MISSISSAUGA: The Port Credit Library will remain closed to the public due to structural issues.
“Out of care and in accordance with consultant recommendations, the City has made the difficult decision to close the Port Credit Library to the public,” said Stephen Dasko, Councillor, Ward 1.
“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience the closure causes to library customers. I know the library is at the heart and soul of our Port Credit neighbourhood and as a City, we are committed to continuing to serve you as we have done throughout the pandemic. Staff, together with Council will consider a longerterm action plan.”
The Port Credit Library and Memorial Park are built on landfill which has impacted the stability of the building’s foundation and supports.
The City, through structural monitoring, has determined that deterioration of the piers (caissons) that support the building have reached an unacceptable level for this public building to continue operating.
Following the completion of a detailed structural review in November 2016, bi-monthly structural monitoring has been conducted as recommended by the structural engineers.
As part of this ongoing monitoring cycle, the City retained an engineering consulting firm in April 2021 to complete a detailed assessment of the building’s piers. Four of the 27 piers were included in the assessment as per the consultant’s recommendation.
After the site investigations were completed, the City received a draft report of the findings for review and decided to proactively close the library to the public on June 28. The final report was issued to the City on June 30.
The consultant’s report indicated that:
• All four piers had degraded due to exposure over a prolonged period of time.
• Evidence of significant structural loss had occurred in three of the four piers over the past five years.
• There were no obvious signs of distress or structural failures observed in the piers during the condition survey.
• There have been no significant movements of the floor structure reported as part of the bi-monthly structural monitoring program implemented onsite since January 2017. Jodi Robillos, Acting Commissioner, Community Services, said: “We are exploring other options for service delivery in the Port Credit community in the short term until a solution and funding strategy are developed. In the meantime, we encourage customers to access any of our other 17 locations along with our wide range of ebooks, audiobooks and online services.”