Dundas ‘flex street’ plans to be unveiled tomorrow

The future look of Dundas Street will come into focus on Wednesday.

Officials with the city of London will unveil the final design renderings for Dundas Place at the Central Branch of the London Public Library.

The project known as “My Dundas” will transform four blocks, from Ridout Street to Wellington Street, into a flexible street to be shared by pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. The transformation will allow for traditional traffic on those four blocks but the area can also easily be shut down for pedestrians during special events.

The plan to turn Dundas into a flex street will cost $18 million, with the majority of the money going towards road improvements and water and sewer upgrades. Only about $2.4 million will be spend on so-called “street furniture” above ground.

Staff say the downtown section will be more inviting for pedestrians in general.

The new Dundas Street would see poles replace curbs. The poles would allow the city to create sidewalks when cars are allowed on the street, but could also be removed to allow for a wide-open, car-free pedestrian space.

There are no curbs. They’re replaced by poles that can be moved to essentially create sidewalks during periods when vehicles are allowed, or wide-open pedestrian spaces at car-free times.

The designs will be on display in the library’s main floor flex space from 4 p.m until 7 p.m. and will be posted online after Wednesday’s big reveal.

Dundas Place represents the first transformational project in Our Move Forward: London’s Downtown Plan.

More information can be found on the My Dundas website, here.