East London Link

Public engagement opportunities for East London Link Phase 3

In 2024 the City of London will build the next phase of the East London Link on Dundas Street between Egerton Street and McCormick Boulevard, and on Highbury Avenue between Oxford Street East and the north limit of the Highbury Avenue overpass. The City is hosting a two-week public engagement period from October 5–⁠20, for residents and businesses to learn about the project and view the near-final designs.

Webinar

The City will host a virtual meeting on Thursday, October 5, 12 – 1 p.m. via Zoom webinar to present an overview of the project design, construction timeline, and other details, such as impact mitigation. A Q&A session will follow. Pre-register at the link below:

In-person

You can also discuss the project in-person with the project team on either of the following dates:

• Tuesday, October 10, any time between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 17, any time between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Location: City of London Major Projects Office, Citi Plaza, 2^nd Floor, 251 Dundas Street (above the Central Library, across from the elevators)

About this project

The East London Link is a multi-year project that will revitalize more than 6 km of road from Downtown to Fanshawe College. The project will add transportation and transit improvements above ground, while repairing and replacing aging sewers, watermains and other underground infrastructure. The East London Link has received funding commitments from the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario to support 10 transit and transit-supportive projects.

Project status

Earlier this year the City of London began construction of the second phase of the East London Link project on King Street between Lyle Street and Ontario Street; Ontario Street between King Street and Dundas Street, and on Dundas Street from just west of Ontario Street to Egerton Street.

Next year, construction is anticipated to progress to your area, with work planned for Dundas Street between Egerton Street and Highbury Avenue and on Highbury Avenue between Dundas and Oxford Streets.

The City of London is continuing to refine the designs for this segment of the project and will be sharing the near-final designs this fall through a public update meeting, which you will have an opportunity to join.

Map of East London Link proposed construction phases

Work details

Construction in 2024 on phase 3 of the East London Link is expected to include:

• Adding concrete platforms for future rapid transit stops on Dundas Street and Highbury Avenue
• Widening Highbury Road bridge to implement dedicated rapid transit lanes
• Adding a concrete median throughout the center of Dundas Street and Highbury Avenue
• Underground water and sewer replacement
• Intersection upgrades and full intersection replacements
• Upgrades to landscaping where applicable
• Various utility works

Design update

The Dundas Street portion of phase 3 of the East London Link has been changed from centre-running bus lanes to curb-side bus lanes, to implement a design solution that benefits transit operation while reducing business and property impacts. As the project team refined the original designs, it was determined that curbside design can continue to provide higher order transit operations, while balancing the interests of businesses, drivers and local transit users along Dundas Street.Above: A cross-section illustration of the new configuration for the Dundas Street portion of phase 3, between Egerton Street and Highbury Avenue

The main factors considered when switching to a curbside RT configuration were overall corridor operations and reducing business/property impacts:

• Property impacts: The footprint of the project is reduced by adjusting to a curbside RT configuration. The center-running design was very impactful to businesses and properties. The number of properties affected by land acquisition needs has been reduced by approximately 40% as a result of this design change. Also, the size of land parcels that we still require are now considerably smaller. In some cases, the design was able to avoid building impacts that had been identified in the Environmental Assessment.
• Local transit operations: With only one traffic lane, local buses must also use the bus-only lane. Center-running bus lanes mean local buses can ONLY stop at RT platforms. By moving the bus-only lanes to the curb, local buses now have the ability to offer additional local stop opportunities to better support riders with mobility issues.
• RT stop spacing: Locating RT stop platforms in the median requires a much larger footprint at intersections than curbside RT stop platforms. Adjusting to a curbside configuration made it possible to fit an additional stop at Kellogg’s Lane. The EA concepts showed a stop spacing of 1.1 kms in this location, which does not support transit ridership and is cut in half with a curbside configuration.
  
• Business access / operations: The curbside scenario provides improved access for businesses and also provides wider right turn movements for larger vehicles, such as delivery trucks. The design team continues to consult with businesses to understand their business access needs for both the ultimate design and during construction.

Near final designs will be shared in detail this fall at an upcoming Public Information Centre meeting.

Upcoming public meetings

We are committed to keeping you informed at every major step of the project. The City of London is hosting a public update meeting this fall to share the latest project designs and provide more information on the next phase of construction. Details on how you can participate will be shared closer to the date of the meeting.

As we get closer to construction in 2024, the City of London will be reaching out to you with detailed pre-construction information on expected timelines, plans for mitigating impacts, and traffic management.

Stay connected

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