June 23, 1999
To:Etobicoke Community Council
From:John Thomas, P.Eng., MBA, Director, Transportation Services Division - District 2
Subject:Review of the Existing Road Allowance
Lambeth Road, East of St. Georges Road
The Kingsway, between Canterbury Road and Lambeth Road
Ward 3 (Kingsway - Humber)
Purpose:
To advise Etobicoke Community Council whether portions of the existing road allowance for Lambeth Road, between St.
Georges Road and The Kingsway, and The Kingsway, between Canterbury Road and Lambeth Road, are surplus to
municipal requirements.
Funding Sources:
There are no financial implications.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the existing road allowance for The Kingsway, between Canterbury Road and Lambeth Crescent,
and Lambeth Road, between St. Georges Road and The Kingsway, be maintained.
Background:
In Decision No. A-309/98ET, the Committee of Adjustment approved a minor variance application by Dr. Karl Nizami to
construct a detached two-car garage at the south-west corner of the rear yard of his property at 256 The Kingsway. As a
condition to approval, the Committee required that Dr. Nizami either remove an existing fence located within the Lambeth
Road right-of-way, or enter into an encroachment agreement with the City of Toronto recognizing its location.
At its meeting of March 30, 1999, Etobicoke Community Council received a report from the Director, Transportation
Services Division - District 2, entitled "Dr. Karl Nizami's Major Encroachment, 256TheKingsway." The report
recommended that Etobicoke Community Council approve a request from Dr. Nizami to enter into a major encroachment
agreement recognizing the location of a fence within the Lambeth Road right-of-way (Attachment No. 1).
Etobicoke Community Council referred the report back to the Director, Transportation Services Division - District 2, for
further review. Staff was also directed to report to Etobicoke Community Council within three months on ". . . whether or
not the subject property [existing road allowance on Lambeth Road and The Kingsway] is surplus to the City's
requirements and can be offered for sale to the abutting owners."
Rather than pursue an encroachment agreement, Dr. Nizami removed the fence from the Lambeth Road right-of-way. This
satisfied the condition to approval required by the Committee of Adjustment, and Dr. Nizami was issued building permit
B-88485 on May 19, 1999. He has expressed no desire to purchase any portion of the abutting road allowance on The
Kingsway or Lambeth Road frontages of his property.
Comments:
The Kingsway is a classified as a collector road in the Etobicoke Official Plan, with a minimum required right-of-way
width of 36 m. The section of The Kingsway, between Canterbury Road and Lambeth Road, has a two-lane cross-section
carrying approximately 4,000 vehicles per day in both directions (Attachment No. 2). There are eighteen residential
properties adjacent the west side of The Kingsway, between Canterbury Road and Lambeth Road, and nine on the east side.
There are ditches on both sides of the road, and a sidewalk is located on the east side of this section of The Kingsway, close
to the lot lines of the abutting residential properties.
Lambeth Road is a two lane local road with an existing right-of-way width of 20 m. It carries approximately 1,000 vehicles
per day in both directions. There are three residential properties adjacent the south side of Lambeth Road, between St.
Georges Road and The Kingsway. Humbertown Shopping Centre is located on the north side of Lambeth Road.
The existing right-of-way width for The Kingsway, between Canterbury Road and Lambeth Road, is 36 m. The road
allowance width for The Kingsway narrows to 23 m across the frontage of Humbertown Shopping Centre between
Lambeth Road and Ashley Road. The Kingsway road allowance from Ashley Road to Anglesey Boulevard varies between
30 m and 36 m.
The existing road allowance for The Kingsway, between Canterbury Road and Lambeth Road, has been in place since at
least the 1940s. Over the years, many of the properties that abut these roads have introduced plantings and other
landscaping features that extend into the municipal right-of-way.
It can be argued that existing and anticipated future traffic conditions do not justify a 36 m road allowance for this section
of The Kingsway, and that the existing right-of-way width could be reduced and the surplus sold to abutting property
owners; however, this requires:
An Official Plan amendment recognizing a new minimum road allowance for this section of TheKingsway.
Screening under the Class EA provisions of the Environmental Assessment Act, including a detailed examination of all
private and municipal utilities that are located within the existing right-of-way.
The relocation of the sidewalk on the east side of this section of The Kingsway. This may impact the existing ditches and
the trees situated within the road allowance.
A substantial number of abutting property owners prepared to purchase the surplus road allowance at current market value.
The majority of property owners along this section of The Kingsway have used the public right-of-way for many years, and
at only the cost of their own annual maintenance. While some may decide to take advantage of a proposal to purchase the
surplus road allowance in front of their homes, many will undoubtedly decide not to, and will continue to use the road
allowance as they have in the past.
Conclusion:
The existing 20 m road allowance for Lambeth Road is the recommended minimum requirement for a local road in the
Etobicoke Official Plan, and there are no portions of the existing right-of-way that are considered surplus.
A preliminary review of our road allowance requirements in this section of The Kingsway shows that the existing width
may be more than necessary; however, this cannot be confirmed without a comprehensive analysis of the existing and
proposed location of public and private utilities within the road allowance.
We have no record of abutting property owners on The Kingsway, between Canterbury Road and Lambeth Road,
requesting to purchase portions of the existing road allowance. In our opinion, it is unlikely that many of the adjacent
property owners will take advantage of an offer to purchase surplus road allowance at current market values. The costs
involved in disposing of a few small segments of former right-of-way, especially the relocation of the sidewalk on the east
side of the road, will not make the exercise particularly worthwhile from a cost-benefit perspective. For these reasons, we
recommend against considering the existing road allowance for The Kingsway, between Canterbury Road and Lambeth
Road, surplus to municipal requirements.
Contact Name:
Allan Smithies, Manager, Traffic Planning/R-O-W Management, - District 2.
(416) 394-8412; Fax (416) 394-8942.
John W. Thomas, P. Eng., MBA
Director, Transportation Services - District 2
Attachments
cc: Street P
F. Bedard
