Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (March 30th, 2026) - Brief Summary and Next Steps

Photo credit: Mindmatrix (via Wikimedia Commons)

On March 30th, 2026, the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee approved the following items:

Sidewalks in Manor Park

As part of the work related to road, water, and sewer main upgrades, staff proposed that the construction of sidewalks on some of the streets in Manor Park should also be included. 

18 delegations were presented on this topic, with two-thirds of them in support. Supporters of this plan made strong points, highlighting pedestrian safety, improved accessibility, and the low cost of building these sidewalks now rather than later. In the end, the committee approved the plan. 

Bus Lanes on Bank Street

The committee approved the following measures:

• The designation of the following areas as 24-hour bus-only lanes, replacing just 17 parking spaces:
  • Northbound, between Regent Street and Fourth Avenue
  • Northbound, south of Aylmer Avenue
  • Southbound, between Fourth and Thornton Avenues
  • Southbound, between Holmwood Avenue and Wilton Crescent
• A pilot project to study bus-only lanes during the following three-hour periods:
  • Northbound, from 7 to 10 am
  • Southbound, from 3 to 6 pm

43 delegations were present at the meeting, with two-thirds of them in support. With the variety of perspectives and arguments provided, ranging from improving the reliability of transit service to their economic benefits, we sent a clear message that bus lanes are critical to the success of transit on Bank Street. 

We also pushed to make the proposal even bolder by suggesting to make amendments to include bus-only lanes during weekends and event days, increasing the hours during which bus-only lanes would be in effect, making bus-only lanes bidirectional, and pushing the start date of the pilot project to begin in the summer of 2026 instead of 2027. 

The proposal was ultimately approved in its current form by the committee, but the fight does not end there.

What’s next?

These recommendations will now go to the council on April 8, 2026, and there are still opportunities to make further amendments. We encourage you to email your councillor to make further improvements to the proposal. 

Thank you all for your support during the PWIC meeting. Whether you spread the word during the outreach sessions, wrote to your councilor, or delegated at the meeting, your contributions were valuable. We would not have made it this far without you all!

The pilot is supposed to begin during the summer of next year and run for 12 months afterwards. We will be keeping a close eye on the pilot and making sure we are out in full force again when it comes to analyzing the data from the pilot and advocating for further recommendations. We will also be looking into documenting people’s experiences during the pilot. If you are interested in getting involved with any of this, don’t hesitate to reach out and get involved!