Metrolinx revises plan to move up to 400 dump trucks every day through Toronto neighbourhood

The CN Tower can be seen behind condos in Toronto's Liberty Village community in Toronto, Ontario on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

The residents of Liberty Village had their voices heard and, as a result, hundreds of Ontario Line construction dump trucks are no longer set to clog their main road.

In October, some Liberty Village locals expressed their concerns about Metrolinx's proposed plan to move up to 400 dump trucks through the neighbourhood's main thoroughfare, using them to transport soil along Strachan Gate to Hanna Avenue and Dufferin Street every day over the course of a couple of years.

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Residents raised concerns about this proposal – the neighbourhood was already plagued by heavy traffic congestion, with one local previously telling CTV News Toronto they felt "trapped" in their own community due to the congestion brought on by a myriad of factors, from Gardiner Expressway construction to nearby major events.

In last Wednesday's Construction Liaison Committee (CLC) meeting, Metrolinx brought forward changes to that plan that would mainly keep these trucks off their main roads.

"Advancing excavation work for the Ontario Line means we are making great progress on this much-needed project, but we understand the frustration caused with the increase in construction and are working directly with the community to mitigate where possible," a spokesperson for the transit agency said in a statement.

In tandem with the pressure applied by Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik and MPP Chris Glover, Liberty Village resident Heidi Kurien had launched a petition pleading with the transit agency to reconsider its plans and consider locals in their decision-making process. The petition garnered more than 1,100 signatures, and Kurien expressed her happiness that their voices were heard.

"I think the community is very happy, we're very happy," Kurien told CTV News Toronto in an interview on Thursday. "We felt that (the petition) actually helped make Metrolinx rethink the whole project."

Malik called it a success that they – local advocates, residents, and her Liberty Village Traffic Action Plan – were able to keep dump trucks off the community's streets and redevelop a "better" construction plan for Exhibition Station.

"I'm pleased that Metrolinx has proposed significant changes to their haul routes and reduction of the number of trucks during Ontario Line's Exhibition Station construction in response to the concerns raised," Malik said in a statement, pointing to Kurien's petition too.

"We need more transit options across the City and the Ontario Line will serve hundreds of thousands of residents including those in Liberty Village. As this important infrastructure gets built, Metrolinx must minimize disruptions and impacts to residents and businesses while it is constructed."

What are these new proposed changes?

Per Metrolinx's presentation, obtained by CTV News Toronto, the transit agency noted the city and community priorities of cutting down the use of the "highly congested" Liberty and East Liberty streets, as well as Strachan and Ordnance Street.

Instead, Metrolinx put forward seven alternatives to be considered, including building a conveyor built from east to west on Dufferin Street, moving construction spoil from north to south using a conveyor or tunnel, or only moving spoil by truck at night.

"As we shared at a recent community meeting, we are preparing a haul route option that uses Dufferin Street and will only use Hanna Avenue via East Liberty Street to support initial excavation work and other occasional needs," Metrolinx said.

"Strachan Avenue will only be used as a backup route when absolutely necessary – for example, when we need to deliver machines to the site. The majority of the hauling will take place using the new route that will connect to Dufferin Street."

Malik said she welcomes Metrolinx's reprioritization of what route dump trucks will use during construction and the transit network's cuts to the number of trucks being used overall.

Robert Howley, founding director of the Liberty Village Resident Association and who attended last week's CLC meeting, told CTV News Toronto that the number will be about 120 trucks, periodically.

"We're just quite encouraged by what happened at the last meeting, so we've got a higher bar, I guess, for the next meeting," Howley said in an interview on Thursday. "We're keeping working in a positive mindset."

The next meeting is set to take place in the new year, sometime in January. Both Howley and Kurien plan to attend, and plan to discuss the Dufferin Street Bridge and additional safety concerns.

"One of the things we proposed is that the 13-year-old temporary bridge, called the Dufferin Bridge, they're going to have to get it done sometime," Howley said. "So, we're putting pressure on Metrolinx and trying to get the city to chip in as well to get this thing done ASAP, and then you could have all these dump trucks come in and out through Dufferin and go and exit by way of the Exhibition."