March 30, 1998

To:North York Community Council

From:City Clerk

Subject:Toronto Transit Commission: Sheppard Subway Bayview Station Bus Loop and Commuter Parking

The Urban Environment and Development Committee on March 23 and 24, 1998, directed that a copy of the following communications be forwarded to the North York Community Council for consideration:

-(February 26, 1998) from the General Secretary, Toronto Transit Commission;

-(March 20, 1998) from Councillor David Shiner, Seneca Heights; and

-(March 20, 1998) from Councillor Joanne Flint, North York Centre South.

 The Urban Environment and Development Committee reports, for the information of the North York Community Council, having:

(1)recommended to Council that the Toronto Transit Commission be requested to defer elimination of the construction of a commuter parking lot from the Bayview Station concept at this time; and

(2)requested the Interim Functional Lead, Planning, in consultation with the appropriate officials of the Planning Department in the North York Civic Centre, to submit an updated report to the Urban Environment and Development Committee, through the North York Community Council, on the entire block bounded by Sheppard Avenue East, Bayview Avenue, Bayview Mews Lane and Hawksbury Drive.

Background:

The Urban Environment and Development Committee had before it the following communications:

(i)(February 26, 1998) from the General Secretary, Toronto Transit Commission, advising that the Toronto Transit Commission (Commission) on February 25, 1998, approved the following Recommendations contained in report No. (25a), entitled "Staff Response to Commission Inquiry - Sheppard Subway Bayview Station Bus Loop and Commuter Parking":

 "It is recommended that the Commission:

 (1)approve elimination of the construction of a commuter parking lot from the Bayview Station concept;

 (2)confirm the requirement for an exclusive off-street bus loop for Bayview Station;

 (3)authorize staff to negotiate a permanent exclusive easement for an off-street bus loop (at the north-end of the Dangreen property) now as part of the property settlement with Dangreen, potentially at no cost to the project;

 (4)authorize staff to work with the Developer and City staff to investigate alternative off-street bus loop locations that can be integrated with the proposed Dangreen development provided that the new off-street bus loop configuration is acceptable to the TTC with respect to operations and customer convenience, particularly with regard to an exclusive access to/from Bayview Avenue;

 (5)confirm that the provision of an off-street bus loop, satisfactory to the TTC, be made a condition of the planning approvals for any development on the Dangreen site; and

 (6)forward this report to the City of Toronto."

(ii)(March 20, 1998) from Councillor David Shiner, Seneca Heights, advising that a comprehensive plan for the entire block which would contain the Sheppard Subway Bayview Station Bus Loop and Commuter Parking is being considered by North York Planning Department (NYPD) staff in conjunction with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), Dangreen, and the Orlando Corporation; that Orlando has been meeting with Dangreen and has advised the NYPD that it will be submitting a proposal within the next two weeks, and that these plans include commuter/community parking; requesting, as the TTC's proposal is only dealing with the narrow strip of land along Bayview Avenue, that the Urban Environment and Development Committee recommend that the TTC defer eliminating the commuter parking lot from the construction plans at this time, and that an updated report be requested from the NYPD on the entire block bounded by Sheppard Avenue East, Bayview Avenue, Bayview Mews Lane and Hawksbury Drive.

(iii)(March 20, 1998) from Councillor Joanne Flint, North York Centre South, urging, in the strongest possible terms, that Members of the Urban Environment and Development Committee recommend against the elimination of proposed parking at the Bayview Subway Station; and stating that the residents of Ward 9 would be the first to suffer the negative and irritating effects of "spill-over" parking on their streets, should the long-promised parking at the Bayview Station not be provided.

City Clerk

N. Rickford/lv

Attachments

h:\1998prod\ud\reports.98\report4\032331.tra

Toronto Transit Commission: Sheppard Subway Bayview Station Bus Loop and Commuter Parking.

 The Urban Environment and Development Committee recommends that the Toronto Transit Commission be requested to defer elimination of the construction of a commuter parking lot from the Bayview Station concept at this time.

 The Urban Environment and Development Committee reports, for the information of Council, having:

 (1)directed that a copy of the following communications be forwarded to the North York Community Council for consideration:

 -(February 26, 1998) from the General Secretary, Toronto Transit Commission;

-(March 20, 1998) from Councillor David Shiner, Seneca Heights; and

-(March 20, 1998) from Councillor Joanne Flint, North York Centre South; and

 (2)requested the Interim Functional Lead, Planning, in consultation with the appropriate officials from the Planning Department in the North York Civic Centre, to submit an updated report to the Urban Environment and Development Committee, through the North York Community Council, on the entire block bounded by Sheppard Avenue East, Bayview Avenue, Bayview Mews Lane and Hawksbury Drive.

 The Urban Environment and Development Committee submits the following communication (February 26, 1998) from the General Secretary, Toronto Transit Commission:

 At its meeting on Wednesday, February 25, 1998, the Toronto Transit Commission (Commission) considered the attached memorandum, entitled AStaff Response to Commission Inquiry--Sheppard Subway Bayview Station Bus Loop and Commuter Parking@.

 The Commission approved the Recommendations contained in the above memorandum, as listed below:

 AIt is recommended that the Commission:

 (1)approve elimination of the construction of a commuter parking lot from the Bayview Station concept;

 (2)confirm the requirement for an exclusive off-street bus loop for Bayview Station;

 (3)authorize staff to negotiate a permanent exclusive easement for an off-street bus loop (at the north-end of the Dangreen property) now as part of the property settlement with Dangreen, potentially at no cost to the project;

 (4)authorize staff to work with the developer and City staff to investigate alternative off-street bus loop locations that can be integrated with the proposed Dangreen development, provided that the new off-street bus loop configuration is acceptable to the TTC with respect to operations and customer convenience, particularly with regard to an exclusive access to/from Bayview Avenue;

 (5)confirm that the provision of an off-street bus loop, satisfactory to the TTC, be made a condition of the planning approvals for any development on the Dangreen site; and

 (6)forward this report to the City of Toronto.@

 The foregoing is forwarded to the City of Toronto for information.

 (Toronto Transit Commission Report No. 25a, entitled

"Staff Response to Commission Inquiry--Sheppard Subway

Bayview Station Bus Loop and Commuter Parking".)

At its meeting of December 16, 1997, the Toronto Transit Commission (Commission) deferred consideration of Report No. 26, entitled "Sheppard Subway--Bayview Station Commuter Parking Lot", to "permit further consultation between staff, Vice-Chair Moscoe, Councillor Shiner and Councillor King". This report responds to that request.

 Recommendations:

 It is recommended that the Commission:

 (1)approve elimination of the construction of a commuter parking lot from the Bayview Station concept;

 (2)confirm the requirement for an exclusive off-street bus loop for Bayview Station;

 (3)authorize staff to negotiate a permanent exclusive easement for an off-street bus loop (at the north-end of the Dangreen property) now as part of the property settlement with Dangreen, potentially at no cost to the project;

 (4)authorize staff to work with the developer and City staff to investigate alternative off-street bus loop locations that can be integrated with the proposed Dangreen development, provided that the new off-street bus loop configuration is acceptable to the TTC with respect to operations and customer convenience, particularly with regard to an exclusive access to/from Bayview Avenue;

 (5)confirm that the provision of an off-street bus loop, satisfactory to the TTC, be made a condition of the planning approvals for any development on the Dangreen site; and

 (6)forward this report to the City of Toronto.

 Funding:

 Sufficient funds for this Sheppard Subway project expenditure are included in the TTC 1998-2002 Capital Program (as set out on pages 695-705 - Sheppard Subway Category) which was approved by the Commission on November 18, 1997.

 Background:

 At the December 16, 1997, Commission meeting, the Commission deferred consideration of the recommended configuration of the Bayview Station bus loop and commuter parking lot to permit further consultation between staff, Vice-Chair Moscoe and Councillors Shiner and King. TTC and City staff met with Councillors King, Shiner and Moscoe on February 4, 1998.

 Discussion:

 Concern has been expressed from the area City Councillors and the local community about the location of both the recommended bus loop and the commuter parking lot to be located south of the bus loop (see Exhibit 1).

 (a)Commuter Parking:

 The commuter parking lot has been seen as a factor in constraining the proposed development of the Dangreen site to the southern half of the property and TTC staff agree that such a small commuter parking lot (65 spaces) should not be a constraint to re-development. Consequently, it is recommended that the commuter parking lot be eliminated from the Bayview Station concept. The elimination of the lot is not expected to result in an appreciable reduction in station ridership and provides more flexibility to re-develop the site. The elimination of the lot, will however, likely be opposed by Orlando Corporation (the owner of Bayview Village Mall located to the east of the Dangreen site) which believes that there is a demand for 400 commuter parking spaces at Bayview Station.

 (b)Bus Loop:

 Currently, the 11A branch of the 11 Bayview bus route turns back to the south on-street via Sheppard Avenue, Hawksbury Drive, Bayview Mews Lane and Bayview Avenue (see Exhibit 2). This allows a higher level of service to be provided south of Sheppard Avenue to match customer demand. The current daily ridership on the loop itself is extremely low (10-20 trips per day) and would not meet current TTC standards for providing service on these streets.

 With the construction of Bayview Station (including two new entrances on the east and west sides of Bayview Avenue, north of Sheppard Avenue), service plans require that the 11/11A Bayview and 78 St. Andrews bus routes connect with the subway entrances in both directions on Bayview Avenue to provide direct subway/bus transfers as is done at most other stations in the system. Eighty percent of the customers to this station are expected to arrive by bus.

 This plan would result in the elimination of the on-street loop and the construction of a new off-street bus loop at the north end of the Dangreen site (see Exhibits 3 and 4) to serve the 11A Bayview and 78 St. Andrew bus services which will turn around at this location when the subway is opened for revenue service. An off-street bus loop is the only acceptable design because only that would allow all passengers transferring from the bus to the subway to do so without crossing either Bayview Avenue or Sheppard Avenue. Locating the off-street bus loop at the north end of the Dangreen site leaves 85 percent of the site available for development.

 There are no acceptable on-street loop options.

 If an off-street bus loop is not provided on the Dangreen property, service would have to loop on-street. A clockwise looping (see Exhibit 5) would not allow the 11A Bayview or 78 St. Andrews buses to connect to the subway in the southbound direction (with the resulting passenger confusion) and, therefore, would be unacceptable from a customer service perspective. The counter-clockwise looping (see Exhibit 6) would also be unacceptable from a service point-of-view, as customers would cross Sheppard Avenue (eight lanes) to access the subway. It should also be noted that with a counter-clockwise looping, passengers getting off the bus to access the subway cannot use the YMCA Entrance on the south side of Sheppard Avenue as it is not staffed and currently cannot accept bus transfers.

 Any on-street looping would result in unproductive additional round-trip time on the routes, and would result in a lower frequency of bus service south of Sheppard Avenue, inconveniencing approximately 4,100 customer trips per day and, overall, would provide a poorer quality of service than can be provided with the recommended bus loop. The use of an on-street loop would result in additional annual operating costs of $25,000.00 which can be avoided with a new off-street bus loop. In the long term, the delays to service resulting from on-street looping would result in the need to add a bus to the route earlier, with the resulting annual operating cost impact of $150,000.00 per year and the capital cost of an additional bus ($400,000.00). Re-design of the station to accommodate either of the on-street loops would significantly delay the construction of Bayview Station and would involve significant re-design costs.

 Given the above, the protection for an off-street bus loop should be obtained as follows:

 -obtain a permanent surface easement (rather than full acquisition), for the recommended off-street bus loop, now as part of a negotiated settlement with Dangreen, potentially at no cost to the project;

 -staff consider alternative locations for the off-street bus loop on the Dangreen site as part of the development process provided that the revised location of the loop is operationally acceptable with respect to operations and customer convenience. In particular, the TTC requires an exclusive bus access to/from Bayview Avenue;

 -the requirement to satisfy the TTC on the configuration of the off-street bus loop would be made a condition of the planning approvals (official plan amendment, zoning, site plan) for the development of the Dangreen site;

 -the TTC would not make a site plan application for an off-street bus loop at this time. The TTC's site plan application can be delayed until 2001 when it is anticipated that the configuration of the development will be known.

 Justification:

 The TTC requires an off-street bus loop at Bayview Station to maximize passenger convenience and minimize future operating costs whether or not a development proceeds on the Dangreen site. Proceeding as recommended ensures that property is made available for an off-street bus loop.

 The Urban Environment and Development Committee also submits the following communication (March 20, 1998) from Councillor David Shiner, Seneca Heights:

 A comprehensive plan for the entire block, which would contain the Sheppard Subway Bayview Station Bus Loop and Commuter Parking, is being considered by North York Planning Department staff, in conjunction with the Toronto Transit Commission, Dangreen and the Orlando Corporation. Orlando has been meeting with Dangreen and has advised the Planning Department that they will be submitting a proposal within the next two weeks and that these plans include commuter/community parking.

 As the Toronto Transit Commission's proposal is only dealing with the narrow strip of land along Bayview Avenue, I would, therefore, request your Committee to recommend that the Toronto Transit Commission defer eliminating the commuter parking lot from the construction plans at this time, and that an updated report be requested from the North York Planning Department on the entire block bounded by Sheppard Avenue East, Bayview Avenue, Bayview Mews Lane and Hawksbury Drive.

 I am unable be at your March 23, 1998, meeting in the morning; however, if the Committee would like me to address this issue, I will be pleased to attend after your lunch break.

 The Urban Environment and Development Committee also submits the following communication (March 20, 1998) from Councillor Joanne Flint, North York Centre South:

 I urge, in the strongest possible terms, that Committee Members recommend against the elimination of proposed parking at the Bayview Subway Station.

 The residents of Ward 9 have been assured since the start of subway discussions that there would be adequate parking for commuters and a drop off/pick-up area at the Bayview Station. The Ward 9 residents would be the first to suffer the negative and irritating effects of "spill-over" parking on their streets should the long-promised parking at the Bayview Station not be provided.

 (A copy of Exhibits 1-6, referred to in the foregoing TTC Report No. 25a, has been forwarded to all Members of Council with the agenda of the March 23 and 24, 1998, meeting of the Urban Environment and Development Committee, and a copy thereof is also on file in the office of the City Clerk.)