Toronto’s construction season traffic is ‘unacceptable.’ Is there a better way?

globalnews.ca:

construction season.Workers will be outside taking advantage of the weather to get all sorts of projects done, such as road maintenance and sewer upgrades.However, the season is notorious for its traffic congestion, and with the amount of work going on, planning experts say better execution is needed to reduce the impact on people’s lives.“Disruption for a day, week or month is understandable. Disruption for five years to your life is something unacceptable,” said Murtaza Haider, a professor of management at Toronto Metropolitan University and director of the Urban Analytics Institute.“The kind of systems we have put in place (and) the kind of oversights we have put in place are not necessarily conducive for rapid, fast execution and delivery of transit infrastructure or transportation infrastructure.”Every spring, construction crews take to the streets of many Ontario cities to begin work on projects, taking advantage of the warm weather because some work can’t be done during the cold months, said Matti Siemiatycki, a professor of geography and planning and director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto.Last year, work during Toronto’s construction season was pegged at $1.14 billion, and involved maintenance and upgrades to roads, bridges, expressways, TTC tracks, sewers and watermains.But nowadays, Toronto residents are beginning to see projects planned for year-round work.For example, parts of the city’s Gardiner Expressway were recently reduced by one lane in each direction for “critical rehabilitation work” over the next three years.