Lorne Avenue resident Meaghan Lilley said the town has kept up communications as construction shuts down parts of the road again this season.
The next portion of the reconstruction project is underway, closing part of the street. The town is reconstructing Lorne between Eagle Street and Davis Drive throughout the year.
Although the construction brings noise and dust, Lilley said it is “so far, so good.”
“It comes with a bit of a hassle,” she said. “With progress comes a little pain.”
The town has worked on the street over the past two years, splitting the project into different segments. It aims to address aging underground infrastructure, replace water mains and storm sewers, and install new sidewalks and bike lanes. The town is also adding new speed enforcement measures to the street.
Rex Taylor is one of the community ambassadors for the project. He said the municipality has kept in constant communication and worked to address concerns with residents.
“The town has been very forthright, transparent, clear — as much as they can be — about the process,” he said.
Avenue resident Jeff Plastow said the work was not overly disruptive last year.
“It’s obviously necessary. I understand the infrastructure is quite old and needs to be updated,” Plastow said. “There’s noise and there’s dust, but I was able to access my house the whole time. It is what it is.”
But the town removing mature trees on the road is a point of concern for some. Taylor said only trees on public property will be removed, in situations where they could not survive construction due to where their roots are located.
Still, some residents have lamented the loss.
“It’s unfortunate losing some of the big trees in the neighbourhood,” Lilley said.
“That’s definitely a disappointment,” Plastow said. “I would have thought a more balanced solution would have been found to keep the trees.”
Taylor said it is a reality of construction and that the town would at least do replanting efforts once construction in the area is complete, though he acknowledged that's not an exact replacement.
“The whole thing is not meant to upset people. It’s preventive maintenance,” he said, “before there’s a big crisis.”
The project will carry on through the remainder of the year, with “rolling closures” over small sections of the road, according to director of engineering services Rachel Prudhomme. She said detour signs will be on the site to show drivers how to bypass closures, but workers would maintain local access for pedestrians and emergency vehicles.
The final project phase will occur in 2023 when a final coat of asphalt is put into place.
