Tuesday, 13 December 2011 17:10

Could a new street actually slow down commuter traffic when it’s intended purpose is to relieve the traffic congestion in Liberty Village? A new street in the southern part of the neighbourhood is proposed to relieve the stop and go traffic in the community of Liberty Village. The new proposed road would run east-west, between Strachan and Dufferin, just above the Hamilton GO tracks north of the Gardiner. Property owners have been telling the Toronto Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) that tenants are becoming increasingly hard to land in the area. No one is taking up residence – because no one can get in and out.

But is the new east-west planned road the decongestant that Liberty Village needs?

Liberty Village prides itself in being able to offer that close knit ‘village’ feel. The narrow streets and the little cul-de-sacs that run north-south, ending just before the railway tracks north of the Gardiner, are what lend to the charm of Liberty Village. It offers an exclusivity that allows Liberty Village to feel an intimate connection to its community.However, this leaves Liberty/East Liberty street as being the only means of east-west access through the area.

On top of all this, there is a condo boom inviting more residents into an already well established residential area. There is also a flourishing business area with the morning and evening rush hour traffic of office workers, as well as the Canada Bread Plant on Fraser that is the main cause for transport trucks using the road as a thoroughfare. This is the amount of traffic on a good day. Whenever an event is going on, such as the Ex, a concert or a sporting event at the BMO field south of Liberty Village at the CNE grounds, the roads leading up to and into Liberty Village become nearly impassable. Usually heavy police presence is needed in attendance to ensure that traffic moves at all.

The proposed road would offer a connection of all the dead end east-west streets in the south end, providing two options of through travel instead of continuously congesting Liberty/East Liberty street, which stands as the only current passable way. The new road would offer a better connection to Dufferin street with an extra wide sidewalk on the north side and a cyclist path and trail for pedestrians on the south side.

It all sounds well and good, and of course if things went according to plan this new road should be a shoe-in for “yes” votes. But the current residents and office workers of Liberty Village aren’t so sure. Even regardless of public opinion, the plan still currently sits at the Environmental Assessment stage, though Armstrong doubts the City has the money to fund the street’s construction if approved.

We could have some really high profile business opportunities here. But people don’t want to relocate to Liberty Village because of the transportation issues. No one can get in, or out. This ease of mobility is crucial for businesses – they need to know that the traffic will be in their stores. Not their streets.

Emily Karpazis