'It's hell-RT with a capital H': Bonnie Doon resident fed up with Valley Line construction

People living along 83rd Street in Bonnie Doonsay construction of the Valley Line LRTis making it hard to get in and out of their homes.

Since August, tenants at anapartment building on 85thAvenue have been forced to usea makeshift walkway to get outside after crewstore up the sidewalkand street.

KellyKadla said the construction is forcing tenantsto take alonger, meandering path to nearby amenities.

He is concerned several of his neighbours with mobility issues are having problems getting tothe grocery store in the Bonnie DoonShopping Centre.

"It's still across the street but you have to navigate yourself ten times the distance at least, to get to Safeway and then push your groceries back," hesaid.

Kadlahas complained to the city and TransEd, the consortium in charge ofconstruction, butsaid he hasn't had much response.

"These people are just simply frustrated that their quality of life has gone completely downhill," Kadla said. "It's Hell-RT with a capital H."

TransEdspokesperson Dean Heuman said he's heard from about 10 people living in abuilding where workersbuilt a plywood walkway from the front entrance to the back of the building.

Building a 13.8-kilometre project in an urban environmentis bound to cause disruption, Heuman said.

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"We understand people are upset and we understand that it takes great patience to get this project through."

Since the spring, crews have been ripping up pavement and sidewalks to perform worklike upgrading the piping in the drainage system.

"What comes after that is we start to put everything back together," Heuman said. "So I understand.I mean it's noisy.Itdefinitely can be dirty."

Heuman said TransEd tries to keep the construction zones as clean as it can using its own street sweepers.

Walk this way

Ruxandra Tomesco lives on 80th Avenue near 83rd Street. She said she could feel vibrations in her home some days last summer.

"During the day it was kind of stressful if you were at home and you just felt like your house is shaking," she said.

Tomesco walks to the mall to do her shopping. She thinks brighter signswould help pedestrians navigatea route that seems to frequently change.

Heuman said his crews inspect signage once a week and often have to replace ones that have been removed .

TransEdisalso getting ready for winter.

"We did put some stuff painted on the ground, which obviously does not work as well in winter time," Heumansaid. "We'll be going through and doing all of our winterization for all of these areas as well."

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Starting next year, heavy excavation work will be finished and crews will start lighter taskslike running rail and putting up poles.

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"You don't have excavators for that, you don't have a lot of machinery," Heuman said. "It's not large work, or as we call it 'earth works.'"

Kadla doesn't think the project is worth the anxiety and declining quality of life faced by residents.

"It's light-rail trauma...not light-rail transit," he said.

The southeast portion of Valley Line LRTfrom Mill Woods to downtownis scheduled to open in December 2020.

@natashariebe