Sprucing up Dundas East corridor a key part of Argyle improvement plan
4-lane strip suffers from poor pedestrian experience, something city process aims to tackle
Travel east along Dundas Street from downtown London, past Old East Village and beyond Highbury Avenue, and the first thing you notice is the multi-coloured billboards, shop signs and store fronts that scream out the services of every business imaginable.
From sex shops to cheque cashing, car repairs to carpet sales, greasy spoons to two-star motels, the Dundas corridor offers a bit of everything, much of it with free and easy parking along the busy four-lane thoroughfare. Many of the businesses are family-run such as Mike's Meat Market and Dutch Imports, others are national chain retailers like Rexall and Shoppers Drug Mart.
And while the Dundas East corridor offers plenty of services and a quick route into and out of London's core, few would argue it's particularly attractive or inviting.
Councillor Shawn Lewis — a proud proponent of the strip in his ward — admits it's not an area of London that's easy on the eyes.
"It could certainly use some sprucing up," he said. "It is not the most attractive area to walk or drive through."
A city report says the Dundas East corridor suffers from crumbling sidewalks, run-down buildings and an overall poor experience for pedestrians along a strip that carries up to 28,000 vehicles daily.
There aren't enough places for pedestrians to cross Dundas safely and, according to a city report, a lack of any unique "Argyle Village feel."
At the same time, it's a vital commercial area packed with thriving businesses, including many with loyal customers who helped carry them through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lewis and merchants along the corridor have high hopes for a process now underway at City Hall to improve the somewhat seedy strip of Dundas East. It's called the Argyle Community Improvement Plan (CIP), named after the east-London neighbourhood where the strip runs through. The plan covers the Argyle area as a whole, but the Dundas East corridor between Highbury and Clarke Roads is clearly a key focus.
The CIP process can unlock money to deliver everything from streetscape enhancements such as better sidewalks, lighting, benches and pedestrian crossings. It can also, through the Business Improvement Area, lead to grants and loans for shop owners to carry out facade upgrades.
One idea being floated is the removal of the strip's centre turn lane and replacing it with a mix of medians and islands to slow traffic and make the street safer and more inviting for pedestrians and cyclists.
A draft of the plan is now available, and will be refined through the public input stage, which can be accessed here.
After the draft stage, the plan will become part of the city's next three-year budget process, which Lewis hopes will shake loose funding for improvements he said are badly needed.
He'd like to see trees planted along the strip, better bus benches and new lighting that highlights the sidewalks, not the roadway.
"It feels dated," said Lewis of the current state of the street. "It needs to have some vibrancy brought back to it and that's part of what the CIP does."
Lewis hopes the work will help make the Argyle section of Dundas more of a destination, instead of just a place for quick stop or drive-through traffic.
It's easy to overlook that south of the Dundas corridor is a the residential neighbourhood of Pottersburg, whose residents often make daily walking trips to shop or eat on the strip. A city report says annual incomes in Argyle are 33 per cent below the city average of $45,550 and 35 per cent of residents are renters.
'We have been overlooked'
"There is a sentiment in the community that we have been overlooked for many, many years," said Lewis, who said it's taken 10 years to get the city to consider Argyle for a CIP. "I understand where that feeling comes from, because I have felt that way myself."
The area could use a good news story after one of the few public works projects to come to the neighbourhood in recent years has been beset by delays.
Construction problems have meant the neighbourhood has had to wait for a badly needed $21-million East Lions Community Centre south of Dundas on Churchill Avenue. Lewis hopes to see its doors open this fall, which would still be two years past schedule for a project that broke ground in 2017.
Randy Sidhu heads the Argyle Business Improvement Area. The BIA helped get the CIP process rolling and its members are trying to give the neighbourhood more of an identity. For example, they've wrapped utility poles and painted sidewalks in teal, Argyle's signature colour.
"We're really lucky to have this business community with low vacancies and healthy economic activity," said Sidhu of the Dundas East corridor. "There's a lot of potential for more investment in the area."
George Frescura owns the Golden Pawn Shop, and has done business on the strip for 18 years. He'd like to see better crosswalks and lighting.
"We could certainly stand to see some improvements," he said.
Nirav Patel is a new merchant on the strip, operating the Butterbites restaurant in the plaza Dundas and First Street.
"It's a great area but the road needs to be more people-friendly, more brightened up," he said.
The CIP is expected to come to full council for final approval later this year.
