Staff Report #13
April 13, 2023
To All Commissioners
Re: Impact of 2023 Road Construction – Conventional Transit Service
Recommendation
The report be NOTED and FILED.
Background
As has been the case over the past number of years, the City of London will be undertaking a large number of construction projects during the 2023 construction season, many of which will have impacts to transit routes and schedule adherence. The city has released the major construction projects that are currently planned to take place during the 2023 construction season. 16 of the major construction projects are anticipated to have impacts on transit service resulting in detours and/or stop closures. Table I below, sets out the major Rapid Transit and road renewal projects that will have an impact on transit in 2023
Table I – 2023 Transit Impacts of Summer Construction Projects
| Project Description | Location | Duration | Impacted Routes |
| Adelaide Street Underpass | Adelaide between Central and Piccadilly | Construction began in 2022 and is anticipated to be completed in 2025 | 16, 92 |
| Downtown Loop Phase II | Queens Ave between Wellington and Ridout | Construction began in 2022, anticipated to be completed end of July 2023 | 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 19, 20, 90, 94, 102 & 106 |
| Downtown Loop Phase III | Wellington between York and Queens | April- December 2023 | 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 19, 20, 90, 94, 106 |
| Wellington Gateway Phase I | Wellington between York and just north of the Thames River | March- December 2023 | 1, 13 & 90 |
| East London Link Phase I | King Street between Wellington and Lyle | Construction work started in 2022, anticipated to be completed in 2023 | 7 |
| East London Link Phase II | –King Street between Lyle and Ontario
–Ontario between King and Dundas –Dundas between Ontario and Egerton |
March- December 2023 | 2, 20, 94 |
| Victoria Bridge Replacement | Ridout between Ingleside and Horton | Construction began in 2022 and is anticipated to be completed by fall 2023 | 4, 15, & 104 |
| Fanshawe & Richmond Intersection Improvements | –Richmond– Jacksway to the north leg of North Centre Road
–Fanshawe- between the east and west legs of north Centre Road |
Spring 2023 to Fall 2024 | 10, 13, 16, 19, 25, 34, 92, & 93 |
| Southdale and Colonel Talbot Roundabout | Start in Spring 2023 | 24 | |
| Quebec Street Infrastructure Renewal | Quebec Street between Oxford and the CPR tracks | April 17 to Fall 2023 | 20 |
| Platts Lane Infrastructure Renewal | Cherryhill Place to Oxford | Spring to Fall 2023 | 9, 20, 33 & the Community Bus Routes |
| Southdale Road West & Bostwick Road Improvements | -Southdale– between Pine Valley Blvd and 300m west of Bostwick
-Bostwick– Southdale to 130m south of Southdale |
Spring 2022 to Fall 2023 | 15 |
| Project Description | Location | Duration | Impacted Routes |
| Regent St and William St Phase II | –Regent from William to Maitland
-William– from Huron to Regent |
Spring 2022 with finishing work in 2023 | 27 |
In addition to the Rapid Transit Projects and road renewal work, there are also a number of cycling projects that will be occurring in 2023 that will have impact on transit, as set out in Table II below.
Table II- 2023 Transit Impacts of Cycling Infrastructure Projects
| Project Description | Location | Duration | Impacted Routes |
| Bradley Ave Cycle Track | Bradley between Jalna and Wellington | Summer to Fall 2023 | 28, 93 |
| Cheapside Cycling Improvements | Cheapside between Richmond and Adelaide | Summer to Fall 2023 | 1, 15 |
| North Extension of the Colborne Street Bike Lanes | Colborne between Oxford and Cheapside | Summer to Fall 2023 | 1 |
A number of the construction projects this year will have impacts on multiple routes and the overall impacts of the construction are anticipated to cause schedule adherence issues for surrounding routes. Additionally, as was the case over the past four years, the construction work in the downtown will have a significant impact on reliability for all routes travelling through the core area.
There are also a number of traffic signal projects planned for this year to update existing traffic signals as well as install new signals. Many of these projects are anticipated to have schedule adherence impacts to the route traveling through the intersections; however, the impacts are not anticipated to be long term.
Detours
Set out below are details of the upcoming construction projects that are underway or are scheduled to commence in the coming days, and their related impacts.
Quebec Street Infrastructure Renewal
Construction on Quebec between Oxford and the CP Tracks is set to begin on Monday April 17. This project, combined with the existing detour in place for the East London Link construction, will have significant impacts to Route 20. With Quebec closed north of the tracks and Dundas closed between Ontario and Egerton for East London Link, Route 20 will be detoured to York/Florence between William and Highbury for the duration of the project. In order to maintain service through the Mornington area, a special Construction Tripper will be added during all operating periods. The tripper will operate between Fanshawe College and the Mornington area to connect with the mainline Route 20 for passengers to be able to complete their travels. While this approach will result in passengers having to transfer to complete their trips, it is the only option available that allows service to be provided into the Mornington area due to the limited detour options as a result of significant construction happening in this area. There will not be any transit service provided along Quebec during the infrastructure renewal work. Construction is currently scheduled to continue until the end of October, however finishing work is not anticipated to be completed until December.
Downtown Loop Phase II
Construction on Phase II of the Downtown Loop along Queens Ave between Wellington and Ridout, started in the 2022 construction season. Due to construction delays the project was not able to be completed last year and as such has carried over into the 2023 construction season.
Construction resumed on March 1 with the full closure of Queens Ave between Wellington and Clarence. Additional work will also be occurring at the Queens and Richmond intersection as well as finishing work west of Richmond. In order to provide a consistent detour throughout the construction period, reducing confusion for passengers, all 12 routes normally operating on Queens will be detoured to Dufferin between Waterloo and Ridout.
Queens Ave is scheduled to be reopened on July 31.
East London Link Phase II
East London Link Phase II involves construction on King between Lyle and Ontario, Ontario between King and Dundas and Dundas between Ontario and Egerton. Construction began on March 13 with the main impact to transit being the full closure of Dundas between Ontario and Egerton, resulting in the need to detour Routes 2, 20 and 94.
Routes 2 and 94 are detoured to Florence/York between Kellogg Lane and William in both directions. As a result of other planned construction in the area during the 2023 construction season as well as operational turning impacts, the detour extends past the limits of the construction zone.
Route 20 is detoured via Queens Ave between Quebec and Adelaide in the westbound direction. Due to the protected bike lanes on Queens Ave and the inability for the bus to access the curb, temporary stops are not able to be installed for safety and accessibility reasons. Although temporary stops cannot be installed, due to limited detour options in the area this is the best routing for the westbound buses.
Eastbound buses will follow the same detour as Routes 2 and 94 and then travel via Charlotte, Princess to Quebec.
The construction is anticipated to be completed in December 2023
Downtown Loop Phase III
Phase III of the Downtown Loop, Wellington between York and Queens, is scheduled be begin construction early April. Construction work will be divided into phases with one lane of traffic being maintained northbound and southbound throughout the duration.
As there will only be a single lane in each direction, all transit stops within the construction zone will be closed. In an effort to reduce impacts on schedule adherence as well as provide transit stops between York and Queens, buses normally travelling north and south on Wellington will be detoured to Waterloo.
Additionally, with the lane shifts that will be required for the construction, it will not be operationally feasible for buses travelling eastbound on King to turn onto Wellington and as such these route will also be detoured to Waterloo.
Construction is anticipated to continue until the end of December.
Wellington Gateway I
Construction on the first phase of the Wellington Gateway Rapid Transit Leg commenced in mid-March, with work taking place between York and the Thames River (north of Grand). As Wellington only has a single vehicle lane in each direction within the limits of the construction work, all northbound and southbound stops in this area are closed for the duration of the project.
Routes 13 and 90 are detoured via Grand, Carfrae/Richmond to maintain schedule adherence and provide stop locations for passengers. Route 1 will maintain regular routing along Wellington in order to continue to access South Street, Grey Street, and Colborne, noting that there will not be stops on Wellington for Route 1 during construction.
Construction is anticipated to continue until the end of December.
Victoria Bridge
Work continues on the Victoria Bridge reconstruction, with a full closure of Ridout Street. Routes 4, 15 and 104 continue to detour via Grand, Carfrae/Richmond. Work is anticipated to be completed in fall 2023.
Adelaide Street North Underpass
Construction began on the Adelaide Street underpass on April 21, 2022. The temporary by-pass road was opened on September 14, 2022, providing a single lane of traffic on Adelaide between Central and McMahen Street through McMahen Park. As there is only a single lane of traffic, temporary bus stops have not been implemented on the temporary by-pass road. Passengers have been directed to catch the bus at the closest stops north and south of the construction area. The work is currently scheduled to continue through summer 2025.
Communications
The underlying goals with respect to communication regarding detours are to provide passengers and Operators with as much information as far in advance as possible, noting that dates and impacts can change without notice. Accomplishing both of these goals requires a balanced approach. A communication strategy has been developed which includes posting information on internal boards, the website, real-time/Infoweb alerts and social media as well as through stop level notifications which will provide passengers with information regarding which stops are closed and direct them to the closest stop location. On board announcements also indicate to passengers when a bus is starting along a detour routing and when the bus has returned back to regular route.
As a result of ongoing concerns from passengers with regards to the lack of information at bus stops for detour routes, additional information has been posted along detours to help direct passengers to the correct stop locations. On road Inspectors are also completing a daily audit along detour routes to ensure that temporary signage as well as stop not in use signage is still in place and replacing signs as necessary.
Administration is also completing a review of the temporary signage to ensure as much detail as possible is provided to the customer to help navigate through the construction season. Modifications to the design of the signs are being reviewed to allow more space to add detour and stop closure details, including using weatherproof labels to allow the information on the sign to be as clear as possible. Current installation methods are also being assessed to ensure durability of the signs and to prevent vandalism.
To assist passengers in navigating the detours while on board the bus, all detours that are in place for longer than two weeks will have on board announcements indicating when the route is going on detour and that temporary stops have been placed along the detour routing. Once the bus is back on the regular route there will be an additional announcement to advise passengers of the return to regular routing. Administration is also in the process of adding on board stop announcements for the temporary stop locations along detour routings for any long term detours.
Recommended by:
Katie Burns, Director of Planning
Shawn Wilson, Director of Operations
Caroline Roy, Manager of Corporate Communications
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager