The City of Toronto will perform significant road work in 2014, including road resurfacing projects, to continue improving road conditions for all users.
The City will spend more than $215 million this year to improve the quality of Toronto's roads, expressways and bridges. In 2013, Toronto Council approved a 10-year rehabilitation plan that will see $30 million a year in extra funding for the rehabilitation of major roadways across the city.
"It is critical that we continue to keep our roads and bridges in a state of good repair and Council's decision to provide more funding will allow us to fix more roads in our community," said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34 Don Valley West), Chair of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee.
Major road work planned for 2014 includes Markham Road from Kingston Road to Lawrence Avenue, Victoria Park Avenue from Eglinton Avenue to Lawrence Avenue, Wilson Avenue from Bathurst Street to Dufferin Street, Finch Avenue from Kipling Avenue to Highway 27, and Kipling Avenue from Bloor Street to Dixon Road.
In all, it is expected that the City will complete 185 kilometres of road resurfacing in 2014.
An additional $60 million will be spent on other work, including road work in conjunction with watermain and sewer replacement, as well as public realm initiatives such as boulevard greening and the installation of new planters and trees.
The City also wants to minimize disruption to the travelling public while fixing the roads.
"It is important to co-ordinate the work very carefully in order to keep disruptions to a minimum," said Councillor Minnan-Wong. "We will continue our efforts to make sure that road work, sidewalk repairs and routine maintenance, as well as work performed by utility and communications companies, continue to be managed effectively by the City."
The City has repaired an average of 200,000 potholes a year over the past five years. Residents are asked to use the City's online service at http://www.toronto.ca/311 to report potholes so crews can be assigned to fix them. On that web page, simply click on "roads" to create a pothole service request or click on "open 311API and mobile apps" to download a mobile app to a smartphone.
The many special events taking place in Toronto will also contribute to the roads being busy this spring and summer. Major annual events such as the Beaches Jazz Festival, the Pride Parade and the Honda Indy will take place, along with smaller festivals, street celebrations, road races and other community events.
As a resource to make it easier for motorists to find their way around Toronto's streets, the City web page at http://www.toronto.ca/torontostreets identifies ongoing and emergency road construction, travel conditions on City roads and special events.
In addition, the public can use the City's T.O. INview online map at http://www.toronto.ca/inview, which shows information about planned capital construction work taking place across the city.
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