Railway Lands Central and West
(Downtown)
The Toronto Community Council recommends that:
(1) Council adopt the Terms of Reference for an Urban Design Task Force for the
Railway Lands Central and West as set out in Appendix 1 of the report (March 19,
1998) from the Commissioner, Urban Planning and Development Services;
(2) Council approve the membership of the Urban Design Task Force as set out in
Appendix 3 of the report (March 19, 1998) from the Commissioner, Urban Planning
and Development Services;
(3) staff prepare, in consultation with the Urban Design Task Force, an open space
master plan for the Railway lands west of SkyDome, including linkages to publicly
accessible open space and streets, to be incorporated into the Urban Design
Guidelines for the Concord Adex lands and to amend the Urban Design Guidelines
for public spaces in the Railway Lands Central and West;
(4) Urban Planning and Development Services staff report to the June 24, 1998 meeting
of Toronto Community Council on the recommendations of the Urban Design Task
Force;
(5) Urban Planning and Development Services and Community and Neighbourhood
Services (Housing) staff be requested to test the urban design and massing of Blocks
31, 32 and 36 in the Railway Lands West in terms of delivering affordable housing
and in the context of recent changes to the built form on adjacent development
blocks and that staff identify, upon completing the built form study, any
requirements to hire outside consultant staff to assist in refining and costing and a
budget to be included in the City's 1999 Community and Neighbourhoods Services
budget;
(6) Urban Planning and Development Services and Community and Neighbourhood
Services (Housing) staff report to Toronto Community Council on the results of the
urban design study, ongoing discussions with Concord Adex and terms of reference
for a request for proposals to affordable housing providers to identify the full range
of opportunities for development of the affordable housing sites on the Railway
Lands West;
(7) the City secure, in the Precinct Agreement for the Railway Lands West, the City's
right to prebuild Bremner Boulevard between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street;
(8) the City secure, through Precinct and Section 37 Agreements with landowners in the
Railway Lands West and Bathurst/Strachan Area, contributions toward the
construction of the Bathurst Street/Bremner Boulevard/Fort York Boulevard
intersection based on a 33 per cent public/66 per cent private cost sharing formula;
(9) the City- owned affordable housing sites in the Railway Lands West be considered a
pilot project in support of the City's broader strategy to create new affordable
housing in keeping with the objectives of the Task Force on Homelessness, the
Council Strategy Committee for People without Homes, and that the results of the
studies and discussions noted in Recommendation Nos. (5) and (6) be forwarded to
the inter-departmental staff team supporting affordable housing development;
(10) the Railway Lands Environmental Task Force be reactivated;
(11) Urban Planning and Development Services staff provide background information
on the Railway Lands Environmental Task Force, as included in the Official Plan
for the Railway Lands and Ontario Municipal Board decisions, to the Toronto
Community Council for its meeting to be held on May 6 and 7, 1998;
(12) Urban Planning and Development Services staff consult with interested Members of
Council in the preparation of the review of the role and function of the Task Force;
(13) Urban Planning and Development Services staff, in consultation with other
appropriate officials explore the possibility of the housing for the Olympic Village
being provided in the City-owned blocks; and
(14) Urban Planning and Development Services staff report to the Toronto Community
Council on the various objectives for Garrison Creek and how it fits with the plan
for the Railway Lands.
The Toronto Community Council submits the following report (March 19, 1998) from the
Commissioner, Urban Planning and Development Services:
Purpose:
At its meeting of October 6, 1997, the former City of Toronto Council adopted amendments to
the Railway Lands Central and West Part II Official Plans and Zoning By-laws as requested by
Grand Adex Developments (now Concord Adex Developments Corp.). In response to issues
raised at the Council meeting, Council also requested staff to report back to the new Council in
March 1998 on:
(1) the membership and terms of reference for an Urban Design Task Force;
(2) ways to implement affordable housing;
(3) investigating the feasibility of advancing the construction of Bremner Boulevard between
Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street; and
(4) responding to the TTC request to cost-share the construction of the Bathurst
Street/Bremner Boulevard/Fort York Boulevard intersection to accommodate left-turn
lanes.
This report responds to these Council requests.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
Based on the former City of Toronto Council recommendation of October 6, 1997, funding in the
amount of $20,000 needs to be added to the 1998 Urban Planning and Development Services
($10,000) and Community and Neighbourhood Services ($10,000) operating budgets to pay for
an urban design study for the City's housing blocks as described in this report.
Recommendations:
(1) That Council adopt the Terms of Reference for an Urban Design Task Force for the
Railway Lands Central and West as set out in Appendix 1 of this report.
(2) That Council approve the membership of the Urban Design Task Force as set out in
Appendix 3 of this report.
(3) That staff prepare, in consultation with the Urban Design Task Force, an open space
master plan for the Railway lands west of SkyDome, including linkages to publicly
accessible open space and streets, to be incorporated into the Urban Design Guidelines
for the Concord Adex lands and to amend the Urban Design Guidelines for public spaces
in the Railway Lands Central and West.
(4) That Urban Planning and Development Services staff report to the June 24, 1998 meeting
of Toronto Community Council on the recommendations of the Urban Design Task
Force.
(5) That Urban Planning and Development Services and Community and Neighbourhood
Services (Housing) staff be requested to hire outside support, as authorized by the former
City of Toronto Council at its meeting of October 6, 1997, to carry out an urban design
study of the City housing blocks in the Railway Lands West and that the study budget not
exceed $20,000 (funding in the amount of $10,000 each be added to the 1998 operating
budgets of Urban Planning and Development Services and Community and
Neighbourhood Services).
(6) That Urban Planning and Development Services and Community and Neighbourhood
Services (Housing) staff report to Toronto Community Council on the results of the urban
design study, ongoing discussions with Concord Adex and terms of reference for a
request for proposals to affordable housing providers to identify the full range of
opportunities for development of the affordable housing sites on the Railway Lands West.
(7) That the City secure, in the Precinct Agreement for the Railway Lands West, the City's
right to prebuild Bremner Boulevard between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street.
(8) That the City secure, through Precinct and Section 37 Agreements with landowners in the
Railway Lands West and Bathurst/Strachan Area, contributions toward the construction
of the Bathurst Street/Bremner Boulevard/Fort York Boulevard intersection based on a 33
per cent public/66 per cent private cost sharing formula.
Background:
In April 1997, Grand Adex Developments Corp.(Grand Adex), later renamed Concord Adex,
made an application to the City of Toronto to amend the Part II Official Plans and Zoning By-laws for the portions of the Railway Lands Central and West which it was purchasing from the
Canada Lands Company. These lands are shown on Map 1. In response to this application, on
October 6, 1997 Council approved changes to the Railway Lands Central and West Part II
Official Plans and Zoning By-laws to permit: residential uses on Blocks 21 and 28; more
flexibility in the built form to permit taller towers and lower base buildings; adjustments to
individual block densities without increasing the overall density permitted; and changes to
above-grade parking permissions on some blocks. Minor changes were made to local streets in
the Railway Lands West. No changes were made to the approved parks and open space system.
When approving the amended by-laws the former City of Toronto Council also requested staff to
report back on a number of issues related to these amendments as follows.
Urban Design Task Force
"Established an Urban Design Task Force on the public spaces in the Railway Lands Central and
West and that the Commissioner of Urban Development Services be requested to report back to
the Land Use Committee or its successor in March 1998 on specific terms of reference,
participants and funding requirements for the Task Force."
Affordable Housing
"Directed staff to continue discussions with Grand Adex on potential options for developing
affordable housing on the City's housing lands and prepare a report on the discussions and a
detailed outline on how the City's housing lands could be developed to the Land Use Committee
or its successor in March 1998 and authorized staff within the Board of Management approval
limits, to hire outside support to facilitate these goals."
Early construction of Bremner Boulevard
"Directed that the extension of Bremner Boulevard to provide westerly access to the Railway
Lands West portion of the proposed development be required as part of the commitments (by the
city and/or landowners) associated with the development.
Directed that the extension of Bremner Boulevard be completed as soon as possible, but at least
as soon as commencement of construction of any buildings on the Railway Lands west of
Spadina Avenue."
Left-turn lanes and cost-sharing of Bremner Bathurst intersection
"Adopted, in principle, the recommendations contained in the communication (October 6, 1997)
from the Toronto Transit Commission; which are:
"That staff be directed to ensure that the design of the future connection of Bremner
Boulevard to Bathurst Street include separate left-turn lanes, and relocated streetcar
tracks to allow these lanes, ... ;
That the associated costs of these improvements be included in the financial contributions
requested from all private and public development interests in the area, who will benefit
directly from the upgraded infrastructure; this would be analogous to contributions
required for other basic community services such as schools, parks and daycare centres;
and
That this matter be brought forward for consideration by the new City of Toronto
Council, with the recommendation that the new Council allocate additional funds for the
planned rehabilitation of the Bathurst Street bridge at Bremner Boulevard, currently
scheduled for 1998-1999 to cover the remainder of the costs of upgrading the intersection
of Bathurst Street and Bremner/Fort York Boulevard".
Requested staff to meet with the Toronto Transit Commission and the developers in the
area and report to the new Council on issues raised in the communication (October 6,
1997) from the Toronto Transit Commission."
Comments:
(1) Urban Design Task Force
(a) Background
The former Council's establishment of an Urban Design Task Force for the Railway
Lands Central and West responded to former Councillor Leckie's motion and the
resulting recommendation from the September 30, 1997, Land Use Committee meeting
requesting the Commissioner of Urban Development Services to report directly to
Council on (among other things):
"The establishment of a design competition and task force on the urban design of public
spaces in the Railway Lands Central and West, including but not limited to:
- provision of on and off road pedestrian and bicycle connections;
- interface of private and public spaces;
- parks needs and designs;
- appropriate sidewalk widths and furniture;
- the design of 2 pedestrian bridges over the rail corridor;
- linkages with Fort York;
- public art;
- linkages over/under the Gardiner Expressway to the waterfront;
- water features;
- storm water ponding/treatment.
Membership of the Task Force is proposed to include representation from the Niagara
Residents' Association, the Draper Street Residents' Association, Friends of Fort York,
Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association, Harbourfront Condominium Association,
Toronto Entertainment District Association and Harbourfront Corporation"
This section of the report and the Terms of Reference attached as Appendix 1 respond to
these requests.
The Urban Design Task Force is intended to provide an opportunity for area landowners
and community and business groups to review the urban design work done to date in the
Railway Lands Central and West and to give advice to staff on public space issues --
streets and parkland -- in the Railway Lands Central and West.
The Task Force process may also help to address concerns raised by four of the parties
which made Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) appeals to the Concord Adex amendments
to the Railway Lands Plans. At the pre-hearing conference dealing with the appeals, the
OMB directed City staff to review the urban design issues raised by these appellants as
part of the work of the Task Force. These appellants have therefore been added to the
membership of the Task Force.
In order to provide a framework for the Task Force, in January, 1998, Urban Planning
and Development Services staff set up an urban design work group. Four architects and
one landscape architect were asked to look at the changes to the Official Plans and
Zoning By-Laws for the Concord Adex lands and to make suggestions for the
development of urban design guidelines. The participants were: David Anselmi, George
Baird, Ken Greenberg, Michael Kirkland, and Bruce Kuwabara. City staff and
representatives of Concord Adex provided background information to the work group.
The recommendations of the work group are attached as Appendix 2 to this report.
(b) Terms of Reference for the Urban Design Task Force
The detailed Terms of Reference are attached as Appendix 1 to this report. In summary,
members of the Urban Design Task Force will be asked to give advice on:
(i) identifying issues related to public space to be addressed in the urban design
guidelines for the Railway Lands Central and West;
(ii) creating an open space master plan for the Railway Lands Central and West;
(iii) developing criteria for and design details of the public space system, streetscape
and civic design;
(iv) developing design objectives for the pedestrian bridges at Portland Street and
between Portland Street and Spadina Avenue; and
(v) locating and phasing public art.
(c) Membership of the Task Force
The Task Force will be chaired by Councillor Olivia Chow (Ward 24) and include two
City Councillors, area landowners and leaseholders, community and resident groups and
four OMB appellants as listed in Appendix 3.
The Urban Design Task Force will be supported by a technical advisory team led by
Urban Planning and Development staff and include staff from Parks, Works, Property,
Housing and representatives of the City Cycling Committee, Safe City Committee,
Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and Heritage Toronto. In addition, the following
interested parties will be kept informed of agendas and recommendations of the Task
Force: Urban design work group members; English Language Separate District School
Board No. 40; Toronto District School Board; and the Toronto Society of Architects.
(d) Timing and Number of Meetings
The Task Force is proposed to meet four times as follows:
Meeting 1 - April 7, Awareness
City staff will define the scope of work of the Task Force, provide background
information on the existing area, context and planning controls and describe the
expected outcome of the process.
Meeting 2 - April 20, Brainstorming
The urban design work group will present its ideas and recommendations and
each member of the Task Force will have the opportunity to raise any issues
which they feel the group should address. City staff will provide a draft outline of
the urban design guidelines to help focus the work of the Task Force. This will be
followed by general discussion.
Meeting 3 - April 27, Action
City staff will present a summary of the discussions of Meeting 2 to begin to help
the group to define recommendations for draft urban design guidelines.
Meeting 4 - May 4, Recommendations
The recommendations of the Task Force will be summarized by City staff for
review and approval at its final meeting. These recommendations, along with the
relevant previous recommendations of the work group will then be brought
forward to Toronto Community Council in June to be incorporated into the
revised urban design guidelines for the Railway Lands Central and West.
(2) Affordable Housing
City staff have met with Concord Adex representatives to continue discussions about
opportunities to develop affordable housing on the City housing lands in the absence of funding
programs. Concord Adex is interested in continuing discussions with the City and has defined
options for the City's consideration. The following reviews the City's objectives for the
provision of affordable housing in the Railway Lands, summarize recent discussions with
Concord Adex, and describe next steps.
(a) City Objectives
In order to meet the objectives of the City's Part I Official Plan, in 1986 CN Real Estate
provided 4.45 acres of land to the City to accommodate approximately 1,500 affordable
housing units. The City's housing blocks are located in the Railway Lands West and
originally comprised blocks 31,32,33 and 36. In 1995, the City transferred Block 33 to
Wittington Properties Limited in exchange for parkland west of Bathurst Street and land
to be dedicated to public streets. The City continues to own the remaining three blocks in
the Railway Lands West which could accommodate up to 1,100 affordable housing units.
In order to address the City's Official Plan objectives and the ongoing need for affordable
housing in the City, City staff's objectives for its blocks are to:
(i) provide long-term, affordable rental units;
(ii) provide a full range of unit types to accommodate families, seniors and
singles; and
(iii) continue to distribute the affordable units across the Railway Lands West
in accordance with the City's current ownership.
(b) Update on current discussions
In a recent meeting with City staff, Concord Adex representatives indicated that they are
willing to continue discussions about a number of different approaches to help the City
develop affordable housing, including:
(i) working with the City to develop a mix of market and affordable rental
units on the City blocks;
(ii) purchasing a portion of the City's density from its affordable housing
blocks which would be transferred to other blocks owned by Concord
Adex; or
(iii) purchase of all or some of the City blocks allowing the City to use the
funds to provide affordable housing elsewhere.
Options (i) and (ii) above could help the City to achieve a number of its housing
objectives and are consistent with the direction being taken by an internal staff working
group looking at the rental housing supply across the City. Option (iii) does not address
the City's housing policy objectives and staff are not recommending that the City sell its
lands in the Railway Lands West. This position was supported by the former City of
Toronto Board of Management.
From a housing policy perspective, the Railway Lands provide a unique opportunity for
the City to build affordable rental housing, which is in increasingly short supply. The
City owns the land and could use the land's value in partnership with Concord Adex or
another housing provider to produce self-financing affordable rental housing. Based on
recent studies carried out for the former Metro Toronto, it appears that with zero land
costs, low interest rates, advantageous tax rates and a mix of market and affordable
housing to permit cross-subsidies, it may be possible to deliver affordable rental housing
in the absence of conventional housing programs.
The large land area and potentially high unit count offers the City a rare chance to
develop a well-planned, mixed-income community with a range of unit types and a mix
of tenures. Incorporating market and affordable rental units will help to make the
development more financially viable. In addition, the City's most westerly housing
blocks are well-positioned in that they are close to existing TTC service, parkland and a
new school and community centre in Bathurst Quay which could allow for their early
development.
According to Housing and Real Estate staff, from a financial perspective it appears that,
based on current land prices, the sale of the City housing blocks would not yield
sufficient funds to permit the delivery of a significant number of affordable units
elsewhere. If the City is not in a position to proceed with development in the near future,
it would be preferable to hold onto the lands until the City is in a position to develop or
the land value increases as a result of the development of the Concord Adex blocks.
C. Next Steps
To move forward in defining ways in which the City can effectively deliver affordable
rental housing in the Railway Lands West, I am recommending a two step process: hiring
an urban design consultant to assist City staff in reviewing the development options and
built form for its sites; and preparing a request for proposals to rental housing providers
to help to ensure that the City has identified all available options for its lands.
(I) Hiring an Urban Design Consultant
The Council action of October 6, 1997 directed staff to continue discussions with
Concord Adex and "within the Board of Management approval limits, to hire
outside support to facilitate these goals." In order to develop a request for
proposals and to assess the Concord Adex proposal that the City sell a portion of
its density, the first step would be hiring an urban design consultant experienced
in the delivery of affordable housing. The consultant would then:
(1) test density and massing options on the City's housing blocks to
ensure that the City can build cost-effective buildings which can
respond to market demand;
(2) determine if there is excess density that the City could sell to
finance affordable rental development or if the density should be
retained;
(3) ensure that the built form on the housing sites is compatible with
the recently approved built form on the Concord Adex blocks to
allow for the physical integration of the affordable housing into the
neighbourhood;
(4) provide preliminary unit counts and costs to develop the City's
sites; and
(5) determine whether Official Plan and zoning by-law amendments
are required for the City lands.
The urban design study is expected to take approximately 2 months to complete
and is estimated to cost a maximum of $20,000. City staff would consult with
Concord Adex and Wittington during the process.
In order to develop building proposals for the City's housing sites and cost
estimates to help test financially viable approaches to developing the City sites, it
is necessary to bring in consultants with broad experience in the design of
affordable and market rental housing and in costing all aspects of housing
projects. The City does not have the expertise or staff resources to complete this
study in-house.
This funding request was not previously included in our 1998 operating budget as
it was necessary to do a preliminary review of options for the housing sites to
define the work required of outside consultants. It is only in the past week that
staff have been able to establish a consultant budget for architects and quantity
surveyors to help staff test the feasibility of various options.
(ii) Issue request for proposals to affordable housing providers
In order to ensure that the City has identified all opportunities and to allow other
housing providers to make proposals to the City which may be more
advantageous than those Concord Adex may propose, the City should, after
completion of the urban design study and further discussions with Concord Adex,
issue a proposal call to affordable rental housing providers. Proponents will be
asked to provide proposals to build affordable housing either on their own or in
association with the City. Concord Adex will, of course, be welcome to respond
to this proposal call if it wishes.
City staff will continue discussions with Concord Adex on various options for affordable housing
as it refines its options for its lands.
(3) Early construction of Bremner Boulevard
The existing Stadium Precinct Agreement secures, on title, two-thirds funding by CN Real Estate
(the previous owner) and one-third funding by the City for the section of Bremner Boulevard
between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street. Funding the City's one-third share of Bremner
Boulevard between Bathurst Street and Spadina Avenue is already contained in the City's 5-year
Capital Works Program. Concord Adex has agreed to build Bremner in stages to serve its
development and to front end its two-thirds share of Bremner to Bathurst Street at the time of the
first occupancy permit on Block 26 shown on Map 1.
Council has directed that Bremner Boulevard be completed as soon as possible "...but at least as
soon as commencement of construction of any buildings on the Railway Lands west of Spadina
Avenue." Should the City chose to prebuild Bremner Boulevard, it could do so at any time
since the lands are in escrow and the right of the City to prebuild will be secured in the Precinct
Agreement with Concord Adex.
Staff have met with representatives of Concord Adex to discuss its prebuilding the entire length
of Bremner Boulevard as soon as it begins development west of Spadina. Concord Adex has
seriously considered Council's direction but cannot commit to advancing its trigger for
construction of Bremner as it significantly affects soil management and carrying costs of the
development. Concord Adex has indicated that it may consider advancing the trigger if the City
agrees to reduced contributions to other public infrastructure elements in order to be able to
afford the additional cost of building the road, however I cannot recommend that other
arrangements be changed.
In approving the Concord Adex by-laws City Council also approved, in principle, a risk
assessment approach to soil management which would permit Concord Adex to place, under
certain conditions, soil which does not meet residential guidelines, under City streets and parks.
Concord Adex plans to place soils as development proceeds. If the City prebuilds Bremner,
Concord Adex will have to either pre-excavate and fence its development sites or forego the
significant cost savings of risk-based soil management. The City, as a landowner, would also
forego cost savings which it may realize through risk-based soil management for its housing
sites.
If the City prebuilds Bremner Boulevard, the implication is that the City would front-end the
entire construction cost until Concord Adex begins development on Block 26, when it is required
to contribute its two-thirds share. If Concord Adex chooses to pre-excavate its development
sites, the City may also be faced with a major new street bounded by fenced, pre-excavated
development sites.
I am therefore not recommending a change to the Concord Adex trigger for Bremner Boulevard,
but that the City secure, in the Precinct Agreement for the Railway Lands West, the City's right
to prebuild Bremner at any time.
(4) Left turn lanes and cost-sharing of Bathurst Street/Bremner Boulevard/Fort York
Boulevard intersection
(a) Review of Bathurst Street/Fort York Boulevard/Bremner Boulevard intersection
options
The intersection of Bathurst Street/Fort York Boulevard/Bremner Boulevard was
reviewed in some detail in 1996 as part of the work of the Bathurst/Strachan
Transportation Working Committee. The mandate of this Working Committee was to
explore the range of transportation measures which might be considered to accommodate
traffic and transit demands resulting from development of the Bathurst/Strachan lands
and adjacent areas. With respect to the intersection of Bathurst Street/Fort York
Boulevard/Bremner Boulevard, two potential measures were identified to minimize
delays to streetcar service: implementation of transit priority; or reconstruction of the
north and south approaches to the intersection to include separate left turn lanes.
The Working Committee also noted that, due to the fact that this section of Bathurst
Street is on a bridge structure, widening of the structure to provide turn lanes would incur
a substantial premium, which has since been determined to be as much as $4.3 million.
By comparison, it is estimated the cost to implement transit priority at this one location
would be less than $100,000.
In response to the TTC request (outlined in its communication of October 6, 1997) that
left-turn lanes be built on Bathurst Street to minimize transit delay, Planning,
Transportation and TTC staff took a detailed look at the feasibility and potential benefits
of implementing transit priority and/or left-turn lanes under forecast operating conditions.
In order to undertake this assessment, the following assumptions were established:
(i) a long-term forecast would be used since the present rehabilitation work
on the Bathurst Street bridge is intended to have a 30 year plus life;
(ii) that the Railway Lands and Bathurst/Strachan Area would likely achieve
full build-out; and
(iii) that the Front Street extension to the F. G. Gardiner Expressway would be
completed.
The review also considered the configuration of the future Fort York Boulevard west of
Bathurst Street. Currently, approvals are in place to extend Fort York Boulevard westerly
to Fleet Street, however, as part of the work of the Bathurst/Strachan Transportation
Working Committee, selective analysis of an option to extend Fort York Boulevard to
Lake Shore Boulevard West was also undertaken.
If "full-turns" are assumed at the intersection, the analysis indicated average delay to
vehicles on Bathurst Street (including TTC vehicles) would increase by as much as 2
minutes in the morning peak hour compared to existing conditions. In this case, without
north-south left turn lanes, it would be necessary to introduce a morning peak period
southbound left turn restriction in order to provide a base level of operating conditions
conducive to transit service. This would be necessary with or without the Front Street
extension.
Similarly, the application of transit priority as a mitigating measure would only be
effective if a morning peak period southbound left-turn restriction was introduced at the
intersection and the Front Street extension is in place. Notwithstanding this finding, the
southbound turn restriction would limit local access to lands east of Bathurst Street which
is not desirable. TTC staff also argued that a turn restriction would not constitute a
permanent measure to address transit concerns, since the implementing by-law could, in
theory, be withdrawn at any time in the future.
Construction of north-south left turn lanes would take left turning traffic on Bathurst
Street out of the through traffic stream during the peak hours and at all other times of the
day. The preliminary analysis indicated implementation of north-south left turn lanes
would permit "full-turns" at the intersection at all times and would not be dependant on
the Front Street extension to off-load arterial traffic. TTC staff have indicated this
continues to be the preferred option due to the fact that the turn lanes are "permanent",
and the risk that the Front Street extension may not be in place when the intersection is
built.
As a result of the preliminary technical analysis, staff concluded that the provision of
north-south turn lanes would result in a "balanced" set of operating conditions with
transit vehicles incurring some minor delay but in general maintaining acceptable
operating conditions. Additionally, arterial traffic would continue to operate at
reasonable levels of service and all local access to the adjacent lands would be maintained
through the intersection.
Upon conclusion of this preliminary analysis, City staff met with the area landowners
(Railway Lands West and Bathurst/Strachan Area) to discuss the analysis and cost-sharing of the intersection. The landowners appeared to agree in principle with the need
for the left-turn lanes. City staff will be continuing discussions on cost-sharing based on
more detailed cost estimates which are being developed.
(b) Cost-Sharing
The Precinct and Section 37 Agreements with the various landowners should include:
(I) cost-sharing of the Bathurst Street/Bremner Boulevard/Fort York
Boulevard intersection based on a 33 per cent public/66 per cent private
formula;
(ii) the requirement for a follow-up traffic review at the time that the
intersection is to be built to confirm the need for left-turn lanes based on
traffic conditions at the time;
(iii) a peer review process to allow each of the private landowners to review
the traffic/transit analysis and conclusions; and
(iv) an updated design and cost-estimate for intersection improvements.
As noted, the construction cost of this intersection, which includes filling and rebuilding
retaining walls, is estimated to be maximum of $4.3 million based on available
information. Following from discussions at the meeting with the landowners, City staff
are preparing more detailed cost estimates for a range of construction options, to be
available by the end of March, 1998. The construction costs of the left-turn lanes was not
included in the current rehabilitation of the Bathurst Street bridge as the bridge repair
work did not extend as far south as the proposed intersection and the left turn lanes will
not be required until Fort York or Bremner Boulevard is built.
In terms of cost-sharing of the intersection, the formula that has been applied to Bremner
Boulevard would continue, 33 per cent public/66 per cent private. The City's 33 per cent
share for left-turn improvements would be divided between City Works and TTC capital
budgets in a manner to be determined. The City's share of Bremner Boulevard is
contained in the 5-year projection of capital works. The remaining two-thirds will be
cost-shared amongst the landowners in the Railway Lands West and Bathurst/Strachan
Area in a manner to be determined. I am recommending that this two-thirds be secured
through Section 37 and Precinct Agreements with the landowners as they apply for as-of-right zoning for their landholdings. The Bathurst Street/Bremner Boulevard intersection
is not specifically addressed in the previous Precinct Agreements and was not part of
recent discussions with Concord Adex. The existing Stadium Precinct Agreement does,
however, address the private landowners obligation to "construct intersections with
existing highways".
Conclusions:
The Urban Design Task Force will assist the City both to complete the urban design guidelines
for the Railway Lands Central and West and to possibly settle or narrow four of the eight appeals
of the Concord Adex by-laws which are currently before the Ontario Municipal Board.
In response to Council's request that staff report on potential options for implementing
affordable housing on the City blocks in the Railway Lands West, the urban design study will
help to identify options and provide:
(1) the basis for the City to respond quickly to any opportunities which may arise --
such as tax incentives or new programs -- to build affordable housing in the
Railway Lands West;
(2) an opportunity for development of the City lands to occur in parallel with the
private development blocks; and
(3) some certainty to Concord Adex and Wittington about the form of development
on the City blocks.
City staff are continuing discussions with Concord Adex representatives to finalize the Precinct
Agreement which would permit Concord Adex to begin development of its lands in the Railway
Lands West. The Precinct Agreement for the Railway Lands Central has already been executed.
Addressing the timing of the construction of Bremner Boulevard and cost-sharing of the Bremner
Boulevard/Fort York Boulevard/Bathurst Street intersection as set out in this report will allow
City staff to complete these sections of the Agreement.
Contact Name:
Lynda Macdonald
Telephone (416) 392-7618
Fax: (416) 392-1330
E-Mail: lmacdon1@city.toronto.on.ca