ProjectEnd
Superstar
Problem there is the acquisition. City wants it, many owners to the north want it, but those who would have to give up land for it are digging in their heels. And the city is super reluctant to expropriate, so here we are.
Toronto 2150 Lake Shore | 215.75m | 67s | First Capital | Allies and Morrison
- Thread starter AHK
- Start date
The reluctance is frustrating.
42
42
Northern Light
Superstar
And you can't really widen the road any further. The railway and Gardiner underpasses are the bottlenecks:
View attachment 227878
There are no dedicated bike lanes, just shared road space with cars and "bike-friendly" road markings. For some odd reason, the bike road markings mysteriously disappear just south of the railway underpass. The ones in the above screenshot are the last of them.
So when it comes to bike lanes, I just have 2 things to say:
1. There is nothing to remove
2. Please, wash your mouth out with soap for ever suggesting to remove bike lanes
Scratches head......that's an unusually large island feature around the central support columns of the bridge. I can't imagine that is structurally necessary (the extra island width). I just measured crudely and I got slightly over 1M excess space on each side of the columns. That would seem to be sufficient room for a full bike lane, in both directions (though the SB lanes are narrower, so It could be a bit tight (1.5M?), the NB could actually be protected cycle tracks (the 2 lanes are 7.5M across)
Up and down the street, there's room for bike lanes, except where there are left turn lanes, and under the highway would require narrow travel lanes. Removing the small median there would get you only about 1.2M which, with tweaking could get you a SB bike lane, but NB to do it you'd have to cut every travel lane to 3M and/or cut one of the lanes.
Where the Left turns are, in every case, it's not possible to squeeze bike lanes into the existing ROW, but there adjacent, currently vacant/empty land in each case; or room (the vegetation adjacent to the Food Terminal).
Just a passing observation.
Full Metal Junkie
Active Member
AECOM won the legion road + pond tender 2 years ago. The funding is scheduled to be released to them through 2022. I saw some surveyors on site in 2018, but no activity for over a year now. Is it not happening? Am I missing something?
Full Metal Junkie
Active Member
Yeah, I agree with 42 on this one. Bikes do not belong on this stretch of Park Lawn. It is terrifying to cycle there. I personally wouldn't even be too comfortable with a dedicated lane. Currently, I ride on the sidewalk south of the Gardiner off-ramp. Not because I like annoying the pedestrians, but because I don't want to die. And there is aready a perfect bike trail parallel to Park Lawn built along Mimico Creek that would connect cyclist safely from Gardiner off-ramp to Lake Shore / Park Lawn. The only piece of trail missing is behind South Beach condos and the empty lot Amexon is sitting on. Sadly, until Amexon builds-out that lot, the trail will not be complete. And the rest of the trail, the bit the City has to build under the railway corridor, pffff... A couple of decades ETA will not surprise me...
This is why I'm very hopeful for this First Capital proposal. They might bring the cycling infrastructure faster than what the City is doing. You know, I may take a relief road bike path in 10 years vs. waiting 20 for the Mimico trail.
Amare
Senior Member
Meh, I think we all know what's going to happen with these 2 proposals by the city. The Legion Road Extension will go the same way as the Front Street Extension since the city will be unable to come up with funds for it, so we'll end up building some cycling/pedestrian bridge because we're too cheap to build anything else.
As for the Stormwater Facility, that will end up dying off as well until some kind of significant flooding happens in the area.
It's Toronto we're talking about, nothing happens it the logical order that it should.
Towered
Superstar
I'm sure there's a project manager on the city website who could be contacted for an update. Somebody needs to pressure the people involved because for years to pass without any action and no explanation voluntarily provided in a timely manner is unacceptable, and, even though it makes me cringe to say it, disrespectful to taxpayers.
Towered
Superstar
What is the nature of the city's reluctance in this case?
Full Metal Junkie
Active Member
How would one go about finding out who that project manager is? I wouldn't mind applying some pressure myself. Should I start with our Dear Supreme Councilor Grimes and go from there?
67Cup
Active Member
The entrance to the building in which I live is off Legion Rd. On a purely selfish basis, I would be pleased if the south end of Legion remains a quiet dead end. However, I can indeed see the usefulness of extending it through to the Mystic Pointe area. It wouldn’t be a road to nowhere. It would easily connect to Grand Ave and thence to the Queensway. Either Algoma or Manitoba would lead directly from the proposed extension over to Royal York Rd and to Evans Ave. This would turn what are presently quiet residential streets into fairly busy thoroughfares and the city might not want that. The residents certainly would not! I think, however, that it would very probably relieve congestion on Park Lawn ... for a while.
Agreed entirely With IC 42 that the bike path/walkway up the east side of Mimico Creek needs to be completed. Another useful small addition would be to build and light a walkway from Legion Rd north of the Hydro substation into Old Mimico. There is already a paved path into the woods on the Mimico side. Just complete it through the rather scrubby bush to Legion Rd. It would make the neighborhood elementary school and playground more accessible to folks from the west end of HBS.. (And I acknowledge some area residents would not want that!)
This post is long enough already, so I won.’t talk about other commuter traffic issues, which are sometimes a bit overstated, IMO.
PS. I’ve heard that a traffic light may be installed at Lake Shore and, I think, Silver Moon
Agreed entirely With IC 42 that the bike path/walkway up the east side of Mimico Creek needs to be completed. Another useful small addition would be to build and light a walkway from Legion Rd north of the Hydro substation into Old Mimico. There is already a paved path into the woods on the Mimico side. Just complete it through the rather scrubby bush to Legion Rd. It would make the neighborhood elementary school and playground more accessible to folks from the west end of HBS.. (And I acknowledge some area residents would not want that!)
This post is long enough already, so I won.’t talk about other commuter traffic issues, which are sometimes a bit overstated, IMO.
PS. I’ve heard that a traffic light may be installed at Lake Shore and, I think, Silver Moon
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toaster29
Active Member
1. I live in the area. Much of the traffic problems stem from having to make a left turn onto the Gardiner Westbound from North Park Lawn. I've said this before, but the city needs to expropriate Food Terminal land to make an onramp from the right hand lane so as to eliminate the need to turn left. This is what causes Park Lawn to be backed up to Lake Shore every morning.
2. I often bike along Park Lawn, the roads are wider than normal (especially the right lane) where there are symbols painted on the road for bikes. It's no different than other areas. In fact, biking along the lake front trail I find to be more dangerous, especially on a Saturday afternoon. Way too congested.
2. I often bike along Park Lawn, the roads are wider than normal (especially the right lane) where there are symbols painted on the road for bikes. It's no different than other areas. In fact, biking along the lake front trail I find to be more dangerous, especially on a Saturday afternoon. Way too congested.
mdriver
New Member
I also live in the area, and I agree that the traffic congestion is from:
1. The Left turn onto the Gardiner westbound entrance
2. The Left turn off Park Lawn onto eastbound Lake Shore
3. The Gardiner off ramp onto Park Lawn south
The Legion Rd proposal was based upon a study in 2002, before the big developments occurred.
The Legion Rd extension proposal is a stale dated plan, that wasn't based upon the reality of the current times.
For the City to waste resources on this plan is an absolute shame of tax payers dollars, for their is no benefit from the perspective of congestion.
The Legion Rd extension in fact will cause even greater congestion on Manitoba Street, Grand Ave, Royal York, but more importantly it will only further congestion the Gardiner Off ramp to Park Lawn, BECAUSE north bound Legion Rd will then be diverted back onto the ramp, just to try and turn left back onto Park Lawn.
It boggles the mind how people don't see this, from the congestion element, but also the from the safety stance, as cars will be flying down Legion Rd.
Build the Relief Road for 2150 Lake Shore...that is the priority.
1. The Left turn onto the Gardiner westbound entrance
2. The Left turn off Park Lawn onto eastbound Lake Shore
3. The Gardiner off ramp onto Park Lawn south
The Legion Rd proposal was based upon a study in 2002, before the big developments occurred.
The Legion Rd extension proposal is a stale dated plan, that wasn't based upon the reality of the current times.
For the City to waste resources on this plan is an absolute shame of tax payers dollars, for their is no benefit from the perspective of congestion.
The Legion Rd extension in fact will cause even greater congestion on Manitoba Street, Grand Ave, Royal York, but more importantly it will only further congestion the Gardiner Off ramp to Park Lawn, BECAUSE north bound Legion Rd will then be diverted back onto the ramp, just to try and turn left back onto Park Lawn.
It boggles the mind how people don't see this, from the congestion element, but also the from the safety stance, as cars will be flying down Legion Rd.
Build the Relief Road for 2150 Lake Shore...that is the priority.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
The 76B ROYAL YORK SOUTH TO QUEENSWAY AND GRAND AVENUE bus currently goes south on Grand Avenue OVER the Gardiner Expressway.
67Cup
Active Member
Thanks for the bus information but I’m not sure of the point you are making here with the capitalization of OVER.
My point was that a Legion Rd extension would not be a road to nowhere as one poster stated. It would cross the railway tracks, presumably under the tracks, but I haven’t seen any plans. That would take Legion Rd into the Mystic Pointe area a little east of the southern part of Grand Ave. Drivers or cyclists on the extension could turn north on Grand Ave and, just as you say, cross over the Gardiner. They could then reach the Queensway, which is what I stated.