New allegations rekindle spat over St. Clair West streetcar project
Last Updated: Thursday, June 19, 2008 | 9:09 AM ET
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The controversial St. Clair West streetcar redesign is causing new concerns, after a city councillor released a letter from the Toronto fire department saying the entire right-of-way project is unsafe.
The letter, sent to Coun. Cesar Palacio, says the fire department has new concerns about the construction project, which it calls "no doubt unsafe."
"The TTC ROW [right-of-way] as constructed on St. Clair Avenue West is not usable by Toronto Fire Services for emergency response," the letter says. "There is no doubt that there will be delays in emergency vehicle responses on St. Clair Avenue West."
Intended to create a streetcar right-of-way from Yonge Street to Gunn's Loop, near Keele Street, the project is about half complete.
The letter is signed by R.I. Leek, the fire department's district chief for emergency planning, research and development.
It says the new streetcar lanes are too narrow and would damage fire trucks that tried to drive on them, as well as increasing the possibility that people waiting for streetcars could suffer injuries.
The TTC currently also has designated streetcar lanes on Spadina Avenue south of Bloor Street and on Queen's Quay, along the lakeshore, but the fire department letter does not address those routes.
The new information is cause for urgent concern for the thousands of residents along St. Clair West, Palacio said.
"Public transit must be improved but in a sensible, safe way. This report vindicates those of us who raised serious, valid concerns about the safety of this absurd design for St. Clair right from the very beginning," Palacio said in a statement on his website.
"Legitimate concerns of this very nature are exactly why the majority of the local community and I could not support this project as proposed."
But Joe Mihevc, another area councillor who supported the project, said the concerns come out of left field and are without merit.
"Certainly this is a surprise document for us. However, it is very, very important to know that the fire department, as the police, as the EMS, were part of the design work from the beginning," Mihevc said. "And by design work, it wasn't just attending a few meetings. It was going on Queen's Quay, testing the vehicles."
Palacio said the St. Clair West right-of-way will not be complete until 2011. That gives the city and the TTC plenty of time to redraw the plans, he said.
The TTC said it is reviewing the letter.
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