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St Lawrence Market


I have more time for 'Andrews' POV than I do KWT's.

There is no post-mortem required. Hydro failed. Fire the responsible parties.

I'm not a reactionary; I get that people make mistakes.

Hydro had years on this project, because of delays they caused.

Excuses at this point hold zero weight.

The way to prevent recurrence is to end people's careers and let it be known this type of failure will not be excused.

****

That aside, 'Andrew' is right that the sidewalk is incomplete, unsafe and largely unsuitable to patios.

Whatever mistakes were made are fixable in real time.

Make a decision on where things belong NOW.

Get it done.

Go 24/7.

Delaying completion by a year compounds the mistake.
 
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Just got a 'statement' from the City but note that it is dated BEFORE Toronto Hydro stated that they can 'get things going again". This whole thing smells like a week-old fish. I have been promised additional info that I will share.

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So, what exactly was the unexpected infrastructure? Could it have been the secret tunnel between the Gooderham Building and the Bank of Toronto that used to sit on the northwest corner of Church and Wellington?
 
So, what exactly was the unexpected infrastructure? Could it have been the secret tunnel between the Gooderham Building and the Bank of Toronto that used to sit on the northwest corner of Church and Wellington?
Seems like the only possibility. Toronto Water, Enbridge, Toronto Hydro and all the telecom companies have been digging up these blocks since 2013 and all their infrastructure is new. If the City does not know about what's where for infrastructure built in the last decade we are in worse shape than I thought. Wong-Tam's statement of 15th makes little sense. She said "Sidewalks and roadways in Toronto have significant underground infrastructure buried from a long time ago, especially prevalent in some of the oldest segments of the city. Unexpected underground infrastructure has forced the City to take pause and find a resolution." I call 'nonsense"!
 
If they pave that sidewalk as marked out, the Flatiron patio should be great this summer, though obviously it usually depends on office lunch and after work traffic, which won't be there this summer.
 
If they pave that sidewalk as marked out, the Flatiron patio should be great this summer, though obviously it usually depends on office lunch and after work traffic, which won't be there this summer.
Yes, but it would have been FAR better to do the damned thing properly NOW so that it could get its trees this fall or next spring and so that in 2022 there could be a full patio there all summer. Now work is stopped they have a poor patio this summer and none for most of next.
 
Yes, but it would have been FAR better to do the damned thing properly NOW so that it could get its trees this fall or next spring and so that in 2022 there could be a full patio there all summer. Now work is stopped they have a poor patio this summer and none for most of next.
Obviously this whole thing is a giant clusterf*ck, but I'm trying to find a silver lining!
 
The St Lawrence Neighbourhood Assn has requested a meeting with the Mayor and Wong-Tam.

"Dear Mayor Tory and Councillor Wong-Tam,

The St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association and all affected residents are profoundly disappointed with the recent decision by the City’s Transportation Services and Engineering Construction Services to halt the re-construction of Wellington Street for yet another year.
Equally, the Association is profoundly disappointed with the way information regarding this decision has been communicated. No warning, no discussion with the neighbourhood; done deal!
Finally, we note that the details surrounding and resulting in the stoppage are anything but clear. Late last week it was approvals from Toronto Hydro that were the cause; yesterday it was “unexpected underground infrastructure”; this morning it is “complex underground infrastructure located under the road surface”.
In the Councillor’s statement dated yesterday, much is made of the opportunity this presents for (approximately eight) restaurants to open patios this summer; no mention is made, at all, of the further prolonged impact of this delay on residents in the area.
This is shameful and embarrassing performance on the part of the City. The street has been dug up multiple times in the course of executing this complex project. That a surprise of this magnitude should arise at this eleventh hour is very difficult to understand, and should not be excused.
The St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association and its members are entitled to all the facts, and the underlying rationale leading to this further delay.
We request an immediate meeting with your office, Mr. Mayor, with the Councillor, and with any and all City staff that can assist in putting the requested information before us.
 
I just got this from Toronto Hydro! Did the City shut down the project so that a few restaurants could have patios in 2021 and 'blamed the usual suspects" - Toronto Hydro? A VERY expensive and underhand way to support restaurants!

Hi David,


There seems to be some misinformation about Toronto Hydro’s role in the Wellington streetscaping project. We had provided the City with the information they needed to proceed with their construction. However, following this, the City decided to postpone their work activities until spring 2022. Toronto Hydro was surprised by this decision as much as the community; however, we’re committed to continuing to work with the City in supporting this project.

Kind regards,


Cindy

Cindy Brooks


Government and Public Affairs Consultant
Office of the President
Toronto Hydro | 14 Carlton Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1K5
T: 416-542-3186 | C: 416-903-0207

www.torontohydro.com
 
I just got this from Toronto Hydro! Did the City shut down the project so that a few restaurants could have patios in 2021 and 'blamed the usual suspects" - Toronto Hydro? A VERY expensive and underhand way to support restaurants!

Hi David,


There seems to be some misinformation about Toronto Hydro’s role in the Wellington streetscaping project. We had provided the City with the information they needed to proceed with their construction. However, following this, the City decided to postpone their work activities until spring 2022. Toronto Hydro was surprised by this decision as much as the community; however, we’re committed to continuing to work with the City in supporting this project.

Kind regards,


Cindy

Cindy Brooks


Government and Public Affairs Consultant
Office of the President
Toronto Hydro | 14 Carlton Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1K5
T: 416-542-3186 | C: 416-903-0207

www.torontohydro.com

What the everliving @#$# is going on here?

****

PS, @DSC thanks for your activism and sleuthing on this file!
 
This statement below was just issued by Wong-Tam's office. It raises yet more questions. Now the problem is not only Hydro! There is a VERY strong smell around this whole thing!

The Wellington Street Streetscape project has been planned since at least 2010 (yes 2010) and the City and the utilities (water, sewer, hydro, gas and telecoms) have all been there upgrading their underground equipment and pipes & conduits. I am not sure what 'unexpected" things they have now found!

"June 15, 2021
My Statement About the Wellington Street East Construction
Last week my office was informed that Transportation Services and Engineering and
Construction Services jointly decided to halt ongoing streetscape construction on
Wellington Street East between Yonge Street and Church Street until the Spring of
2022. In the interim, I have asked City staff to work with the St. Lawrence Market
Neighbourhood Business Improvement Area (BIA) to make this summer’s streetscape
condition as welcoming as possible and to permit CafeTO patios for those restaurants that
can now also take advantage of the construction delays.
While Wellington construction was originally scheduled to be completed this
September, I'm advised that unanticipated and ongoing challenges have resulted in
City staff’s decision to delay construction one more year. Sidewalks and roadways in
Toronto have significant underground infrastructure buried from a long time ago, especially
prevalent in some of the oldest segments of the city. Unexpected underground infrastructure
has forced the City to take pause and find a resolution. Left unresolved and without a clear
timeline for resolution, the contractor on-site essentially ran out of work they could
complete. In addition, City staff heard a number of concerns from businesses along
Wellington Street East and Front Street East that were unhappy about the ongoing
construction on Wellington this summer. Operating a successful patio this season is critical
and it could mean the difference between staying in business or shuttering their doors
forever. City staff will use this delay to resolve the infrastructure challenge while permitting
eligible local businesses to proceed with CafeTO installations this year.
The contractor for the Wellington Street East work will be demobilizing, removing
on-site equipment and construction materials by June 19, 2021. The plan is for the
contractor to return in April 2022, and spend approximately three months to finish this work
by July and well before the end of next summer. City staff will be working to see if
construction can resume earlier than April, weather permitting, to avoid heavy construction
work next summer.
If there is a sliver of positive outcome to the regrettable delays on Wellington, it is to
the restaurant owners who reached out to my office and City staff concerned that
ongoing construction would delay any implementation of CafeTO and cause
disruptions for patio patrons. City staff will use this deferred construction to implement
CafeTO patios immediately where requested, and will work with restaurants who were not
anticipating the ability to operate a patio to see if one can be accommodated. City staff are
now hopeful these CafeTO patios can be in place on or shortly after June 20, 2021 once the
streetscaping contractor has vacated the area.
Staff have also indicated that deferring construction until 2022 is the least intrusive
and most cost-effective measure to complete this streetscaping project. Pausing work
indefinitely to keep the contractor on-site would incur significant additional costs, and would
ensure Wellington Street East would remain a construction zone for the duration of the
summer with no guarantee the work could be completed this year.
While construction is delayed, I have asked staff to work closely with the St.
Lawrence Market Neighbourhood BIA to assist businesses through this interim
period. I have spoken to many of you and share your frustrations. My office will continue to
advocate with City staff for as much business assistance as reasonable through this period.
Shortly after I took office in the new Ward 13 at the end of 2018, the St. Lawrence
Market Neighbourhood BIA reached out about the pre-existing challenges on
Wellington Street East, which at the time was subject to utility work in advance of
approved streetscape work. Through my Motion to City Council, I directed the creation of a
working group with the expressed purpose of coordinating technical infrastructure work in a
timely fashion. My motion was both a recognition of the complexity of coordinating multiple
utilities, telecommunications, TTC infrastructure, and subsequent upgraded streetscape
work while acknowledging this work had not proceeded in a timely manner.
Construction on Wellington Street East, as originally envisioned, was to be a model
of proper coordination of utilities and streetscape work that could save both time and
money while leaving an attractive, safer streetscape for everyone. Instead, the work
has dragged on for approximately seven years and forced residents and businesses to deal
with many years of construction impacts. There is no shortage of streets that could be
transformed like Wellington Street East, but if this is the construction coordination model,
such streetscape improvements will be much harder to promote to residents and
businesses alike. I will be asking City staff to perform a post mortem of this project to
understand everything that went wrong, and to try ensure the painful experience of
Wellington is not repeated."

Maybe they found the Ark, Jimmy Hoffa's body and King Solomon's Mines?

I just got this from Toronto Hydro! Did the City shut down the project so that a few restaurants could have patios in 2021 and 'blamed the usual suspects" - Toronto Hydro? A VERY expensive and underhand way to support restaurants!

Hi David,


There seems to be some misinformation about Toronto Hydro’s role in the Wellington streetscaping project. We had provided the City with the information they needed to proceed with their construction. However, following this, the City decided to postpone their work activities until spring 2022. Toronto Hydro was surprised by this decision as much as the community; however, we’re committed to continuing to work with the City in supporting this project.

Kind regards,


Cindy

Cindy Brooks


Government and Public Affairs Consultant
Office of the President
Toronto Hydro | 14 Carlton Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1K5
T: 416-542-3186 | C: 416-903-0207

www.torontohydro.com

That might be a factually correct response that doesn't answer the question as to their role, if any, in this - when is that information provided, in the context of the city's construction schedule, vis-a-vis their target completion date?

AoD
 

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