Toronto residents detail Metrolinx construction pains

It's been full steam ahead for Metrolinx's Ontario Line, but some of the residents near the under-construction Pape stop say they're feeling railroaded by the provincial transit agency.

"The construction is 24/7, so our bed vibrates," said nearby resident Adam Cawley. "We have floodlights that shine right into our windows and they're just on all the time. We can't open our windows because dust clouds come into the house. When we're working, often the internet just cuts out."

Cawley and many of his neighbours in the Pape-Danforth areahave complained to their local city councillor, Paula Fletcher. She says city staff have been working with the agency on a daily basis, trying to get Metrolinx to force its contractors to mitigate the problems, but it's a tough go.

"They're a provincial agency. They don't always have to agree," Fletcher said.

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A spokesperson for Metrolinx wouldn't agree to an on-camera interview with CBC Toronto, but said in a statement the agencyhas been working hard to meet the residents' demands for less disruption by doing things like scheduling noisier activities for daytime hours.

"Currently, at this specific location, we are implementing several mitigations to address dust concerns in the area," the spokesperson's statement says. "This includes changing our site entrances to reduce dirt tracked out; watering down trucks regularly; flushing roads with water after work hours; and manually removing residual site dirt, with specific emphasis on bike lanes."

The statement also says the agency is giving out car wash vouchers to residents.

"In addition, we have several noise and vibration monitors in place to ensure that construction impacts stay within acceptable levels."

Stacey Reid, who lives a few blocks away from the construction site on the north side of DanforthAvenue,just east of Pape Avenue, says her biggest worry is the additional traffic the site has brought to the neighbourhood.

She said heavy trucks rumble through nearby streets, impairing lines of sight for pedestrians and trafficand blocking bike lanes.

"My kids are walking to school every day. What are they going to encounter?" Reid said."I'm really afraid somebody is going to be hit or killed."

Cawley also singled out the truck traffic, saying, too often, drivers associated with the project park in bike lanes or otherwise impede neighbourhood traffic.

"There's more (vehicles), more people, but less space," he said.

The area's MPP, Peter Tabuns (TorontoDanforth), says he went door-to-door in the neighbourhood last weekendand noticed dust falling "like snow."

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In addition to noise, traffic and vibration complaints, he said he'salso hearing about basement flooding that some neighbours near the site believe has been brought on by contractors blocking drain covers.

"No one is saying they shouldn't be building," Tabuns said. "The question is: are you putting in place the policies and procedures that could minimize the harm?"

With the start of work earlier this month on an Ontario Line bridge across the Don Valley, work had begun on all projects along the line's 15-stop, 15.6-km length. It's scheduled to be completed in 2031, at which time it will connect the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in the northeast with Exhibition Place in the southwest. Pape Station will be the transfer point travellers will use to switch to and from the TTC's Line 2.

Metrolinx construction work on the Ontario Line has raised questions from city councillors before.

At a January meeting of the Toronto and East York Community Council, Coun. Ausma Malik, whose Spadina-Fort York ward includes the site of the new Exhibition station, said Metrolinx needs to do more to communicate its plans more clearly.

Work on the Pape stop began in July. Residents say problems with noise, dust, vibration and added traffic cropped up almost immediatelyand have persisted, even though Metrolinx has taken some measures to mitigate the issues.

"We recognize that construction of this magnitude is disruptive, and we want to assure residents that we work continuously with our contractor to implement all possible mitigations based on community feedback," the Metrolinxspokesperson said in a statement. "This includes, where possible adjusting our site operations and work processes to reduce disruptions; using less disruptive equipment; and ensuring adequate set back distances between noisy equipment and residential properties."

Cawley and Reid agree that transit needs to be built, and construction means disruption. However, both said Metrolinx should do more to communicate with residents.

"The lack of communication, it's very demoralizing," Cawley said.

Reid says she's also been frustrated in her attempts to get answers from Metrolinx.

"They tell us to fill out forms," she said.

Although Metrolinx has a community liaison team in place, Fletcher says Metrolinx needs a representative on site during the day so residents' concerns can be addressed in real time.

"Our community engagement staff are consistently on site and throughout the community, working with local residents," the Metrolinx spokesperson said.

Previously, an agency spokesperson had pledged to"continue to share important updates with the community and welcome feedback from residents."