Baker Street Reconstruction

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Consultation has concluded

This consultation has concluded.

In the summer of 2022, we started work for the Baker Street reconstruction to replace aging underground pipes and sewers on Baker Street, Chapel and Park Lanes to ensure our Downtown is future-ready. 

Baker Street changed from being a one-way road between Chapel Lane and Woolwich Street to a full, two-way road. The intersection of Baker Street and Woolwich Street will be redesigned and include new traffic signals. Construction is expected to finish in fall 2024.

Once the underground work is complete, we’ll reconstruct the roads and add new streetlights, accessible sidewalks, benches, bicycle racks, and street trees to the area.

During engagement for this project, we hosted open houses to present plans and the construction design concept for Baker Street, Park and Chapel Lanes. 

The project was phased to accommodate archaeological clearances, temporary and permanent utility relocations, and the Baker District redevelopment

Virtual open house documents



An aerial map of the reconstruction and redesign area. At the top of the map Eramosa Road meets Woolich Street and at the bottom of the map Baker Street meets Quebec Street. . A dotted line shows the area of reconstruction from Woolwich Street to Baker Street and Park Lane and Chapel Lane sourrounding the Baker Street parking facility. Baker Street reconstruction area map

 

This consultation has concluded.

In the summer of 2022, we started work for the Baker Street reconstruction to replace aging underground pipes and sewers on Baker Street, Chapel and Park Lanes to ensure our Downtown is future-ready. 

Baker Street changed from being a one-way road between Chapel Lane and Woolwich Street to a full, two-way road. The intersection of Baker Street and Woolwich Street will be redesigned and include new traffic signals. Construction is expected to finish in fall 2024.

Once the underground work is complete, we’ll reconstruct the roads and add new streetlights, accessible sidewalks, benches, bicycle racks, and street trees to the area.

During engagement for this project, we hosted open houses to present plans and the construction design concept for Baker Street, Park and Chapel Lanes. 

The project was phased to accommodate archaeological clearances, temporary and permanent utility relocations, and the Baker District redevelopment

Virtual open house documents



An aerial map of the reconstruction and redesign area. At the top of the map Eramosa Road meets Woolich Street and at the bottom of the map Baker Street meets Quebec Street. . A dotted line shows the area of reconstruction from Woolwich Street to Baker Street and Park Lane and Chapel Lane sourrounding the Baker Street parking facility. Baker Street reconstruction area map

 

Consultation has concluded
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    Is there a particular reason the parking garage is not located on Baker street? If we want to have Chapel 'pedestrian friendly' why would we funnel traffic to the only parking lot in this end of downtown? People will drive on Baker regardless hence it seems logical to put the parking off that street. By putting parking at the end of Chapel we are increasing traffic on a lane that is not equipped to handle it. If the parking isn't on Chapel Lane the door is open for better pedestrian flow. Parking off Baker, exit on foot from garage onto Chapel Lane? Additionally, the speeds driven on Chapel currently are ... shocking. Is there a plan in place to ensure that speeds won't exceed 30km/h? The number of near misses would be comical if it wasn't so dangerous! Thanks again!

    Timothy asked about 2 years ago

    Thank you for your question.

     

    The design of the Baker District Redevelopment incorporates includes two residential towers, two public squares (Wyndham and Library Squares) , the new Central Library and two levels of underground parking and was approved by City Council through the Urban Design Master Plan for the Baker District Redevelopment in July of 2021.

     

    The Library design would be compromised by locating the parkade entry ramp on either Baker Street or Chapel Lane. The parking garage entry ramp takes up significant real estate and would compromise the functionality and program of the library main floor.  In addition, the accessibility to the main entrances and prominence of the library in the Baker District Redevelopment would be compromised. And lastly, the openness of Library Square for pedestrians would also be compromised, contradicting the design the overarching design concepts of the previously approved Urban Design Master Plan. 

     

    Speed limit signage will be part of the final implemented design in accordance with our design teams traffic studies supporting the design.

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    If a driver turns East on to Chapel off of Baker, and realizes they cannot get through to their destination (or realize they do not want to park in the garage), how are they going to turn around? U-turn over the sidewalk? Turn around in the private parking lot that belongs to the Wellington Building? Similarly, there is "existing asphalt" adjacent to the Wellington Building's parking lot and a curb in front. Will cars be going over the curb and sidewalk to access this asphalt? Will the crosswalks be raised as they should be to promote slowing down by drivers? Or will there be curb-cuts? If there are curb cuts, why is the crosswalk cement instead of asphalt?

    jfedosov asked about 2 years ago

    Thank you for your question.

    The entire Baker street reconstruction has been designed to be a low speed, multi-modal transportation system (benefitting pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles) in support of the future Baker District redevelopment. Part of the design consists of rolled curbs between roadways and pedestrian zones allowing for short term delivery vehicles. Should vehicles need to turn around, there is enough room within the roadway to do so. Additionally, the presence of the rolled curb will help delineate the roadway and pedestrian zones. Chapel Lane is such a design and will allow vehicles access to the existing asphalt area behind 128 Wyndham Street for deliveries.

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    Hi! I am a resident at Wyndamere Place Condominium on the 9th Floor facing Baker Street. My view is Gorgeous! And one of the only nice things about this building. Will this new structure obstruct my glorious view? Also, in this tiny condo, how will that affect resale value?

    AliciaM asked about 2 years ago

    The proposed Baker District Redevelopment consists of two residential towers of 15 and 16 stories in height, two new urban squares and a new Central Public Library as denoted in the Baker District Urban Design Master Plan approved by City Council in July of 2021.

    We don’t regulate views in this area and can’t speculate on real estate values. However, as a landmark city-building initiative, the Baker District redevelopment further revitalizes our downtown and—by extension—improves our entire city’s economic and social prosperity. This means:

    • more people living downtown and contributing to the City’s tax base to fund municipal programs and service
    • more jobs due to an increase in demand for retail and commercial services
    • an increase in retail spending for current and new businesses
    • more people visiting and learning downtown; contributing to a vibrant and healthy downtown.

     

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    Why put the entrance to the parking garage on the back side (ie, on the pedestrian-focused offshoot that is Chapel Lane) instead of on Baker Street (the car-focused street)? If a driver changes their mind, they don't have to pull an awkward U-turn on a pedestrian street to get back out.

    jfedosov asked about 2 years ago

    Thank you for your question.

     

    The design of the Baker District Redevelopment incorporates includes two residential towers, two public squares (Wyndham and Library Squares) , the new Central Library and two levels of underground parking and was approved by City Council through the Urban Design Master Plan for the Baker District Redevelopment in July of 2021.

     

    The area is designed to be a low speed, multi-modal transportation system (benefiting pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles).

     

    The Library design would be compromised by locating the parkade entry ramp on either Baker Street or Chapel Lane. The parking garage entry ramp takes up significant real estate and would compromise the functionality and program of the library main floor.  In addition, the accessibility to the main entrances and prominence of the library in the Baker District Redevelopment would be compromised. And lastly, the openness of Library Square for pedestrians would also be compromised, contradicting the design the overarching design concepts of the previously approved Urban Design Master Plan. 

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    Regarding Chapel Lane: - Towards the post-office/entrance to the parking garage behind 128 Wyndham there is a section called 'existing asphalt'. Currently this is used as parking and if that spot continues we will see cars crossing the sidewalk to park. What is the plan to maintain this as an actual protected sidewalk for pedestrians? The traffic that comes from the County parking lot, combined with the parking garage, combined with attempts to park behind 128 could be very dangerous. - Regarding the sidewalk that leads to the BMO parking lot, what is the proposed route for pedestrians to get to Quebec St? Through the parking lot? Through a notorious walkway? - Chapel Lane is used heavily by delivery vehicles for the local businesses, the new design does not appear to reflect the reality that delivery vehicles will be back there often. What accommodations will be made so we don't have vehicles simply turning on their hazards and blocking traffic? Alternatively, if the volume of current traffic on Chapel is prevented, it will push onto Quebec and Wyndham increasing that vehicle traffic. What accommodations will be made for that? - Can you speak to how many bike parking spots there are? Chapel appears to have very little bicycle parking opportunities. Thanks!

    Timothy asked about 2 years ago

    Thank you for reaching out.

    The entire Baker Street and Park and Chapel Lanes reconstruction has been designed to be a low speed, multi-modal transportation system (benefiting pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles) in support of the future Baker District Redevelopment. Part of the design consists of rolled curbs between roadways and pedestrian zones allowing access for short term delivery vehicles. In addition, the presence of the rolled curb will help delineate the roadway and pedestrian zones. This design is similar to the design of Wilson and Carden Streets. This design behind 128 Wyndham will be similar to that design. When the Baker Street, Park and Chapel Lanes reconstruction is complete, the area will be a more vibrant, accessible and welcoming space for people who walk, ride bikes, take transit and drive.

    Existing pedestrian routes throughout the area will not change. The connection to St. George’s Square by way of ‘the Walkway’ behind Bank of Montreal will be maintained. In addition, access to private pedestrian connections at the BMO Parking Lot and to the walkway east of 50 Quebec Street will be maintained.

    Bicycle parking is available through the proposed reconstruction of Baker Street and Chapel and Park Lanes. A number of bike racks are located south of the new library on Chapel Lane. Bike parking will be added to the area where space is available, balancing the space needed for pedestrians and landscaping. 

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    Can a timeline be provided if the remediation plan for the parking loss downtown? Both immediate and long-term plan details would be appreciated, including the number of spaces to be created and the deadline of when they will be avaiable for public use. Thanks!

    Plant asked about 2 years ago

     

    Thank you for your question.

     

    With respect to the Baker Street Reconstruction, the anticipated completion of the reconstruction and reimplementation of on street parking is Fall 2024. Also, the new Library Parkade is currently scheduled to be complete in late 2025 which will add approximately 154 parking spaces in the area.

     

    In the meantime, we encourage people visiting downtown Guelph to park in the West and Market Parkades or the Macdonell Street lot. There are 1110 parking spaces available within those locations. The Market Parkade added net new 400 parking spaces when it opened in late 2019. Also, free two-hour on-street parking also continues to be available throughout the downtown core. 

     

    We’ll be reviewing our downtown parking needs through a Downtown Parking Master Plan update that will start later 2022; we hope you’ll take part in that engagement when it launches to help us plan for the future of parking in the downtown core.

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    I would think that traffic lights at Baker and Woolwich will cause traffic to back-up at Eramosa. I assume a traffic study will confirm how long such a solution will be viable and whether another idea, such as a round-about would work better.

    George Ivanoff asked about 2 years ago

    A traffic impact study has been conducted to forecast future conditions to the year 2036 with and without the redevelopment of the Baker Street parking lot. The study accounted for the signalization of the Baker Street and Woolwich Street intersection and concluded that all study area intersections are forecasted to operate at acceptable levels of service.

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    Will hydro/electrical utilities in the area be buried during this project phase?

    bennett.bruce asked about 2 years ago

    During this project phase, hydro/electrical utilities will be relocated in phases. In order to facilitate construction activities, a temporary relocation with hydro/electrical utilities remaining aerial will occur first. Following the temporary relocations, a permanent relocation and burial of hydro/electrical utilities will take place.

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    Will the underground infrastructure needed for the Baker District development be included in the scope of work for Baker St reconstruction or will the this summer's work be completed then in a year or so when the Baker District development goes ahead, Baker Street will have to be "torn up" again for the infrastructure work?

    Will asked about 2 years ago

    Thank you for your question.

    Yes, the underground infrastructure needed for the Baker District Redevelopment is included in the scope of work for the Baker Street Reconstruction starting this summer.

    Adequate engineered new sanitary and storm sewers along with new water mains are included in the Baker Street Reconstruction Project.

    In addition the reconstruction of Baker Street is being carefully phased such that the eastern side of Baker Street’s new streetscape (sidewalks, trees, benches etc.) will not be completed until the service connections from the new residential towers and library have been completed. This will help prevent tearing up any new construction within the right of way.

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    will it be bike-friendly? pedestrian-friendly? I've always felt like Baker St was a "wasteland" of pavement for cars only.

    PatVDK asked about 2 years ago

    Thank you for your question. Yes, the newly reconstructed Baker Street will indeed be both Pedestrian and Cyclist friendly. When this reconstruction is complete, the area will be a more vibrant, accessible and welcoming space for people who walk, ride bikes, take transit and drive.

     

    In keeping with the City’s streetscape manual, Baker Street will have comfortable sidewalks for multiple pedestrians and accessible transportation modes, trees, benches and bicycle racks.

     

    Further, the new design of Baker Street narrows the width of the vehicular thoroughfare which will force cars to slow down and create a safer environment.

     

    In addition there will be a bicycle route through the neighbouring Baker District Redevelopment creating ease of access from Wyndham Street to Baker Street.