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Replacing the peeling paint from Bathurst Street’s priority transit lanes could cost as much as $54,000, internal City of Toronto emails show, raising the possibility of more public money being spent on a road that was unveiled just a few months ago.
In November, bright red paint was added to lanes on Bathurst and Dufferin streets to mark priority lanes for buses and streetcars, which will be used to speed up transit during the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
The city said at the time, the work would cost around $550,000 for Bathurst Street from Lakeshore Boulevard West to Dundas Street West and another $500,000 to paint Dufferin Street from King Street West to Dundas Street West.
Weeks after it was first installed, however, the paint on Bathurst Street began to peel, something the city blamed on salt, an early freeze and potential issues with snowplows.
At the time, the city did not offer a cost for the work.
But new communications obtained by Global News using freedom of information laws suggest the city could be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars to repaint parts of Bathurst Street in the spring.
An email chain between city staff and the company that applied the paint in the first place reveals the repair could cost more than $54,000.
Two emails sent from the contractor to the city in December, seen by Global News, said the early estimate of replacing the peeling paint could be as high as $54,441.72. That figure was calculated based on the assumption that the contractor would need to remove some of the paint and blast it with water to clean it before reapplying a new layer.
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The repair would be closer to $27,000 if those steps are not required.
“In short, our ballpark estimate with reasonable buffer allowance of the damage will be $54,441.72. Of course, the damage is only an estimate and the actual damage may be smaller or greater come inspection time in the spring,” part of the email explained.
The contractor suggested a cost-sharing agreement with the city. They said Toronto would pay 75 per cent of the repair cost, and they would take on the remaining 25 per cent.
Global News asked the contractor why they would not take on the entire cost of repairing the lane. They declined to answer.
A spokesperson for the City of Toronto emphasized that the emails represented the early estimates and negotiations and that a final decision on how to proceed with Bathurst Street would be made in the coming months.
“The final schedule to repair any damaged pavement markings has not been finalized, but we’re working towards a spring timeline. The installation contract includes provisions to address early wear of pavement markings,” the city said in a statement.
“Any required refresh will be addressed in accordance with the contract, with some work covered under the contractor’s responsibilities and any remaining work managed by the City as part of routine maintenance.”
Global News sent clarifying questions to confirm the $54,000 figure was preliminary and would be decided in the spring.
“The extent of repairs needed will need to be reassessed in the spring, following which the cost will be finalized,” a spokesperson replied.
Coun. Ausma Malik, whose ward includes the priority lanes, acknowledged the project had experienced some “bumps” as it was rolled out.
“RapidTO transit priority lanes aim to improve transit on some of our busiest transit corridors in the city, including Bathurst St,” her office wrote in a statement.
“I know that the installation has had some bumps — between the red paint peeling and confusion prior to sign installation — as all road users adjust to the new rules of the road. I share the concerns raised by some of our community members, and I’ll keep pushing City staff to make sure we are addressing these concerns.”
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