Toronto intersection will be a traffic mess during months-long construction project

Travelling around one major Toronto intersection might give you quite a headache this upcoming spring and summer, as the TTC and the City of Toronto work together on a months-long construction project. 

From May to August, watermain and streetcar track maintenance will be conducted at the King Street East and Church Street intersection. As a result of the project, no streetcar service will be able to operate for the duration of the construction. 

A report before the Toronto and East York Community Council on Thursday outlines the plans for TTC service diversions and transit priority measures over the course of the project. 

According to the report, the 503 Kingston Road, 504 King, and 508 Lakeshore will be diverted due to the closure.

The diversion will result in 25 streetcars in the peak hour (up from seven streetcars in current conditions), using Queen Street east of Spadina Avenue to Broadview Avenue and the existing diversion associated with the Ontario Line construction. 

Diversion routing for King Street East and Church Street intersection closure during Phase 1 and 2. 

The existing 501 Queen service will also be impacted by the diversion due to the increased number of streetcars that will be using this route.

The proposed temporary transit priority measures in the report aim to mitigate the impact on the 102,900 daily customers who use streetcars that travel along the diversion route. 

The transit property measures highlighted in the report to support the diversion include:

• new parking restrictions on Queen Street
• additional no-stopping zones
• increased duration of turning restrictions
• restrictions on CafeTO curb lane installations
• implementing a short eastbound transit-only lane at the intersection of Queen Street East and Broadview Avenue to support streetcar and general traffic operations

Diversion routing for King Street East and Church Street intersection closure during Phase 3 and 4.

The project will occur over four planned phases of construction.

Phase 1 and Phase 2 will allow for east-west traffic to continue, including a bus overlay service for the 504 King, while Phase 3 and 4 will result in a full closure.