The City of Toronto is planning to replace the aging watermains on Martin Grove Road from south of Savalon Court to Lorraine Gardens. Where the watermain crosses Mimico Creek, an alternate alignment is needed outside of the road right-of-way. The City is carrying out an Environmental Assessment to evaluate potential alignment options and identify a recommended alignment for the segment that will cross below the creek. Learn more about the watermain replacement.
The City is consulting the pubic on two proposed road safety improvements:
Provide feedback through the online feedback survey, or submit a print-friendly version of the survey by mail or email.
Learn more about this public consultation and the options that are being considered in the Project Information tab below. If you have questions, contact Pubic Consultation staff by phone or email.
The comment period for this consultation closes December 21, 2020.
If you would like to receive updates about these projects, email MartinGrove@toronto.ca.
December 7, 2020
Presentations and Question & Answer sessions
A Virtual Public Meeting was held on December 7, 2020, to share information about the options that are being considered for road safety improvements on Rathburn Road and Martin Grove Road, and the options for realigning the watermain below Mimico Creek.
The presentations included information about the reconstruction of the intersection of Martin Grove Road and Rathburn Road and the watermain replacement from Rathburn Road to Lorraine Gardens.
Public Notice (November 19, 2020)
If you were unable to attend the meeting, you can view the presentation and submit questions or comments to the project team by phone or email.
The City is consulting the public about proposed road safety improvements on Martin Grove Road and on Rathburn Road:
In addition to the proposed projects, the City is planning to reconstruct the intersection of Martin Grove Road and Rathburn Road with a new design, following the completion of the watermain work in 2022.
These planned and proposed improvements would:
In 2020, painted buffers were added to the existing bike lanes on Rathburn Road from Martin Grove Road to approximately 100 metres east of The East Mall as part of road resurfacing work.
The City is proposing to add physical separation to the existing buffered bike lanes on this section of Rathburn Road in 2021.
Physical separation is being proposed to improve the safety and comfort of people cycling, to reduce speeding, and to encourage more people to cycle. Design guidelines and international best practice recommend physical separation between people cycling and people driving when traffic exceeds 6,000 vehicles/day. When physical separation is present, drivers are more cautious, vehicle speeds are lower, and people cycling feel safer. On this section of Rathburn Road, the volume of traffic is between 9,000 and 12,000 vehicles/day.
Two design options for physical separation on Rathburn Road are being proposed. With both options, the city is proposing to reduce the speed limit from 50 km/hr to 40 km/hr from The East Mall to Edenwood Drive.
Pre-cast concrete curbs with flexible posts (bollards)
Pre-cast low profile barriers with reflectors and hazard bollards
With both options:
View the proposed locations pre-cast concrete curbs (Option A) and proposed locations of pre-cast low profile barriers (Option B). If you need assistance with these files, please contact us.
The City is proposing to install separated bike lanes on both sides of Martin Grove Road from Rathburn Road to approximately 100 metres north of Burnhamthorpe Road in 2022.
The Council-approved Cycling Network Plan outlines the City’s planned investments in cycling infrastructure from 2019 to 2021 and beyond. The plan identifies new cycling infrastructure on Martin Grove Road south of Rathburn Road. The separated bike lanes that are currently being proposed would establish one section of a future proposed bikeway connecting the existing bike lanes on Rathburn Road and the West Deane Trail with the future Kipling Transit Hub at Dundas St. West.
Two design options are being considered for Martin Grove Road from Rathburn Road to 100 metres north of Burnhamthorpe Road.
With both options, the existing ‘No parking’ regulation on this segment of Martin Grove Road would become ‘No stopping’.
Both design options ensure that City services, including snow clearing and waste collection, will be maintained.
A number of key factors have been considered in the development of the design options, including:
The design options for the segment of Martin Grove from Rathburn Road to Donalbert Road (Segment 1) are being considered separately from the segment from Donalbert Road to 100 metres north of Burhamthorpe Road (Segment 2) because of differences in the width of the road.
With this option, the painted centre median and concrete traffic islands would be removed.
With this option, the painted centre median and three of the four concrete traffic islands would remain.
For Segment 1, Option A (cycle track) is the design preferred by City staff. It is anticipated to have greater traffic calming effects than Option B and would provide greater safety for people cycling.
View the proposed pavement marking plan and proposed location of pre-cast concrete curbs with bollards for Segment 1:
For Segment 2, Option B (buffered bike lane) is the design preferred by City staff because the proposed buffer would not be wide enough to easily accommodate snow storage. The curb-to-curb width of the road in Segment 2 would limit the width of the buffer to 0.5 metres.
View the proposed pavement marking plan and proposed location of pre-cast concrete curbs with bollards for Segment 2:
In 2017, a Transportation Safety Local Improvement Project (TSLIP) was programmed for the intersection of Martin Grove Road and Rathburn Road in response to a high number of motor vehicle collisions and resident concerns about speeding. In 2018, interim measures were put in place to improve road safety until more permanent improvements could be implemented. A portion of the southwest corner was painted out and flexible posts (bollards) were installed to adjust the radius of the corner, and a painted median and concrete traffic islands were installed on Martin Grove Road from Rathburn Road to Donalbert Road to narrow vehicle lanes and reduce speeding.
A new design for the intersection has been created that will maintain and enhance the traffic calming effects achieved by the temporary measures and increase the safety of road users, particularly the most vulnerable.
The planned changes include measures from the City’s Vision Zero Road Safety Plan, which aims to reduce traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries.
The new design will involve
Reconstruction of the intersection is anticipated to begin in Spring 2022.
December 2020: City staff will review public feedback on the proposed road safety improvements and design options, and will make changes to the designs, if necessary.
March 2021: The final recommended improvements will be presented to the Infrastructure & Environment Committee of City Council (IEC) for consideration.
Spring 2021: Installation of physical separation on Rathburn Road (pending IEC approval)
Summer 2021: Anticipated start of watermain replacement on Martin Grove Road
Spring 2022: Anticipated start of reconstruction work at Martin Grove and Rathburn Road, and installation of separated bike lanes on Martin Grove Road (pending IEC approval).
Cycling is one of the fastest growing transportation modes in Toronto. The City is working to make travel by bike safer and more inviting for everyone. Making it easier for people to choose to cycle helps ease congestion on streets and on transit, creates a cleaner environment, and promotes a healthier public. The City supports cycling by building and maintaining bike lanes and multi-use trails, installing bike parking facilities, distributing bike network maps, and carrying out other campaigns and projects to promote cycling confidence and safe road use behaviour.
Planning for bike lanes is part of an integrated transportation planning approach called “Complete Streets”. The City’s Council-approved Cycling Network Plan identifies planned investments in cycling infrastructure from 2019 to 2021 and beyond. Martin Grove Road is identified in the plan for ‘near term’ implementation of new cycling infrastructure south of Rathburn Road.
In addition, City policies, such as the Transform TO Climate Action Strategy prioritize walking and cycling for shorter-distance trips. For people to choose cycling instead of driving, they need to feel safe while cycling, and the trip must be more convenient by bike.
Parking and stopping are not permitted in a bike lane or a cycle track. On Martin Grove Road, the existing ‘No Parking’ regulation would be changed to ‘No Stopping’ on both sides of the road for the full length of the proposed cycle track and buffered bike lane, from Rathburn Road to 100 metres north of Burnhampthorpe Road.
Drivers who need to stop temporarily to make a delivery, load or unload items or passengers, should use side streets in the area. Emergency vehicles and Wheel Trans vehicles are permitted to stop in a bike lane.
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