Almost exactly one year ago, barricades were erected to turn Bronte Road into a one-way street between Lakeshore Road and Marine Drive.
The traffic restriction is in place to allow the redevelopment of the southeast corner of Bronte and Lakeshore, where a six-storey 188-unit condo building is set to replace a two-storey plaza.
Demolition of the plaza appears largely complete but activity on the site has stalled over the last six months.
That’s led annoyed residents to post dozens of Facebook calls for the re-opening of the key Bronte intersection and roadway.
Ward 1 councillors Sean O’Meara and Jonathan McNeice have been reluctant to see a short-term change to the one-way status of Bronte, to avoid unnecessarily confusing drivers.
But they say they are keeping a close eye on the property.
The town has no information about the cause of the construction slowdown, says McNeice, but it does mirror delays elsewhere across the GTA, as developers grapple with difficult market conditions.
“The challenge is that it’s right in our face and they’re taking up a lane or two of our traffic so when we don’t see the dirt moving around quick, it causes a bit of a nuisance for the public.”
The developer recently met with town staff and paid to renew its town-issued street occupancy permit for another year, said O’Meara.
“We now have a written commitment from the developer on steps they are going to take to move this along,” he said, while adding that the pledge has no legal teeth. “It's now a bit of a wait and see for us whether their commitment holds up or not.”
In a recent post to a Bronte Facebook group he wrote, “Specific milestones have been outlined, and we are closely monitoring progress to ensure that the development stays on track.”
Seeing the condo project move forward is in everyone’s best interest, said O'Meara.
But if a long construction delay is in the works, both councillors agree the situation should be reviewed.
“If we’re unsure and if we can’t get predictability about what’s going on, we just want to make sure we get that stretch of Bronte Road back for the residents and for the businesses,” said O’Meara.
As spring approaches, Bronte Village businesses can look forward to the throngs of visitors seeking sunny lakeside strolls and shopping.
If there’s an ongoing lull in construction, McNeice says he would like to recapture some of the parking that has been removed along Bronte Road.
Harry Shea, president of the Bronte Village Residents Association (BVRA), agrees with that priority.
He says the BVRA welcomes the condo development, wants it to succeed and believes it will make a positive contribution to Bronte.
But to support local businesses during their high season, he says sidewalks and parking should be reclaimed for the summer – even if it delays construction for a few months.
“We – the local residents – have been inconvenienced in an effort to see this project go through. They’ve chosen to put it on hold for whatever reason. Let them be inconvenienced and start construction in November.”
Named The Residences at Bronte Lakeside and marketed by Burlington-based Alliance United, the condo project is offering units ranging in price from $800,000 to $2 million.
Despite efforts to connect with Alliance United through several routes, Oakville News did not hear back from the company about the status of the development.
A one-way future
As part of a streetscape project for the area, the town will be looking at the long-term future for the stretch of Bronte Road south of Lakeshore.
Among the options that will be on the table is a permanent one-way configuration.
“If it does go one-way, that opens up a lane width – 12 to 15 feet or so – that could be used for whatever the community decides: wider sidewalks, a long patio, bike lanes, whatever they choose, and I think we’d have a little more flexibility to add parking there,” says McNeice.
Shea says many residents have told that BVRA that they would support such a change.
And O’Meara says he has always envisioned the area to develop into a “flex street” – a roadway that could be easily reconfigured to allow a variety of pedestrian and commercial activities.
With the Pier 12 condo building parking entrance emerging just south of Lakeshore, O’Meara says accommodations would be necessary. But, he adds, shared streets across Europe offer plenty of ideas to explore, such as installing sensor-activated bollards to limit traffic access to only condo residents.