New traffic and community infrastructure is coming to Toronto’s Liberty Village, though some changes could take up to a decade to complete.
Toronto city council greenlit the action plan, called ‘Liberty for All,’ in June. It includes motions for developments like a school, Canada Post services, public library, community recreation center and pedestrian-only streets.
But some proposed additions, such as the community centre, have no defined timeline to be completed, and could take up to 10 years, says Coun. Ausma Malik, who put forward the motion for this action plan.
“While the outlook is still several years away, it’s having that fixed date and time frame for residents to be able to count on,” Malik said when asked about the decade-long timeframe.
City Councillor and Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik put forward the Liberty for All action plan addressing gaps in the community’s infrastructure. (Mike Smee/CBC)
Once an industrial area, since the early 2000s Liberty Village has slowly developed and become known for its condo and office spaces, dense population and rush hour traffic congestion. But the area hasn’t kept up with the increased population: currently, the only way to move east to west through the neighborhood is on the single-lane, two-way Liberty Street.
“As the neighborhood grows and changes, as these units come [up], as people live in them, make this area their home, then we suddenly see some of the gaps,” said urban planning expert Shauna Brail.
Brail says catching up to the needs of the neighbourhood is about more than just building new infrastructure and accepting it’s busy.
She added that some service-based needs like postal service upgrades also don’t require anything new to function.
“Some of the infrastructure that’s needed is already here and it’s a matter of accepting that we live in a congested city,” Brail said.
‘I’m honestly shocked,’ says resident about timeline
Chris Plouffe, who has worked in the neighborhood for 15 years, knows Liberty Street’s traffic too well. “It’s usually pretty congested after rush hour from all the stop signs and people walking,” he said.
“I usually wait about an hour after work so I don’t have to deal with it when I do drive to the office,” he said.
Chris Plouffe has been working in Liberty Village for 15 years and stays late at work to avoid traffic. (Ian Curran/CBC)
Liberty Street’s intersection traffic is managed by only four-way stop signs — there are no traffic lights.
Recently, Plouffe says he spends less time in the office, opting to work from home. He used to drive into the area from Etobicoke five days a week but now, he comes in a few days a week.
“Sometimes if you drive, you have to accept there’s going to be traffic and tough to get out of here,” said Plouffe. “That’s the way it is.”
When confronted with the reality that this traffic infrastructure may not be implemented until 2036, he said he understands the city will face backlash from the public no matter how long the changes take to implement.
“I’m a big proponent of trying to make the city better, but again, there’s gonna be complaints no matter what,” said Plouffe. “Whether it’s too quick and they close down a lot more and then you have to deal with that, or it’s longer and they close down less and it’s going to take longer.”
Tatiana Soldatoba, who is an interior designer and who works and lives in Liberty Village, disagrees.
“I’m honestly shocked that it takes 10 years to do that,” said Soldatoba. “It’s abysmal how slow Canada moves on our infrastructure.”
Soldatoba has been living in Liberty Village since 2012 and has watched the neighbourhood become densely populated without infrastructure to support it. She said because commuting into the community takes so long, she opts to meet with clients outside of the village, instead of at her office.
“I heard about Liberty for All three years ago … why does it take three years?” said Soldatoba.
Changes aligned with Ontario Line: Malik
Now that the motion has been carried, the next steps are to review applications for development on the plan’s items.
The amended action plan includes 20 items and called on various bodies like the provincial government, city staff and committees to look into infrastructure to bring to the neighborhood.
According to Malik, residents can expect to see changes happen in the short, medium and long term.
“That is a framework that Liberty Village has not had the benefit of until now,” she said.
According to Malik, the opening of the new street will also be aligned with the Ontario Line’s exhibition station.
In an emailed statement, Metrolinx said: “We are working closely with our partners at the City of Toronto on plans for Liberty New Street.”