Proposed Metrolinx plan could mean up to 400 dump trucks daily moving through Liberty Village

Despite the numerous restaurants and a vibrant community, the downtown Toronto neighbourhood of Liberty Village is probably best known for its traffic woes, and it seems like they just can’t catch a break.

During the summer, after much community outcry, a number of traffic mitigation efforts championed by ward councillor and deputy mayor Ausma Malik were put into place as the first steps in a larger traffic action plan that is being discussed at City Council this week. With the initial deployment of measures like traffic agents and signal timing modifications, she says there has been some improvement in what was once an unbearable situation.

But a proposed Metrolinx plan to use parts of the neighbourhood as a thoroughfare for dump trucks transporting soil during Ontario Line construction is now threatening to derail that progress.

“Right now there’s 25 to 40 dump trucks coming through here. Next year there will be anywhere from they said up to 300 to 400,” says Robert Howley, one of the founding directors of the Liberty Village Residents Association.

The plan, which has not been finalized yet, would see hundreds of dump trucks travelling daily on Strachan Avenue, East Liberty Street and Liberty Street, for several years. They will be transporting soil displaced from the boring of tunnels for the Ontario Line.

“This is our only thoroughfare … so the chaos is going to be something that’s really palpable for us,” says Howley. “The Ontario Line, when it’s done, is going to be fantastic. However, what everyone’s going to have to go through here and elsewhere along the line is very difficult.”

Malik says she’s actively working with all parties involved to find a solution.

“I’ve been at the table with community residents and with the Business Improvement Association (BIA) and city staff, making it absolutely clear that Metrolinx has to keep those dump trucks off of the main roads, East Liberty, Liberty, and especially Strachan, and have to bring forward a proposal that ensures that traffic and congestion is not exacerbated and worsened through the construction work that is necessary to bring the Ontario line forward,” she tells CityNews.

Howley adds that traffic congestion is not the only concern.

“The dump trucks are going to certainly cause more and more concern for the safety and wellbeing of the residents. And I’m concerned about all the businesses that are here too. They’ve been suffering through COVID and we want to make sure that they’re going to come out of this again,” he says.

Malik adds that increased noise levels and overall impact on quality of life in a densely populated and busy pocket of the city are major concerns.

“It is a growing neighborhood where people live, where they work. It’s one that has many major events that are hosted around it. It is a really important hub of activity and of life in the city of Toronto. And that has to be respected by Metrolinx’s choices,” she says.

A petition started by a Liberty Village resident to urge Metrolinx to find alternate routes or come up with other creative solutions has so far garnered more than 600 signatures.

In a statement, Metrolinx tells CityNews they are committed to listening to resident feedback “to ensure our plans provide the best possible outcomes for the community while allowing construction to continue.”

“As with any tunneling project, soil from the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) must be removed from the area as tunnelling occurs. This area is critically important for construction of the future Ontario Line subway as it is where the TBMs will launch and travel eastward under the downtown core,” they said.

“We are working with the Liberty Village BIA, and community members on soil removal to mitigate traffic impacts from our construction activities and any routes for removal will be determined based on comprehensive planning that considers the safest and most direct routes in and out of the area. While getting trucks in and out of the construction area is necessary for completion of the project, we are working to explore all options, including the best routes and methods for undertaking this work.”

Malik says their concerns have been made very clear to Metrolinx and they’re not backing down until a suitable compromise is reached.

“I chaired the Ontario Line Subcommittee at the start of my term, which laid out very clear expectations from the city about traffic management and construction mitigation when it comes to the Ontario Line construction work moving forward. And we are holding Metrolinx to those expectations,” she says. “What I want to see come forward, as do the residents, is a plan that ensures that we keep no or minimal trucks coming anywhere through the neighbourhood and that Metrolinx comes forward using other options to go around or under the neighborhood rather than going through and making the issues around safety and congestion worse.”

Some alternatives that Malik says could be considered are using the nearby rail corridor as an option.

“There is a road and a space where the construction is happening that is along the rail pathway in and around Liberty Village,” she says.

In addition, she says using other streets parallel to Liberty and East Liberty could be an option and city staff have made themselves available to help look into the feasibility of these alternatives

“Liberty Village, we know would be a site of construction as the line is being built. Now, what Metrolinx has in its hand is the choices around how that traffic is dealt with, whether it’s worsened or whether they manage it well, and whether the construction mitigation that the city has made it very clear that we expect is actually honoured in their actions,” says Malik. “The city has been pushing back with all the tools and the resources that we have to say ‘choose a better option for this community.’”