Traffic-clogged north Yonge St. is about to become even more congested from months of storm sewer and watermain work scheduled to start around Aug. 1.

The project will require closing two southbound lanes of Yonge St. from Finch Ave. to Sheppard Ave., making the morning commute even more stressful.

The intersection of Yonge and Sheppard is already one of the 10 worst in the city for traffic.

And local city councillor, John Filion, is fearing the worst.

“Hundreds of thousands of people are going to be affected by this negatively for a long period of time,” Filion said Friday. “I can see businesses on Yonge St. going out of business because of this.”

Filion (Ward 23, Willowdale) has called a community meeting for Tuesday night at the North York Civic Centre to talk about phasing the work and the impact on traffic.

He favours posting warning signs north of Steeles telling 905 commuters to try Bayview or Bathurst, although those routes are also heavily travelled.

City staff had wanted to do the work over 11 months, he said. Working flat out 24/7 would shorten the project to 4.5 months but was rejected as being too noisy overnight for condo residents along Yonge.

Other options include working seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., which would take up to eight months, or from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Staff is being asked to report on how much the extra three hours of work time per day would speed things up.

These and other options will be discussed with residents at Tuesday’s community meeting, running from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. in the civic centre’s council chambers.

Filion also wants to take a hard look at breaking the project up into two phases; starting the northern leg from Finch to Park Home Ave. Aug 1 and finishing in December; and starting the southern leg Oct. 1 and finishing in February, 2014.

That phasing would mean Mel Lastman Square and the restaurant patios south to Sheppard could operate without disruption until Oct. 1.

Filion said he only learned about the project while investigating sidewalk upgrades on Yonge St. and was told he should wait until after the watermain replacement.

“I said, ‘What watermain replacement?’”

The veteran councillor said he plans to ask council to mandate better consultation with the public on major construction.

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“The city has to learn how to do consultation,” Filion said. “Their standard format is to tell people what they’re doing rather than consult with them on how to do it better.

“When they start planning the work, they need to talk to people about what’s the impact on residents and businesses.”