Item - 2010.PW35.12

The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council grant authority to the General Manager of Transportation Services to issue a Notice of Study Completion and to file the Environmental Study Report for the “Modifications to the York/Bay/Yonge Ramps to the Gardiner Expressway – Class Environmental Assessment Study” in the public record for 30 days in accordance with the requirements of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment.

2.         City Council authorize and direct the appropriate City officials to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee referred the following Motion by Councillor De Baeremaeker to the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with the Chief Planner and Executive Director, for a report directly to City Council on the impact of these recommendations:

“That City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, to:

1.         Modify the Gardiner Expressway eastbound off ramp between Rees Street and Simcoe Street to be a maximum of two 3.35 metre wide lanes with no 2.5 metre wide south shoulder and no 1 metre wide north shoulder so as to decrease the pedestrian and cyclist crossing distance at Lower Simcoe Street.

2.         Modify Harbour Street between Lower Simcoe Street and York Street to be a maximum of four 3.35 metre wide lanes with the southerly curb lane being a maximum of 4 metres for the full length of the block in order to be friendly to cyclists.

3.         Modify all lanes on Harbour Street between York Street and Yonge Street to be a maximum width of 3.35 metres with the exception of a continuous southerly curb lane which can be a maximum of 4 metres wide and parking lanes with a width of 2.5 metres.

4.         Remove the layby at 60 Harbour Street.

5.         Delete the construction of the proposed north south local street between York Street and Bay Street until further public consultation has occurred.

6.         Restripe the lanes on Lake Shore Boulevard between the Sherbourne Street and Simcoe Street bike lanes to permit a through curb lane width of 4 metres in order for the roadway to be friendly to cyclists by second quarter 2011.

7.         Restripe the lanes on York Street between Front Street West and Queens Quay to permit curb lane widths of 4 metres in order for the roadway to be friendly to cyclists by second quarter 2011.

8.         Install off peak hour on street parking on Lake Shore Boulevard between Simcoe Street to Sherbourne Street by second quarter 2011."

The General Manager, Transportation Services, and Penelope Palmer, Senior Engineer, Infrastructure Planning, Transportation Services, gave a presentation to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on the Gardiner Expressway York/Bay/Yonge Interchange Reconfiguration - Municipal Class Environmental Assessment.

The City of Toronto Official Plan and the Central Waterfront Secondary Plan (2003) each have policies to promote the creation of pedestrian friendly environments, as well as improving conditions for cyclists. In line with these policies, several studies and plans, including the Central Bayfront Ramp Study and the Central Waterfront Secondary Plan, have identified possible modifications to the road network in the vicinity of the F. G. Gardiner Expressway York, Bay and Yonge Streets eastbound off-ramps and Bay Street on-ramp to improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists as well as the urban fabric of this downtown neighbourhood.

The need to make these changes to the original (1960s) Gardiner Expressway ramps stems from the vastly different demands and uses of today. The current volume of pedestrian, cyclist, and vehicular activity in the central waterfront, in association with extensive development and further planned intensification, requires a re-working of the road system so as to preserve its operational integrity while improving conditions for all users.

A Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (EA) study has been undertaken to identify modifications to these York, Bay and Yonge Street ramps.  The EA study included the identification and evaluation of a reasonable range of alternatives in consultation with the public and review agencies.

The resulting Recommended Design is to reconfigure the eastbound off-ramps to a single shorter direct off-ramp to Harbour Street at Lower Simcoe Street. This shorter ramp will allow exiting motorists to turn right or left from Harbour Street to Lower Simcoe Street (right only), York Street, Bay Street, and Yonge Street. In addition, a new north-south road is recommended, connecting Harbour Street to Queens Quay east of York Street.  These modifications will maintain acceptable traffic conditions and improve mobility within the area while freeing up road space, sidewalks, and open space to enable improvements to the public realm.

The entry ramp from northbound Bay Street to the eastbound Gardiner Expressway was also assessed during this study. The ramp is recommended to be closed to general traffic but remain available as a bus-only ramp. This reduction in ramp volume will significantly improve the conditions for pedestrians and cyclists crossing the ramp on the east side of Bay Street, while maintaining emergency vehicle access to the elevated Expressway and avoiding disruption to service from the nearby GO Transit Bus Terminal.

The Harbour Street off-ramp and the Bay Street on-ramp can be treated as two distinct entities, despite having been the subject of a combined EA study. The Bay Street proposal is an operational change that is pre-approved under the Municipal Class EA, whereas the Harbour Street ramp, as a new facility, requires that a Notice of Study Completion be issued and the Environmental Study Report filed in the public record for a minimum 30-day review period per the Municipal Class EA procedures.