The neverending screwups on Dundas St W

In the last four years, Dundas St W has spent more time as a construction zone than a road.

First the street had to be ripped up for streetcar track updating. Then cable lines. Then water mains. Then sidewalk repair.

"This September it was supposed to be all over," Ward 18 councillor Ana Bailao said today.

That is, until Bailao learned Tuesday that the freshly finished sidewalks are due to be ripped up once again for gas line replacement.

"At the present moment, the sidewalks on Dundas are being constructed and I find this to be yet another example of the city not taking enough time to properly organize its construction schedule," she said in a statement earlier.

Bailao is hoping to use this as a teachable moment. She has met with city technical staff and plans to bring the issue to public works committee. Better coordination is needed between city departments and city stakeholders, such as Enbridge, which manages the gas lines, so this doesn't happen again.

It's a waste of time, money and it's irritating, she said.

Enbridge has said the entire sidewalk won't need to be rebuilt. They will just drill in certain areas and fill the hole with asphalt. Later on, the asphalt would be smoothed over with concrete.