The sailors are angry. Charity runners are not amused. And parents of kids who go to summer camps and use soccer fields in the Port Lands are steaming, and not from the heat.
City Councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 30, Toronto Danforth) has heard from all of the above and other Torontonians who have been subject to traffic chaos and delays as a result of the ongoing closure of the Cherry St. ship channel lift bridge to vehicular traffic, due to construction, repairs and maintenance. It is still open to bicyclists and pedestrians.
Currently, Fletcher says, the only motorist access to the area — which hosts numerous summer camps, marinas, sailing clubs, parks and Cherry St. beach — is one single-lane bridge on Unwin Ave.
The ship channel bridge, owned by the Toronto Port Authority, was closed in November 2012 with a posted sign referring to the closure ending by June of this year. Then it was postponed to the end of July. Then it was mid-August. Now, Toronto Port Authority spokesperson Pamela McDonald told the Star that the 80-year-old bridge should open by the middle of September.
“The repair work is very complex and intricate and so, along the way, we have found further repair work has been needed that we couldn’t have anticipated,’’ said McDonald.
“Our chief focus and concern is safety. We want to do the work that’s needed,’’ she said.
The Toronto Port Authority is paying for the construction costs, she said, but the TPA “is in discussions with the City of Toronto about further repair work that may be needed.’’
When the bridge does open it will have only one lane and lights at either end so cars will be able to travel in both directions, taking turns.
Will the bridge ever have two lanes again?
“We’re in discussions with the City of Toronto about further work that will be needed to open the bridge to two lanes,’’ she said.
City of Toronto spokesman Stephen Buckley told the Star that the bridge is owned by the Toronto Port Authority and the city is not sharing the cost of construction.
In the meantime, Fletcher said the delay in finishing construction creates more than just inconvenience, and is frustrating people trying to access points in the Port Lands. She feels “it’s actually a dangerous situation. I really feel that if there was an emergency there, on the water, on the beach . . . it’s going to take a heck of a long time’’ for emergency personnel to get there.
“It was supposed to be finished in time so that when construction started on the Leslie St. barns, one would be finished and the other would start. It wouldn’t be at the same time. It’s a very sad situation to have this going on on our waterfront in summer . . . it’s been a nightmare for so many people trying to use facilities on the waterfront.’’
Mark Trenton, the volunteer race director for the annual charity fundraiser A Midsummer Night’s Run, said he was told in April by Toronto city staff that his group would not be able to hold its Aug. 17 run in the Port Lands because the Cherry St. bridge would still be closed.
“They definitely knew in April,’’ said Trenton, who was luckily able to reschedule the run, now in its eighth year — expected to raise from $75,000 to $100,000 for the rheumatology department at SickKids — to Toronto Island.
He said he was also told verbally by city staff that construction on the bridge was being impacted by political wrangling about issues related to funding from different levels of government.