Red paint identifying Bathurst priority transit lanes peeling off road a month after installation

The red paint identifying the Bathurst Street priority transit lanes is already peeling off the road a little over a month after they were installed.

The lanes from Bathurst Station to Dundas Street West were painted starting on Nov. 5 by the City of Toronto and the TTC. Work from Dundas to Bloor Street continued once the initial section was completed.

The goal of the RapidTO initiative was to improve the speed and reliability of buses and streetcars along the Bathurst corridor. All of the centre lanes were converted to priority streetcar lanes with new signage, red paint and pavement markings.

On Dec. 17, CityNews cameras captured the red paint peeling already on Bathurst, just north of Front Street.

In a statement, the City said they were aware of some areas where the paint is peeling on both Bathurst and Dufferin Streets, where bus priority lanes have also recently been installed.

“This can be caused by contaminated surfaces, including residual brine and oil, which can prevent the paint from properly adhering to the pavement,” read the City’s statement. “Once the surface is exposed, cold temperatures and freeze-thaw cycles can cause cracking, and snowplows may catch any raised edges, resulting in the paint lifting from the surface.”

The City adds any worn markings will be addressed next spring as completing the work when it’s warmer “ensures a more durable application.”