Smooth on Steeles

[attach]1756[/attach]Motorists who use Steeles Avenue will have reason to be a little happier this summer.

In the midst of repairing 28 kilometres of the road that forms the city’s northern border, the city has now completed its work stretching from Highway 400 to Victoria Park.

“We recognize that Steeles Avenue is a major gateway for York (Region) and Toronto residents and we’re working cooperatively to ensure this portion of Steeles is properly rehabilitated to ensure that the public users, both vehicles and transit can benefit,” said Hector Moreno, manager of road operations in North York.

Long considered one of the worst roads in the city, Steeles was voted the worst road in Ontario in 2009 in an annual survey conducted by the Canadian Automobile Association. Moreno said aside from a portion of the road between Bathurst and Hilda that was resurfaced in 2003, it had been roughly 30 years since Steeles had seen a repaving.

“We’ve received quite a number of good reports both from commuters coming in from York Region and Toronto residents (about the repairs),” Moreno said.

At a total cost of $16 million, the resurfacing work is expected to keep the street in good shape for eight to 10 years on the low end and 12 to 14 years on the high end, he said.

The remainder of the resurfacing, which will see the road fixed from Albion Road all the way to Kennedy Road is expected to be completed by mid July.

In the meantime, another busy stretch of road in North York will also get a facelift. Starting June 10, work will begin to resurface Yonge Street from Steeles to Finch Avenue.

“It’s quite a monumental task,” said Moreno. “Our game plan is to complete a project that would normally have taken us two months, in 10 days to three weeks.”

Moreno estimated the busy stretch of Yonge is travelled by roughly 200 buses a day and said 90 percent of the work would be completed at night in order to minimize traffic disruption.

“We’re working at quite a high speed to try and bring this project to a close. There’s a lot of cooperation from all the utilities and even the contractors to try and make this happen,” he said.

The city is aiming to complete the Yonge resurfacing by June 20.

[attach]1757[/attach]Car—and reporter —most thankful

I like to think I’m a person who takes good care of his vehicle. I go for regular maintenance, check my oil and tire pressure and occasionally splurge on the deluxe option at the car watch. But try as I may, there are always forces working to undo my good
vehicular maintenance; freak hail storms, snow, bird droppings and roads so riddled with potholes, patches and bumps that I feel as if
I’m driving on the moon. Sadly, Toronto has no shortage of roads such as these.

The city has the dubious distinction of owning eight of the 20 roads voted as the worst in Ontario in the Canadian Automobile
Association’s 2009 annual survey.

More than a mere annoyance that causes occasional coffee spills, these roads can cause serious damage. On its website, the CAA lists cost estimates for various road-related damages a car might incur. Wheel alignment and suspension problems are among the issues that can easily run up a bill totalling hundreds of dollars in repairs.

For as long as I can remember in my decade-long driving career, Steeles Avenue has been a road to avoid.

So it was with no shortage of delight and glee that I greeted the smooth, deep black surface my car’s wheels met this spring turning onto the newly resurfaced road. Cruising along with the window down, I felt the calming effect of travelling along a straight road without sudden changes in altitude. Even sections of the road that have long reminded me of amusement park rides reserved for the tallest of riders are now negotiated as smoothly as a puck across an ice rink.

In a city that’s learned to lower its expectations when infrastructure projects are announced, it’s nice to know some things can still get done. Both my car and I will be happier for it this summer.

— Joshua Freeman