Trying to get anywhere along the downtown stretch of Spadina Avenue is likely to go from bad to worse this week.
That’s because the city is fully closing the bustling intersection of Spadina and Bloor Street from July 15 to July 22 for major construction on Bloor.
The work is part of a long-term project to improve infrastructure on a key stretch of the east-west corridor, including replacing sidewalks, installing permanently raised cycle tracks and repaving the road surface.
Pedestrians and cyclists who dismount their bikes will still be able to get through the intersection, but everyone else will need to detour.
The busy 510 Spadina TTC route will be diverted to St. George Station via Harbord and St. George streets. You can read more about the detours here.
The temporary closure of the Spadina-Bloor intersection is just the latest blow to transit riders and drivers in the city.
In late June, the TTC temporarily suspended streetcar service on Spadina to allow for extensive track repairs and the “modernization” of overhead power lines. Buses are running instead, from Spadina Station to Queens Quay W., in a change expected to last until December.
The change led to even more gridlock than normal in the downtown core. On July 8, the TTC modified 510 service during the afternoon rush hour in an effort to relieve some of the traffic woes at the southern end of the route.
Later this month, city council will consider a temporary dedicated bus lane on Spadina between Richmond Street W. and Lake Shore Boulevard W. to help ease what one councillor called “unacceptable” congestion.
Toronto councillors will vote whether or not to create designated bus lanes on the southern part of Spadina Avenue later this month. In June, the TTC added more buses on Spadina after streetcar service was temporarily suspended to allow construction work on the tracks. As Greg Ross explains, it’s made what was already a bad congestion problem in the area worse.