Victoria Street upgrades

Road, sidewalk, watermain and sewer separation upgrades are planned to begin in the summer of 2024 and wrap up in the summer of 2025 in the Victoria, Union, Collingwood, Couper and Earl Street areas.

Construction is expected to begin July 2024 and continue through the winter until Summer 2025. The work is scheduled to take place in two phases, with Union Street, Collingwood Street, and Couper Street work being completed by the end of 2024. Work on Victoria Street and Earl Street is expected to begin in 2025.

As part of the City’s plan to increase storm sewer capacity, the sanitary and stormwater sewers are being separated into separate systems. The existing watermain is also being replaced and upgraded to support the future needs of the neighbourhood. As part of the work the road and sidewalks will be reconstructed with features to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety. The project will also include implementation of green street concepts including additional tree planting throughout the project limits.

As a University District neighbourhood, there are high volumes of pedestrian traffic. Curb extensions, or bump-outs are planned at several locations throughout the project area as traffic calming measures. These extensions create space for pedestrians at important locations, and help reduce vehicle speed and vehicle volumes.

Victoria and Earl Streets were also identified in the Williamsville Transportation Study as components of the Williamsville bikeway network, which is made up of neighbourhood bike routes on traffic-calmed streets. The portions of Victoria and Earl Streets included in this project will be integrated into the bikeway network.

Construction Impacts

Access: During construction, some street sections will be closed to vehicular traffic, with limited access for local traffic. Pedestrians will still be able to access closed sections. Closures will be limited to two street segments at the same time.

Service Laterals: New sewer and water laterals for each home or business will be constructed, at no expense to the homeowner, from the main in the street to the property line. We wanted to take this opportunity to remind property owners that the section of the lateral from the property line into the home or business (private property section) is the responsibility of the home or business owner.

Services Disruptions: You can continue to rely on water and sewer services throughout the project. We expect that water services will be interrupted on occasion for a period of no more than 12 hours at a time. Every effort will be made to notify you 48 hours in advance of any such interruption. Additional information will be supplied by our Contractor at those times.

Parking: On-street parking will not be available during closures. Driveway access may temporarily be unavailable for short periods during construction. Parking passes for nearby roads will be issued upon request while driveway access is restricted.

Garbage and Recycling: Collection will continue during closures. Residents will need to write their address on their bins using a permanent marker. On collection day bins must be out by 6 a.m., then contractors will take them to the end of the street for collection and return them by the end of the day.

Tree Removal: Existing trees that are damaged or trees that are in conflict with planned work may be removed during the project. Tree protection measures will be put in place to preserve trees where possible. Once construction is complete, the City’s Forestry division will plant replacement trees in the available space.

The red lines show where work will take place.

The project area includes Victoria Street from Union to Johnson Street, Collingwood Street from Union to Couper Street, Union Street from Victoria to Albert Street, Couper Street from Collingwood to Albert Street, and Earl Street from Victoria to Collingwood Street.

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