred with the less-predictable sewer replacement work.
Meanwhile, parking meters have been removed from Roncesvalles until the end of construction. As a result, there now is free three-hour parking in any legal space along Roncesvalles. Please note that you will still get a ticket if you park in a no-parking zone.
A reminder to those who have become used to traffic only travelling north on Roncesvalles: look BOTH WAYS before crossing the street!
Read All About It! Roncesvalles Gets Noticed In Toronto Life
We were very pleased to see that twenty-five of our businesses were lauded in an excellent and glowing online article in Toronto Life.
In appreciation of this, RVBIA Chair Tony Cauch wrote the following letter to the editor:
To the editor:
Thanks for today’s great online feature on Roncesvalles Village (The Roncesvalles Guide, April 22, 2010). We appreciate your recognition of the wonderful businesses in our neighbourhood!
As I’m sure you’re aware, Roncesvalles Avenue is in the midst of a long-planned rejuvenation of our streetscape. We are excited by the expanded sidewalks and other improvements that will soon be built, and the many healthy trees that will grace our street in 2011, planted at grade along our sidewalks, which will create a beautiful tree canopy that will last for generations.
With the worst stage of construction behind us, I wanted to assure you that Roncesvalles Village is a welcoming place and that visitors will have a great time in our neighbourhood. I invite you and all your readers to visit Roncesvalles Village and take advantage of the three hours of free on-street parking in effect until late 2010!
With three hours to linger on Roncesvalles, you could take the opportunity to visit those businesses that were featured in your article as well as the many other terrific cafés, restaurants and shops that make Roncesvalles Village a place I’m very happy and proud to call my home.
Yours truly,
Tony Cauch
Chair, Roncesvalles Village BIA
Free Parking On Roncesvalles
From now until November 2010, there will be up to three hours of free parking in any legal parking spot on Roncesvalles Avenue.
Please note that free parking is not a free-for-all. Illegal parking in no-parking zones will still get you a ticket.
But for our law-abiding neighbours, come on down and enjoy everything that Roncesvalles Village has to offer, and park for free!
Private Side Water Replacement Update
From the office of Councillor Gord Perks:
Water service replacement on the private side:
The City of Toronto confirms that substandard (defined as being non-copper or less than 19 mm) water services were replaced to property line on Roncesvalles Avenue. Some of the services included in the installation of curb stops. Curb stops do not necessarily denote the extent of the new service. Curb stops in front of many businesses were installed an adequate distance away from the building face to allow for easy access during future maintenance operations. Where a curb stop was installed short of the property line, a short piece of new pipe was installed from the curb stop to connect to the existing water service at property line.
At the contractor’s discretion some upgrades were made on the private side. However, property owners are under no obligation to replace their water services on the private side. Property owners who did not get their private side services replaced by the City contractors during the recent watermain replacement project on Roncesvalles Avenue, but who still wish to do so, are encouraged to undertake the work prior to the start of the road reconfiguration and track reconstruction project in June 2010.
Since private side water service replacements will include excavation on the City side, owners must apply to the City for a Cut Permit. A copy of the Permit can be obtained through the following link:
www.toronto.ca/engineering/mcr/pdf/appendix_k.pdf
Private contractors can be found in the yellow pages under headings such as “drainage contractors” or “plumbing contractors”.
If the work is done prior to June 2010, the property owner will be responsible for temporarily restoring the cut until such time that the cut can be permanently restored as part of the upcoming surface works contract.
Please be advised that once new sidewalks and roads are constructed, they are placed under a 5-year moratorium. As such, private-side water service work that involves cutting into the new road or sidewalk will not be permitted once the surface works is complete on Roncesvalles Avenue.
An exception will be made if a property owner takes a water sample and the water is found to contain lead limits above the Ministry of Environment’s maximum acceptable limit of 10 ppb (parts per billion).
Information on how a property owner can have lead testing conducted can be found via the following link:
www.toronto.ca/water/supply/lead_test.htm
Additional information regarding lead in drinking water can be found on the following City web pages:
www.toronto.ca/water/supply/issues.htm
www.toronto.ca/health/lead/drinking_water.htm
However, if an exemption is made to the 5-year moratorium and a property owner is allowed to cut the sidewalk / road in order to replace his private-side water service, the property owner will be responsible for the following:
* The temporary restoration of the cut sidewalk or road, until such time that Transportation Services can undertake the permanent restoration. Transportation Services may wait for a complete freeze / thaw cycle before permanently restoring the cut, which could be up to a year from the time of the initial cut. During this time, the property owner must ensure that the temporary restoration is safe for use, i.e. no trip hazards, no excessive settlement, etc.
* The cost of the permanent restoration will be charged back to the property owner. To properly match back to the existing road or sidewalk, permanent restoration limits may extend beyond the edges of the cut. For example, restoring a 1-metre cut in the sidewalk may involve the replacement of 2 - 3 bays of sidewalk, from expansion joint to expansion joint. The cost to permanently restore a cut may be in the range of $1,000 to $3,000, depending on the extent of the work.
As stated above, it is the property owners’ decision as to whether they want to replace their water services on the private side. Again, property owners on Roncesvalles Avenue who wish to do so are encouraged to undertake the replacement prior to the City starting the track reconstruction and road reconfiguration in June 2010.
Email us: info@
roncesvallesvillage.ca
Thanks to everyone who made the 2009 Roncesvalles Polish Festival the best yet!
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