The Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee recommends the adoption of the recommendation of the Budget Committee embodied in the following transmittal letter (April 1, 1998) from the Budget Committee:

Recommendations:

The Budget Committee on March 31, 1998, recommended to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee, and Council, the adoption of the recommendations of the Urban Environment and Development Committee, wherein it is recommended that the report (February 23, 1998) from the Interim Functional Lead, Transportation, be adopted.

Background:

The Budget Committee on March 31, 1998, had before it a letter of transmittal (March 24, 1998) from the Urban Environment and Development Committee advising that the Committee on March 23 and 24, 1998 recommended the adoption of the report (February 23, 1998) from the Interim Functional Lead, Transportation, regarding the replacement of lighting on the F.G. Gardiner Expressway, from the Humber River to the Don Valley Parkway.

(Letter of Transmittal dated March 24, 1998 addressed to the

Budget Committee from

Urban Environment and Development Committee)

Recommendations:

The Urban Environment and Development Committee on March 23 and 24, 1998, recommended to the Budget Committee, the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee, and Council:

(1) the adoption of the attached report dated February 23, 1998, from the Interim Functional Lead, Transportation, regarding the replacement of lighting on the F. G. Gardiner Expressway, from the Humber River to the Don Valley Parkway; and

(2) that this matter be forwarded to Council for consideration at its meeting scheduled to be held on April 16, 1998.

Purpose:

To obtain Council authority to carry out the staged replacement of the existing lighting systems on the F. G. Gardiner Expressway, from the Humber Bridges to the Don Valley Parkway (DVP).

Funding Sources:

The Department's proposed 1998-2002 Capital Works Program includes an amount of $65.82 million under Project No. C-TR180, F. G. Gardiner Expressway, Parkway to Humber. The replacement of the Gardiner Expressway lighting forms part of that program and the estimated total project cost is $9.0 million, of which $2.5 million is anticipated to be spent in 1998. Funding is currently available in Capital Account No. C-TR180, and the Treasurer has previously certified that financing can be provided under the updated Debt and Financial Obligation Limit and that it falls within Corporate Debt Guidelines.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that, subject to the approval of the 1998-2002 Capital Works Program, authority be granted to undertake the replacement of the lighting systems on the F. G. Gardiner Expressway, from the Humber Bridges to the Don Valley Parkway, at an estimated cost of $9.0 million.

Background:

The F. G. Gardiner Expressway (FGGE) is the last Expressway link in the original Metropolitan Toronto Roads System which has not undergone a replacement of its lighting systems. Many elements of the existing lighting systems on the FGGE date from the original installations carried out in the 1960s. They, therefore, predate the lighting systems on the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) and the Allen Road, both of which have already been replaced or are in the process of being replaced. For reasons identified in this report, it is now necessary to replace the FGGE lighting systems.

The lighting systems on the FGGE service two different physical configurations. These are the "at-grade" section from the Humber River to east of Dufferin Street and the elevated, structural section from east of Dufferin Street to the proposed new termination of the Expressway approximately 200 metres east of the DVP.

In the at-grade section of the Expressway, the existing (original) system comprises conventional lighting poles located within the raised, curbed median of the Expressway between steel beam guide rails mounted on timber posts. These poles carry extended support arms and luminaries which illuminate the two directions of travel. The system in this section requires replacement for two reasons. The first is because of widespread deterioration of the underground wiring circuits. The second is the need to reconfigure the Expressway median to current highway geometric and safety standards concurrently with the resurfacing of this section of the Expressway, which is scheduled for 1999. The existing raised median configuration, with curbs and steel beam guide rails, will be replaced by New Jersey type concrete traffic safety barriers which will match the median type on the elevated portion of the Expressway. This redesign of the median will require the relocation of light poles from the median to new locations outside of the Expressway pavement. The new lighting system must be constructed and in operation prior to removal of the old lighting system.

The existing wiring feeding the at-grade section is in very poor condition. Most of the approximately 250 fixtures are still fed by the original direct buried wiring, which is rapidly deteriorating. In recent years, the maintenance contractor has been required to repair approximately 14 faults annually related to underground circuit burndowns. Because these faults can be repaired only during Expressway closures for other purposes, there have sometimes been extended periods during which some lights were not working. These repairs have become more frequent and would soon oblige us to replace the entire power feed circuits, even without the scheduled roadway resurfacing and median reconfiguration.

On the elevated section of the FGGE, east of Dufferin Street, most of the existing fixtures are still equipped with the original luminaries and replacement parts are no longer available. As a result, the entire lighting fixture must be replaced whenever there is a failure at a cost of $400.00 plus installation costs, lane closure costs and public inconvenience. In 1996 and 1997 there were approximately 100 failures of this type.

Considered separately, the existing power circuit feeds in the elevated section of the Expressway are relatively new and are not causing undue maintenance difficulties. Nevertheless, there are serious problems with the lighting systems in this section as follows:

(1) the old poles are in various stages of deterioration due to their age;

(2) the system is still fed by Toronto Hydro under the old, inefficient 120-volt distribution network;

(3) the system does not have the benefit of the available technology, hardware and shielded luminaries used in modern, effective and safe highway lighting systems; and

(4) the problems of failing and obsolete original luminaries in this section cannot be satisfactorily resolved by simply continuing to replace them with newer type heads, either one by one as they fail, or in one concentrated operation during a scheduled maintenance closure of the Expressway. The replacement lighting heads we have had to use to fit the old fixtures are different from the modern luminaire type that we are using elsewhere on our expressways and intend to use on the at-grade section of the FGGE. They do not incorporate the effective shielding features that prevent excess light spillage. They could not be transferred and refitted to the new type of pole we are bringing into service without added difficulty and extra cost of fabricating non-standard or custom hardware and fittings. This would also result in an inconsistent, ill-matched appearance and complicate future maintenance.

Discussion:

In 1996, the former Metro Transportation Department issued a Request for Proposals from consultants to conduct an Environmental Assessment Study for Replacement of the Gardiner Expressway Lighting. Six proposals were received and competitively evaluated. As a result, the firm of Fenco MacLaren Inc., Consulting Engineers, was engaged to carry out the assignment.

The F. G. Gardiner Expressway Lighting Replacement Environmental Assessment Study, as a safety-related improvement, was carried out in accordance with the requirements of Schedule "B" of The Class Environmental Assessment for Municipal Road Projects (the Class EA). The Class EA describes a planning and public consultation process, which was approved by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MOEE) in June 1993. In due course, the Environmental Study Report is filed on the public record for 30 days according to the requirements of the Class EA. During this period, affected municipalities, members of the public, interest groups or government agencies may request that the status of the project be changed or "bumped-up" from a Class EA to an Individual Environmental Assessment. The Minister of the Environment and Energy determines whether or not to grant a bump-up request. If the bump-up is granted, the project may not proceed until an Individual Environmental Assessment is prepared by the proponent and approved by the Minister. If the bump-up is not granted, or if no objections or bump-up requests are received during the 30-day filing period, the project is automatically approved under the Environmental Assessment Act and may proceed.

The F. G. Gardiner Expressway Lighting Replacement EA Final Report was completed in early summer 1997, and, on July 19, 1997, was placed on the public record for the required 30-day review period. During this period, the Minister of the Environment and Energy received one request for a bump-up and this request was denied. As a result, this project may now proceed subject to Council approval.

The Study recommends that the new system for the at-grade section of the Expressway (except where insufficient space is available within the property corridor, as noted below), should consist of high mast poles with shielded luminaries, similar to the system in place on sections of the Don Valley Parkway. In this system, one high mast pole can replace from eight to ten conventional poles. The shielding of the luminaries effectively prevents spillage of lighting beyond limits that can be precisely adjusted and controlled. The high mast poles will be off the roadway in open space just to the south of the Expressway and will be able to light the entire Expressway from the south side. This location will also greatly simplify both the new construction and future maintenance of the high mast poles since both will be able to occur without interfering with traffic flows. In two stretches of the at-grade section, there is insufficient space within the corridor for high mast poles. These are from west of Ellis Avenue to the Humber Bridges and for approximately 350 metres west from the Jameson Avenue/Dunn Avenue Interchange. In these two areas, conventional poles will be installed on both sides of the roadway.

It is intended to proceed with Phase 1 of this project in 1998, which includes:

(a) twenty conventional poles from Windermere Avenue to Ellis Avenue;

(b) fifteen high mast poles from Ellis Avenue to approximately 350 metres west of Dowling Avenue;

(c) a group of 36 conventional poles located on both sides of the roadway from 350 metres west of Dowling Avenue to the west side of the interchange at Jameson Avenue/Dunn Avenue; and

(d) five more high mast poles at the interchange at Jameson Avenue/Dunn Avenue which will replace nearly 50 conventional poles on the FGGE and its interchange ramps at that location.

The substantial reduction in the number of poles achieved by using high mast poles will greatly reduce visual clutter and lighting maintenance operations on the Expressway around the Humber Bay. The 20 high mast poles proposed will do the work of almost 200 conventional poles that would otherwise be needed. In addition, landscaping measures have been identified to introduce plant materials around the installations to reduce their visual impact on other space users at ground level.

The design for the stretch west of Windermere Avenue to the Humber Bridges will be included in contracts of the Humber Bridges Project scheduled for implementation in 1998 and 1999.

On the elevated section of the FGGE, from east of Dufferin Street to the future termination of the Expressway east of the DVP, it is not possible to use high mast poles due to both insufficient corridor property and physical/structural constraints. Instead, the new lighting system in the elevated section will use new conventional poles mounted on the elevated structure in a similar way to the original system. The new poles and shielded heads will match those being used elsewhere on the Expressway network. Contracts for this work will be tendered in 1999 to 2000.

Conclusions:

The lighting systems on the F. G. Gardiner Expressway must be replaced, principally as a result of general deterioration and obsolescence.

The proposed upgrades to the lighting system on the FGGE are intended to achieve the same objectives pursued in similar work carried out earlier on the Don Valley Parkway and the Allen Road. These are:

(1) replacement of obsolete and deteriorated installations requiring excessive repairs and maintenance;

(2) standardization of lighting systems and hardware throughout the Expressway network for ease and economy of operation and maintenance, and assured availability and interchangeability of parts;

(3) standardization of power supply, throughout the amalgamated municipal hydro system, at a 347-600 volt, three-phase distribution network for economical, efficient, uniform and reliable service;

(4) standardization of lighting type to high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps for effective, economical illumination and proven performance;

(5) incorporation of state-of-the-art technology in providing effective, safe, and economical illumination of the Expressways with effective shielding to prevent light spillage into adjacent areas;

(6) the ability to carry out installation and maintenance of high mast poles without disrupting traffic; and

(7) reduced visual clutter along the Expressway and reduction of visual impacts of the installations at ground level by the use of strategically-placed plantings.

The study and preferred scheme should be approved and the construction of the project should be authorized.

Contact Name:

Mr. Barry I. Craig, P. Eng., Manager of Roads, Construction Branch, Metro Hall Office, 392-8312.