July 8, 1998

 To:Toronto Community Council

 From:Andrew Koropeski, Director, Infrastructure Planning and Transportation Division, City Works Services

 Subject:Proposed closing of the portion of Eastern Avenue linking Queen Street East and the Eastern Avenue/Kingston Road extension, and the public lane at the rear of Premises No. 1641 Queen Street East. (East Toronto)

 Purpose:

 To obtain authority for the closing of the portion of Eastern Avenue linking Queen Street East and the Eastern Avenue/Kingston Road extension, and the public lane at the rear of Premises No. 1641 Queen Street East, to vehicular traffic, in conjunction with the opening of the new portion of Eastern Avenue which will connect directly to Kingston Road at Queen Street East.

 Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

 Funds in connection with the statutory processing of the proposal are accommodated in Capital Fund Account No. 296802.

 Recommendations:

1. That the portion of Eastern Avenue and the public lane shown hatched on the attached Plan SYE2891, be stopped-up and closed to vehicular traffic and placed under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Corporate Services;

1. That easements be reserved as necessary for the Utility Companies, over the entire portion of Eastern Avenue and the public lane to be closed, for access, operation, use, inspection, repair, maintenance, reconstruction or alteration of the existing utilities and for the construction of additional or new services;

1. That the City-owned strip of land, shown cross-hatched on the attached Plan SYE2891, be laid out, dedicated and declared to form part of Eastern Avenue; and

1. That the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect to the foregoing, including the introduction in Council of any Bills that might be required.

 Background:

 As part of the development of the Woodbine Park subdivision (former Greenwood Racetrack site), a key transportation component was the acquisition by the City of the necessary lands to extend Eastern Avenue from its present terminus at Queen Street East in order to eliminate the current jog configuration and form a normalized intersection with Kingston Road. The former Toronto City Council, at its meeting of September 22 and 23, 1997, authorized the construction of the Eastern Avenue/Kingston Road extension and the necessary alterations to Kingston Road and Queen Street East to accommodate the new intersection (Clause 17 in City Services Committee Report No. 11).

 The extension of Eastern Avenue to the Queen Street East/Kingston Road intersection is under construction with completion scheduled for the late summer/early fall of this year. At the time the new route is opened, the existing link to Queen Street East as shown schematically on the attached Plan SYE2891, will become largely redundant and can be closed to eliminate the jog condition. A dead-end lane midway between Queen Street East and Eastern Avenue with access only to this section of Eastern Avenue should also be closed.

 Comments:

 Works staff have received a request from Councillor Tom Jakobek to initiate the formal process to stop-up and close the portion of Eastern Avenue linking Queen Street East and the Eastern Avenue/Kingston Road extension, and conclude that the proposal is feasible. This existing portion of Eastern Avenue and the public lane, shown on the attached Plan SYE2891, although closed as public highway, should remain under City ownership at this time.

 The entire portion of Eastern Avenue and the public lane to be closed, will be subject to easements in favour of various Utility companies. Due to time constraints associated with meeting the deadline for the City Council meeting of July 29, 1998, it has not been possible to establish specific utility requirements, however, the usual Departmental circulation will be carried out and the necessary information obtained over the next few weeks.

 I note that two properties take access from this portion of Eastern Avenue and more particularly, the public lane also proposed to be closed, which on the ground is not well defined and appears to be a portion of the paved parking area. The owners/operators of the properties, which comprise a Harvey's Restaurant and a City Community and Neighbourhood Services Department site will be advised. Although both properties currently have alternate access, these discussions may identify other access adjustments or requirements that can be reported if necessary to the meeting of Toronto Community Council when deputations are heard.

Notice of the proposed street closing will be given pursuant to the screening process set out in Schedule "B" of the Class Environmental Assessment for Municipal Road Projects under the Environmental Assessment Act.

 On a related matter, the new Eastern Avenue/Kingston Road extension was laid out and dedicated by Registered Plan 66M-2311. However, a City-owned strip of land, shown cross-hatched on the attached Plan SYE2891, must also be laid out and dedicated to form part of the Eastern Avenue/Kingston Road alignment.

 Contact Name and Telephone Number:

 Laurie Robertson, Project Technician - Street and Lane Closings (392-7711)

 Director

 LR/ja

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