November 24, 1998

To:Urban Environment and Development Committee

From:Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services

Subject:Report on the Fixed Link to the City Centre Airport Environmental Assessment (Downtown)

Purpose:

To inform City Council of the findings of the Federal Environmental Assessment concerning the fixed link (bridge) to the City Centre Airport (airport) and recommend, provided the Environmental Assessment is approved by federal authorities, design and operational requirements for both the bridge and Bathurst Street, new terms and conditions which should be added to the Tripartite Agreement as a condition of City Council agreeing to the construction of the bridge and to an exchange of land between the City and the federal government which will result in additional park space.

Source of Funds:

There are no funding requirements arising from the recommendations of this report.

Recommendations:

(1)That City Council authorize amendments to the Tripartite Agreement, including those set out in Recommendation No. (2), to permit a bridge to the airport, subject to the approval of the Environmental Assessment and subject to TheToronto Harbour Commissioners completing the following to ensure that they are included in the design and construction program of the bridge:

(a)the bridge contain only two lanes of vehicular traffic each having a width of no more than 3.5 metres;

(b)sidewalks, having a width of 2.0 metres, be provided on both sides of the bridge structure and on the approaches to the bridge;

(c)the design of the bridge permit free and clear continuity of the water's edge promenade below the bridge in a safe and accessible manner, having a minimum width of seven metres and a clearance of not less than 2.5 metres;

(d)the slope of the grade of the Bathurst Street approach to the bridge structure be designed to minimize its overall length and height above the existing grade of Bathurst Quay at the water's edge and to ensure that it does not exceed an eightpercent grade in order to accommodate emergency vehicles;

(e)the change in grade associated with the approach to the bridge on the east side be designed to permit access to the Canada Malting site at both current driveway locations, and on the west side be designed to accommodate contemplated park space design and improvements;

(f)the filling-in of the ferry slips on either side of the Western Channel and the construction of the concrete dockwalls be completed in connection with the construction of the bridge;

(g)consultation with the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services to ensure that fireboat access requirements through the Western Gap are maintained during construction of the bridge and after the bridge is operational;

(h)public input into the design of the bridge by holding public meetings and/or workshops; and

(i)the final design of the bridge be submitted to City Council for review for consistency with established urban design objectives along the waterfront;

(2)that the amendments to the Tripartite Agreement include the following as new terms and conditions:

(a)that The Toronto Harbour Commissioners develop a strategy for encouraging the use of public transit to access the City Centre Airport including:

(i)the operation of a shuttle bus service operating between Union Station and the major hotels in the downtown area and the airport until such time as the off-site terminal is operational; and

(ii)discouraging passenger pick-ups by private automobile and taxis;

(b) that the total number of parking spaces on the airport lands be limited to 400 spaces and that building and landscaping plans associated with the construction of a parking facility, at grade or in a structure, be submitted to the City for review and approval prior to any construction;

(c)that the Toronto Harbour Commissioners agree to construct and operate an off-site (remote) terminal building:

(i)once a sustained annual passenger volume of 600,000 passengers per annum, or less if the City determines it is necessary before this level of passenger traffic, is reached; and

(ii)when airport-bound vehicular traffic reaches a peak volume of 100 vehicles per hour as measured along Bathurst Street south of Queen's Quay;

(d)that The Toronto Harbour Commissioners be required to monitor the effects of the bridge operation, as requested by the City, on:

-traffic volumes inbound and outbound on the bridge;

-use of the parking facility;

-extent of the queues on Bathurst Street;

-traffic operations at the Bathurst Street/Queen's Quay intersection;

-access to the abutting properties;

-the effectiveness of any traffic-calming measures implemented; and

-conflicts between airport-related traffic and other vehicular and pedestrian activity on Bathurst; and

(e)that, as a result of the monitoring exercise, The Toronto Harbour Commissioners, after advising the City, make appropriate changes to the bridge operations or access control to mitigate the impact of this facility on traffic operations;

(3)that City Council authorize the alteration of Bathurst Street in connection with the construction of a bridge to the airport, subject to The Toronto Harbour Commissioners completing the following:

(a)seeking the input of the community and staff on the various design options to the Bathurst Street alterations;

(b)consideration of traffic-calming measures in the detailed design of Bathurst Street;

(c)provision of landscaping and streetscaping within the Bathurst Street road allowance and along the perimeter of the parking facility at the airport satisfactory to the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services;

(d)ensuring that the final design includes public art;

(e)submission of the detailed design of the altered Bathurst Street, including road pavement design, sidewalks, traffic-calming measures, and landscaping, to the City for approval by the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services prior to any construction;

(f)conveyance, at no cost to the City, of the land south of the existing Bathurst Street road allowance, required for the bridge to the City, to be dedicated as a public highway;

(4)that the City be released and discharged from any obligations to The Toronto Harbour Commissioners to provide parking facilities in relation to airport parking on Bathurst Quay, as required by the agreements entered into between the City and The Toronto Harbour Commissioners and any license agreement arising out of same, including the interim parking arrangements on Bathurst Quay 5;

(5)that all rights to land held by the Federal Government, and currently used for public parking at the end of Bathurst Street and the ferry slip and access road leading to it, be conveyed to the City at nominal cost for public park and public highway purposes;

(6)that the 100 foot wide access easement located immediately adjacent to the Bathurst Street road allowance, granted in favour of the Federal Government for the purposes of ensuring future access to the airport, be released from title at the time the Tripartite Agreement is amended to permit the use of the bridge; and

(7)that the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services, together with other appropriate City officials, report on other measures which should be included as conditions in the Tripartite Agreement that address the cumulative impacts resulting from the introduction of a bridge and all Stage 3 turbo-prop aircraft at the airport, when appropriate.

1. Introduction and Background

The former City of Toronto Council, at its meeting held on October 16 and 17, 1995, endorsed building a fixed link to the City Centre Airport subject to the completion of an Environmental Assessment. At its meeting held on August 21, 1997, City Council requested the Minister of Transport to undertake a full Environmental Assessment for the fixed link proposal to the City Centre Airport because of public concerns and significant adverse environmental effects despite proposed mitigation measures. In addition, City Council requested a report on the then Draft Environmental Assessment document.

In two previous reports dated February 27, 1997 and June 12, 1997, it was recommended that, further to the former City Council's October 15 and 16, 1995 motion to support a fixed link, Council support a moveable, two lane bridge option subject to several conditions which ensure the design takes into account City objectives for this part of the waterfront. In addition, staff recommended that other related matters such as selecting a new parking location, limiting the amount of parking, encouraging the use of public transit, regulating vehicle access to the City Centre Airport, and studying and constructing a remote (off-site) terminal concept, be secured through amendments to the Tripartite Agreement as a condition of City Council's acceptance of the bridge. The Tripartite Agreement is a lease agreement between the City, the Toronto Harbour Commissioners and the federal government, entered into 1983, whereby the City has agreed to lease a finger-shaped portion of land in the middle of the airport for airport purposes subject to certain terms and conditions governing the operation of the airport.

Recently, the Environmental Assessment of the fixed link proposal was submitted to federal authorities. The EA report concludes that it is unlikely that the proposed construction and operation of a moveable bridge at the foot of Bathurst Street will cause any significant adverse environmental effects. Copies of the document were place in the Toronto Harbour Commissioners archives and at the Harbourfront Community Centre. Notifications indicating the availability of the document went to all individuals and organizations on the mailing list.

If members of the public are of the view that the proposed project will cause significant adverse environmental effects despite the mitigation measures proposed by the EA document, they may request the Minister of Transport to refer the matter to Panel Review which involves a second and usually more arduous examination of the proposal.

This report is not recommending such action because for a bridge to be constructed to the airport will require an amendment to the Tripartite Agreement. In amending the Tripartite Agreement to permit the proposed bridge, the City can secure provisions which would mitigate the concerns resulting from the construction of the bridge.

The Environmental Assessment report was circulated for comments to appropriate staff in Works and Emergency Services, Corporate Services, including the City Solicitor, and Community Services.

2.The Environmental Assessment Report

2.1Content of Report

The conclusions found in the Fixed Link to the City Centre Airport Environmental Assessment report remain the same as have been presented to the former City Council in previous reports with the exception of Appendix A. Appendix A, titled Additional Matters, discusses the potential impacts associated with an increase in air traffic. The Additional Matters contained in Appendix A do not form part of the Environmental Assessment and consequently are not subject to review through that process. However, the City can recommend the addition of new terms and conditions to the Tripartite Agreement to the City's concerns related to overall impact of any increased air traffic resulting from the construction of the bridge. For this reason, it recommended that staff report further on possible measures for mitigating potential impacts resulting from increased air traffic.

The remainder of this section examines the key issues arising from the conclusions of the Environmental Assessment report and outlines the requirements of City Council related to bridge design, road improvements and other matters should the Environmental Assessment for the Fixed Link be approved.

2.2Project Definition

Previous reports and documents had not specified the scope of the project insofar as construction activities were concerned. The draft Environmental Assessment report lists the activities associated with the construction of the bridge as including:

-constructing the piers and control tower (if needed)

-assembling the bridge superstructure

-demolishing two hangars (1 & 2) at the airport

-constructing the roadway approaches to the bridge including alterations to Bathurst Street

-constructing the parking lot at the airport

-filling in the ferry slips

-landscaping along all edges of the project area

The construction of the parking facility is a significant feature of the project. The Environmental Assessment report indicates that 173 surface parking spaces are proposed on the airport site in the location of hangars 1 and 2. This is a prominent location along the City's waterfront and appropriate landscaping is important. The detailed landscaping plans should be reviewed by City staff prior to implementation.

2.3Bridge Design

The Environmental Assessment report describes the project as a double bascule (draw) bridge at the foot of Bathurst Street. The underside of the bridge would be 5 metres above the average high water level and the moveable spans of the bridge would provide an opening of 50 metres in width located in the centre of the Western Channel. There are two options proposed for the bridge deck. One alternative proposes at 13 metre wide structure providing for two lanes of traffic at 3.75 metres in width, two shoulders 0.5 metres wide and two sidewalks each 2.25 metres wide. The second alternative design proposes a deck 14.5 metres wide consisting of two vehicular lanes 3.5 metres wide, two bike lanes at 1.5 metres in width and two sidewalks at 2.25 metres in width each. At previous Committee meetings of the former City Council, concerns were raised with respect to the overall size of the structure. In order to minimize the width of the bridge deck, staff are recommending that the maximum vehicular lanes widths be 3.5 metres. However, two sidewalks should be provided for safety reasons at a minimum 2.0 metres. It also recommended that the Toronto Harbour Commissioners seek the input of the community and staff on various optional designs prior to selecting a final design.

In a report dated June 12, 1997, staff recommended that bicycle lanes be introduced along Bathurst Street and over the bridge. At the Executive Committee meeting of the former City, held on August 15, 1997, comments from Committee members and the public questioned the need for bicycle lanes to the airport, especially in relation to another objective which is to reduce the width of the road pavement south of Queens Quay given the predominance of park and recreation uses in the area. The Environmental Assessment report proposed the bicycle lanes as an option which can be accommodated into the design. However, given the concern with the road pavement width, bicycle lanes should not be required.

The width of the water's edge promenade running beneath the bridge is proposed at a width of 6 metres. However, the current width of the water's edge promenade throughout Harbourfront is 7 metres. A consistent width of 7 metres should be maintained.

The Canada Malting site has two existing driveways. However, the most southerly driveway has been the historical main entrance to the site and should be retained. City Works staff believe it is possible to retain access at this location although the vertical alignment of the driveway would have to modified as a result of the grade or bridge approaches. The Environmental Assessment document does indicate two entrances can be accommodated.

2.4Bridge Operating Procedures

The Environmental Assessment report proposes a fixed operating schedule whereby the bridge would open twice an hour. The length of time the bridge would remain open will be entirely dependent on the time of day. Consequently, the bridge may remain open as long as 16 minutes during airport non peak hours and during peak periods the bridge would remain open for 7 minutes. According to the report, peak periods would occur for a two and a half hour period in the morning, a two hour period at noon, and a two and a half hour period in the evening. The bridge cycle time would consist of:

traffic control0.75 min.

bridge unlocking0.5 min.

bridge opening1.0 min.

boat passage 7.0 min. - 16 min.

bridge closure1.0 min.

locking 0.5 min.

traffic control0.25 min.

Total11.0 min. - 20 min.

The effect of the operation of the bridge in terms of its cycles of opening and closing on traffic along Bathurst Street has been studied by the consultant. A Transportation Evaluation is included in Appendix B of the Environmental Assessment report. Works and Emergency Services staff have reviewed the evaluation and concur with the consultant's conclusion that the traffic generated by this proposal can be safely and effectively accommodated on Bathurst Street and the abutting intersections with the proposed modifications to the facilities. However, when airport bound traffic reaches a level of more than 100 vehicles an hour and the bridge is opened, the Environmental Assessment report indicates that "either a southbound queuing lane will need to be constructed, or passengers will have to be handled through a remote terminal." This level of traffic is expected to occur in the late afternoon rush hour during the busiest of weekdays. Bathurst Street can accommodate approximately 20 queued vehicles without hindering other traffic.

Initially, it was suggested that an additional southbound lane be added to Bathurst Street to permit the queuing of vehicles during peak periods. However, in an earlier report dated June 12, 1997, it was recommended that the queuing lane be eliminated in favour of strategies to reduce the number of vehicles travelling to the airport (discussed further in Section 3 of this report). These strategies might include more shuttle bus service or public transit use and the development of a remote (off-site) terminal sooner. It is recommended that the development of these strategies be incorporated as requirements within the Tripartite Agreement.

Works and Emergency Services staff indicate that, given the importance of the bridge operation on traffic in the area, a key component of impact assessment is ongoing monitoring of bridge operation. Once the bridge is operational, the Toronto Harbour Commissioners should be required to monitor:

-traffic volumes inbound and outbound on the bridge

-use of the parking facility

-extent of the queues on Bathurst Street

-operations at the Bathurst Street/Queens Quay intersection

-impact on access to the abutting properties

-effectiveness of any traffic calming measures implemented

-conflicts between airport-related traffic and other vehicular and pedestrian activity on Bathurst Street

The results of the monitoring exercise should be reviewed to determine the need for change to the timing of the bridge operations or the access control.

It is recommended that the requirements for monitoring and review of the results be secured through conditions in the Tripartite Agreement.

2.5Bathurst Street Alterations

The Environmental Assessment report illustrates possible alterations to Bathurst Street in the form of pavement widening, the construction of sidewalks, line painting, the installation of gates and signals and the installation of "traffic calming" devices form part of the project work. In Figure 2.1 of the Environmental Assessment report, Bathurst Street is depicted as a two lane road, each lane being 3.5 metres wide, and centre turn lane also 3.5 metres wide. Two bicycle lanes, each 1.5 metres in width, are shown together with two sidewalks each 1.5 metres wide. The total width of the road pavement under this proposal would be 13.5 metres.

As mentioned above, comments made at the Executive Committee meeting of the former City, held on August 15, 1997 questioned the need for bicycle lanes along Bathurst Street to the airport especially when considering the objective of reducing the overall pavement proposed for the altered Bathurst Street. As a result, alternative designs should be presented by the Toronto Harbour Commissioners that would reduce pavement width of Bathurst Street.

In addition, the west side of Bathurst, the sidewalk should be 3 metres wide, in keeping with Harbourfront sidewalk widths, and a landscape zone 2 metres wide. On the east side of Bathurst Street a 2 metre wide sidewalk is under construction and should be extended together with a 2.5 metre landscape zone. The detailed design of Bathurst Street, as altered, together with road pavement layout, sidewalks, landscaping, and traffic calming measures should be submitted to the City prior to any construction.

In addition to physical improvements to Bathurst Street, the City Solicitor indicates that the area of land south of the existing Bathurst Street road allowance would have to be dedicated as a public highway. Currently the road allowance ends at the entrance to the ferry area.

3.Amendments to the Tripartite Agreement

City Council's endorsement of the construction of the fixed link proposal in October 1995 was conditional upon amendments to the Tripartite Agreement being enacted to ensure that any adverse effects arising from introduction of a fixed link in combination with the introduction of Stage 3 turbo-prop aircraft could be controlled to a level acceptable to the City. Below are described the mitigating measures which could be introduced as conditions in the Tripartite Agreement. The Tripartite Agreement is used in this manner because airports are regulated by federal legislation and the City has no control over matters of federal jurisdiction. The City of Toronto is the only city in Canada with such an agreement.

(a)Develop strategies encouraging public transit access to the airport

With increased use of the airport by passenger aircraft, vehicle movements to the airport would likely also increase. The Environmental Assessment consultant predicts that when the airport reaches 600,000 passengers per annum there will be a need for an additional traffic lane to accommodate vehicles forming a queue when the bridge is raised during peak hour, likely sometime between the hours of 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday or Friday afternoons in the summer months. Encouraging the use of a regular shuttle bus service between the downtown (Union Station) and the airport would assist in reducing the number of vehicles going to and from the airport. Private automobiles pick-ups should also be discouraged at all times, especially since a shuttle bus service could connect passengers with the City's transit system and taxi service and major hotels in the downtown area.

(b)Remove all parking spaces associated with the airport on Bathurst Quay

By moving the existing parking found on Bathurst Quay to the airport lands, approximately one and half acres could be made available for park purposes on Bathurst Quay.

(c)Limit the total number of parking spaces on the airport lands to 400 spaces

There currently exists 208 parking spaces associated with the airport on Bathurst Quay. There are an additional 100 spaces located on the airport lands. The Harbourfront Official Plan and Zoning By-law permits 400 spaces to be located on Bathurst Quay, south of Queens Quay. It is recommended that the 400 parking spaces permitted by the Official Plan and Zoning By-law be transferred to the airport lands. This amount of 400 spaces is 92 spaces more than currently exists. This is a reasonable figure given that there will likely be an increase in use by air passengers. However, since the long term objective is to construct a remote terminal somewhere in the downtown area, the demand for parking at the airport could decrease. The Toronto Harbour Commissioners should also develop a strategy to encourage public transit use. In addition, building and landscaping plans associated with the construction of a parking facility, at grade or in a structure, should be submitted to the City for review prior to any construction.

(d)Require the construction of a remote terminal

Construction of a remote (off-site) terminal will likely only occur when passenger loads warrant the cost involved. The Toronto Harbour Commissioners should study this concept now and construct such a terminal when sustained passenger loads warrant. The Tripartite Agreement should be amended to require that a remote terminal must be operational at a sustained annual passenger volume to be agreed upon with the City but at no greater an amount than 600,000 annual passengers or if airport bound traffic begins to exceed a rate of 100 vehicles an hour.

4.Transfer of Lands on Bathurst Quay to the City

There are several parcels of land on Bathurst Quay which are associated with airport use (see Map 1). The existing parking lot at the end of Bathurst Street and the access area around the ferry slip is owned by the federal government. This land should be transferred to the City. The "orange lands", located on the east side of Bathurst Street, are owned by the City but are referenced in certain agreements as a potential permanent parking site for the airport. These arrangements should also be rescinded. To the west of the Bathurst Street road allowance is a one hundred foot wide right-of-way in favour of the Crown held for the purposes of securing a access route to the airport should Bathurst Street be closed. This federal easement should be released once the Tripartite Agreement has been approved.

Contact Name:Joe D'Abramo

Telephone 416 392-7616

Fax 416 392-1330

e-mail: jdabramo@city.toronto.on.ca

Reviewed by:

Paul J. BedfordVirginia M. West

Executive Director and Chief PlannerCommissioner of Urban Planning and

City Planning DivisionDevelopment Services

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