The busy intersection of King St. W. and Spadina Ave. will be close for two weeks starting Tuesday, compounding traffic and transit headaches in an already disrupted Toronto core.
The city said it needs to completely close the busy downtown intersection to replace streetcar tracks.
Jacqueline White, director of transportation services for the district, acknowledged that, with the along with those caused by Union Station reconstruction, Queens Quay redevelopment and private developments in the area, “it’s pretty busy downtown right now.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
“There are major projects and the city is trying to improve infrastructure,” White said. “A lot of the projects we’d like to get done before the Pan Am Games in 2015, so that is putting on some more pressure.”
The King-Spadina work is unusual in that the whole intersection is closing, rather than just part of it. White explained that it’s quicker to remove all of the track for the King and Spadina streetcar lines at once and put a pre-welded replacement track in place, rather than piecing track together on location.
Impact on drivers:
Eastbound traffic on King approaching Spadina will be detoured to Bathurst, Portland or Brant Sts., while westbound traffic will be routed to John, Peter or Charlotte Sts.
Northbound traffic on Spadina approaching King will be detoured to Bremner Blvd., Blue Jays Way or Front St., while southbound traffic will be routed to Queen St. W., Richmond St. or Adelaide St.
Alternative east-west routes include Front, Adelaide and Queen St. W. Alternative north and south routes are Bathurst St. and University Ave.
The intersection will be closed to vehicles at 10 a.m. Tuesday and reopen Aug. 20 at 6 a.m. It will remain open to pedestrians.
Impact on TTC users:
During the work there will be no streetcar service on the 504 King and 508 Lakeshore lines between Shaw St. and Church St. Both routes will be diverted to Queen St.
Subway riders will be able to access the 504 King and 508 Lakeshore at Queen and Osgoode stations. Normal King St. streetcar service will resume Aug. 20.
Streetcars on Spadina will be replaced with a curb-side bus operation from Spadina station to Queens Quay. Starting Aug. 20, streetcar service will return and operate to Charlotte Loop. Bus service on Spadina Ave. will continue to operate from King St. to Queens Quay.
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