(i) (October 3, 1997) from the Assistant City Clerk of Toronto advising that the Council of the City of Toronto on September 22 and 23, 1997, amended and adopted Clause No. 1 of Report No. 8 of The Economic Development Committee, entitled AEconomic Benefits of the Dismantling of the Gardiner Expressway@; and, in so doing:

(ii) (January 9, 1998) from Councillor Tom Jakobek, Toronto - East Toronto, requesting the Urban Environment and Development Committee to defer consideration of the communication referred to in (i) above to the next meeting of the Committee in order to allow deputations thereon from the community.

The Urban Environment and Development Committee:

(1) deferred consideration of the communication (October 3, 1997) from the Assistant City Clerk of Toronto until its next meeting, scheduled to be held on February 9, 1998;

(2) requested the Interim Functional Lead for Transportation to submit a report thereon to the February 9, 1998, meeting of the Urban Environment and Development Committee, and to make a brief presentation at such meeting regarding the dismantling of the eastern portion of the F.G. Gardiner Expressway to the Committee; and

(3) recommended to Council that the existing Task Force on the Gardiner/Lakeshore Corridor be encouraged to continue to meet pending the outcome of the review of its mandate and composition by the Special Committee to Review the Transition Team=s Final Report.

The F.G. Gardiner Expressway between the Don Valley Parkway and Leslie Street was built in 1964 and 1965 through the eastern waterfront area, which generally consists of industrial and port uses. Originally planned as the Scarborough Expressway it was to link the Gardiner Expressway to Highway 401 and via the East Metro Freeway to connect to Highway 407. Built as an elevated expressway, the substructure consists of reinforced concrete bents (columns and lateral beams), with the superstructure comprised of steel girders supporting a concrete deck and an asphalt running surface. The deck width can accommodate a six lane cross-section, although it has only operated in a four or five lane configuration. The expressway ends at Leslie Street in a ramp configuration designed at the time as a temporary terminus.

Over the years, traffic usage combined with the age of the facility and its rate of deterioration have created the need to undertake extensive rehabilitation of the Gardiner Expressway. Major repairs to the elevated portion of the Expressway west of the Don Valley Parkway have been ongoing since 1979. To date, little rehabilitation work has been carried out on the section of the Expressway east of the Don Valley Parkway. This is because of the relatively light traffic volumes on this portion of the Expressway compared to the portion west of the Don River which carries over twice the amount of traffic. The 20-Year F.G. Gardiner Expressway Rehabilitation Program prepared in 1995 proposed that deck repairs be carried out between 1995 and 1998 and concrete bent repairs follow in years 1999 through 2002 on the Gardiner Expressway east of the Parkway. In 1995 deck and bent repairs were undertaken between the Don Valley Parkway and Saulter Street at a cost of $4.35 million.

During consideration of the Transportation Department's 1996-2000 Capital Works Program inearly 1996, which included a continuation of the rehabilitation of the elevated expressway, the Metropolitan Toronto Planning and Transportation Committee requested a report on whether the rehabilitation of the Gardiner Expressway east of the Don Valley Parkway should be continued or whether dismantling should be considered. In response, a review was undertaken and its findings were presented at the March 6, 1996 Planning and Transportation Committee and adopted by Metro Council on March 27,1996. Based on the work carried out as part of the review, including transportation assessments and a cost comparison of the rehabilitation and dismantling options, the Transportation Department recommended that the east section of the Expressway be dismantled and new ramps to and from Lake Shore Boulevard be constructed. Given that this recommendation was based on a preliminary review, Council authorized the Department to undertake an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Preliminary Design Study to assess all possible alternatives in greater detail and to consult with stakeholders.

The EA Study was initiated in April of 1996 and completed in November of 1996. The results of study indicated that the construction of new access ramps on the east side of the Don River and the dismantling of the existing structure from the new ramps to Leslie Street was the preferred option. The findings of the study were endorsed on December 9 and 10, 1996, by the Council of the City of Toronto.

At its meeting held on December 18, 1996, the Council of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto adopted, as amended, Clause No. 1 of Report No. 18 of the Planning and Transportation Committee entitled " F.G. Gardiner Expressway East Environmental Assessment and Preliminary Design Study". In so doing, the Metropolitan Council endorsed the recommendations of the EA Study, authorized the Commissioner of Transportation to file the Environmental Study Report (ESR), and authorized the Commissioner of Transportation to undertake the dismantling of the east portion of the F.G. Gardiner Expressway as described in the ESR, subject to obtaining final Environmental Assessment approval.

On April 14, 1997, formal notification was received from the Minister of Environment and Energy that the objections to the Environmental Study Report for the F.G. Gardiner Expressway East Environmental Assessment and Preliminary Design Study had been denied, effectively providing Environmental Assessment approval to the project.

Discussion:

The following sections describe the approved design, why this design was selected, how the public was consulted, and the present status of the project.

The Approved Design:

The approved design involves dismantling the F.G. Gardiner Expressway from a point 250 metres east of the Don River, easterly to Leslie Street and that new ramps to and from Lake Shore Boulevard be constructed. The attached figure labled Exhibit 1.1 depicts the approved design and the following points highlight the main features:

In response to the stakeholder input received on the design, a number of minor modifications have been made to the recommended design. These changes, described later in this report, do not change the original conclusions with respect to cost and feasibility. Metropolitan Council also requested the Commissioner of Transportation to report during the detailed design process on the feasibility of realigning the Cherry Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East intersection as part of this project. A feasibility study has been initiated and a report will be submitted to the Urban Environment and Development Committee in the Spring of 1998. However, to date no plans are in place to include any improvements at this intersection as part of the dismantling project.

Analysis and Evaluation of Alternative Designs:

A long list of alternatives were developed to a general level of detail so that basic characteristics and distinguishing features could be identified. From this, four alternatives were evaluated in greater detail according to three factors:

(a) urban character - socio-economic and natural environment;

(b) transportation service - route travel times and intersection levels-of-service based on existing traffic volumes plus future development traffic; and

(c) 50-year life-cycle cost expressed as a present value.

A brief description of the characteristics of the four alternatives follows:

Alternative 1 - Rehabilitate the Existing Facility:

This alternative, considered as the base alternative, would involve the maintenance of the existing infrastructure as outlined in the 20-Year Rehabilitation Program. The F.G. Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard would remain in their present form. As a result, the current morning westbound travel time of five minutes and evening eastbound travel time of six minutes from Coxwell Avenue to Jarvis Street along Lake Shore Boulevard and the Gardiner Expressway would not change. The present value of the 50-year life-cycle cost of this alternative was estimated at $48 million.

Alternative 2 - Rehabilitate the Existing Facility; Upgrade the Leslie Street Interchange:

This alternative is similar to 1(a) with the addition of a new ramp in the westbound direction over Leslie Street to resolve the existing traffic problems at the Leslie Street/Lake Shore Boulevard intersection in the morning rush hour. This improvement would decrease the morning westbound travel time to three minutes from Coxwell Avenue to Jarvis Street and leave the evening eastbound travel time at 6 minutes. The estimated present value of the 50-year life-cycle cost of this alternative was $54 million.

Alternative 3 - Dismantle F.G. Gardiner Expressway; Replace with new Access Ramps East of the Don River ("Ramps East"):

This option would involve the dismantling of 1280 metres of the existing Expressway from approximately Saulter Street to its current terminus at Leslie Street. New ramps to and from Lake Shore Boulevard would be built approximately 250 metres east of the Don River and merge with Lake Shore Boulevard in the median. As part of this alternative the existing rail lead from Booth Avenue to Carlaw Avenue would be moved from the median thus eliminating shunting of trains across Lake Shore Boulevard. Improvements would also be provided at Lake Shore Boulevard intersections with Carlaw Avenue and Leslie Street. The estimated morning travel time westbound from Coxwell Avenue to Jarvis Street is 5.5 minutes, while the evening eastbound travel time is seven minutes. The estimated present value of the 50-year life-cycle cost of this alternative was $34 million.

Alternative 4 - Dismantle F.G. Gardiner Expressway; Replace with new Access Ramps West of the Don River ("Ramps West"):

Two options were developed for this alternative. Both options include dismantling of 1740 metres of the Expressway east of the Don Valley sweep. New ramps to and from Lake Shore Boulevard would be constructed between Cherry Street and the Don Roadway. The new ramps would be built adjacent to the outside of the existing elevated structure and curve beneath the structure to merge with Lake Shore Boulevard. The main difference between the two options is the location of Lake Shore Boulevard and its intersection with Cherry Street. The first option, Option A, includes relocation of Lake Shore Boulevard to follow the alignment of the Expressway east of Cherry Street. Cherry Street is also realigned north of the Keating Channel consolidating the existing two Cherry Street intersections into one. The second option, Option B, leaves the Lake Shore Boulevard/Cherry Street intersection as it is today. Construction of the ramps for both options would require relocation of several Gardiner Expressway columns. The morning westbound travel time associated with this alternative is 6 minutes, whereas the evening eastbound travel time increases to 10.5 minutes. The estimated present value of the 50-year life-cycle cost for Option A was $37 million and Option B was $35 million. Under both options, the weaving distance between the new ramps and the existing Jarvis Street interchange would be substandard. The interaction of vehicles entering and exiting the freeway in a restricted area would likely result in an increased number of motor vehicle collisions.

In evaluating the alternatives with respect to urban character the criteria which were taken into consideration include the barrier effect of both the elevated Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard, the effect on pedestrian and cyclist circulation, the impact on recreational facilities and the change in air quality and noise. From an urban character perspective, both dismantling alternatives were favoured over the rehabilitation alternatives.

Overall, the evaluation indicated that the "Ramps East" alternative as the preferred design. The major factors that contributed to the selection of this design include its lower cost compared to all other alternatives, the improved safety relative to the ARamps West@ alternative, the improvement of the urban character of the Lake Shore Boulevard East corridor, and the elimination of the traffic congestion problems that are currently experienced in accessing the westbound F.G. Gardiner Expressway at Leslie Street during the weekday morning peak period.

From a cost perspective, the financial analysis done for this study concluded that dismantling the eastern section of the F.G. Gardiner Expressway would yield a life-cycle cost savings of $14 Million (net present value, 1996 dollars) when compared to the rehabilitation over a 50 year time horizon.

Public Participation:

Public involvement was an integral part of the study process for the F.G. Gardiner Expressway East EA and Preliminary Design Study. The public contact requirements of the Class Environmental Assessment for Municipal Road Projects, the environmental planning process under which the EA Study was conducted, were met and surpassed. Given the significance of the project and the diverse interests contained within the study area a specialized public participation program was developed. The program was "multi-layered" to ensure all interested parties were given an opportunity to provide input into the study process. Public Open Houses and Workshops were held for members of the general public; workshops were held for four specific interest groups; and regulatory agencies were consulted early in the study.

A Notice of Study Commencement was the first form of contact with the general public. Notices were placed in the Toronto Star and the East Toronto Community News for City of Toronto Wards 8 and 9 and brochures were mailed to property owners within the area bounded by Queen Street East, Woodbine Avenue, the Lake Ontario shoreline, and Jarvis Street (approximately 5500 addresses). Through this initial mailing and subsequent public meetings, a mailing list of approximately 350 individuals was compiled. These individuals were notified of all opportunities for public involvement in the EA Study, including the date that the recommendations of the EA Study were to be considered by the Metro Planning and Transportation Committee. Two Study Status Reports were also sent to all individuals on this mailing list.

Public Open Houses and Workshops were held at two key decision points during the EA Study over a total of five days. The locations of these public forums were split between the South Riverdale area and the Beaches area. A total of approximately 125 individuals attended these public forums. Generally speaking, Beaches residents were supportive of rehabilitation while South Riverdale residents were in favour of either the "Ramps-East" or "Ramps-West" dismantling options.

Metro Transportation's Road Information Line was also used to as a means of contacting the general public. Two specific program numbers were dedicated to the EA Study: one program number provided callers with general information regarding the project; and the second provided details on dates, times and locations of upcoming public meetings. Over the course of the EA Study a total of 254 calls were received.

As indicated above, workshops were held with four specific interest groups. These interest groups are as follows:

(a) The Gardiner-Lake Shore Task Force

(b) The Task Force to Bring Back the Don

(c) The South East Industrial Advisory Committee and the South East Toronto Industrial Awareness Organization (SETIAO/SETIAC)

(d) Various Environmental Interest Groups. The groups invited include the following:

(i) Environmentalists Plan Transportation;

(ii) Ontario Environment Network;

(iii) Federation of Ontario Naturalists;

(iv) Metro Cycling Committee;

(v) Citizens for a Safe Environment;

(vi) Toronto Field Naturalists Club;

(vii) Citizens for a Lakeshore Greenway;

(viii) Friends of the Spit;

(ix) Transportation Options;

(x) Conservation Council of Ontario;

(xi) Better Transportation Coalition;

(xii) Ride TOgether; and

(xiii) Transport 2000.

Two meetings were held with each of the above four specific interest groups. The material presented to these groups was the same as that presented to the general public. The Gardiner-Lake Shore Task Force, The Task Force to Bring Back the Don and SETIAO/SETIAC all supported the "Ramps-East" alternative. The Various Environmental Interest Groups generally supported the "Ramps-West" alternative.

Present Status and Future Schedule:

As indicated in the Background section of this Report, Environmental Assessment approval for this project was obtained in April 1997. The process of preparing a detailed design and construction staging plan in preparation for the tendering of the demolition and construction contracts began shortly thereafter with the assistance of a multi-disciplinary consultant team, including structural and road design engineers, landscape architects, an artist, and communications consultants.

The general public, area business representatives and specific interest groups have been involved during the detailed design process through a Design and Construction Liaison Group (DCLG). Participants in this DCLG were solicited using the mailing list compiled during the EA Study. The DCLG has been divided into two forums: a Business and Industry Forum which meets during business hours; and a Public Forum which meets during weekday evenings. The role of the DCLG is to review all aspects of the dismantling project and provide timely advice and recommendations from a community perspective. To date, the DCLG has been successful in assisting Transportation Department staff and the consulting team in developing the design and construction staging plans in a way that is beneficial to the community and to the project itself. Seven meetings have been held to date by the full DCLG as well as numerous sub-group meetings on specific design issues.

The detailed design of the dismantling project is progressing to a scheduled awarding of the first contract(s) in July 1998. Through the detailed design process to date, including input from the DCLG, several enhancements to the approved EA Study design have been developed. The key enhancements are as follows:

(1) the duration of construction has been reduced from 5 years to 3 years;

(2) the duration of the detouring of Lake Shore Boulevard East traffic to Commissioners Street has been reduced from 4 years to 18 months;

(3) the motor vehicle detour route has been changed to avoid impacting traffic operations on Cherry Street;

(4) a detour route for cyclists during construction has been added;

(5) the rail lead between Carlaw Street and Leslie Street will be relocated from the median to the north side of Lake Shore Boulevard East. This removes shunting operations from the middle of the Lake Shore Boulevard East and Carlaw Street intersection and permits the provision of a sidewalk on the south side of Lake Shore Boulevard East without purchasing private property;

(6) the below grade concrete footings will not be removed when the columns of the F.G. Gardiner Expressway are removed; and

(7) a public art component for the project is being developed in consultation with the DCLG and municipal review agencies.

The members of the DCLG generally consider that these enhancements have improved the overall project. The reduction in construction and detouring durations in particular have reduced the concerns of the business members of the DCLG on the impacts to their operations during construction.

The capital cost estimate of the project is being refined through the detailed design process, including the effects of the above enhancements. Items (4), (5) and (7) above are additional costs while item (6) is a cost saving. Items (1) and (2) will not increase the overall capital cost of the project but they will increase the yearly cash flow requirements. A preliminary cost estimate for the dismantling project based on the work completed to date has determined that the 50-year life-cycle cost of the project has not changed from the $34 million estimate reported in the EA study. However, the detailed design process is not yet complete and, therefore, the capital cost estimate for the project may be further refined.

The 1998-2002 Capital Works Program for the Transportation Department includes $7.9 million for the F.G. Gardiner Expressway East Dismantling Project in 1998. This will cover the cost of joining together 100 metres of the Expressway deck to permit detouring between the eastbound and westbound lanes, the relocation of the railway leads on Lake Shore Boulevard East, the relocation of utilities along Lake Shore Boulevard East, and the preparation of the detour route along Commissioners Street. Contract(s) for this work are planned to be awarded in July, 1998.