Item - 2015.EX9.9

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct City staff, working with the Toronto Transit Commission and Waterfront Toronto, to undertake a Phase 1 review of waterfront transit initiatives and options, and provide a status update to Executive Committee in the first quarter of 2016.

2.  City Council direct City staff to fund consulting services to assist with Phase 1 of the waterfront transit reset from the amount allocated for East Bayfront Transit in the Waterfront Revitalization Initiative capital project CWR003-10, totaling an amount not to exceed $250,000.

At its June 10-12, 2015 meeting, Toronto City Council considered report PW4.1 entitled "Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard East Reconfiguration Environmental Assessment (EA) and Integrated Urban Design Study – Updated Evaluation of Alternatives."  Council adopted Clause 11 which reads as follows:

"City Council direct the City Manager to report to the October 20, 2015 Executive Committee meeting on acceleration and costing of the East Bayfront LRT and analysis of how its implementation would reduce travel times under the "Hybrid" option."

This report responds to Council's request.  Council's other Gardiner East EA directions are being addressed in a series of other reports.

In considering Council's request, staff have reviewed the broader waterfront transit context and have concluded that there is a clear need for a "reset".  Recent waterfront transit planning has been ad hoc and incremental, with the result that there is no larger comprehensive plan for a transit network that can respond to the rapid transformation that is occurring along the waterfront. 

There has been significant growth in many precincts along the waterfront, including South Etobicoke, Liberty Village, Fort York, King/Spadina, City Place, South Core, and King/Parliament.  Further, significant growth is planned for emerging precincts, including Lower Yonge, East Bayfront, West Don Lands, North Keating, Port Lands and the First Gulf site.  There is currently a latent demand for transit south of Front Street as witnessed by transit loading on the King and Harbourfront streetcar services.  King Street, for example, represents the most southerly continuous east/west transit line and is regularly experiencing near or at-capacity conditions through much of the weekday peak periods.  The extent of latent and anticipated future demand creates an imperative for defining a long-term transit solution as soon as possible. 

Against this backdrop, numerous individual waterfront transit projects that would connect to the existing 509 Harbourfront Light Rail Transit (LRT) exist in different stages of approval: some EAs are in progress (Port Lands, Lower Yonge); some EAs have been approved but not implemented (East Bayfront); and some EAs were started but never completed (Waterfront West).  A map of proposed waterfront transit projects appears in Appendix 2.

As a consequence of not having a comprehensive transit network solution for the waterfront, there has been little progress in securing funding for new transit infrastructure in the area.   Small amounts of committed funding exist in the City's Waterfront Revitalization Initiative capital budget and from Waterfront Toronto's projected land development revenues; however, no single waterfront transit project is close to being funded and implemented. 

Waterfront transit is largely absent from the robust program of transit infrastructure investment currently underway and, to date, it is not under active consideration for any funding that may be available through existing Provincial and Federal government funding programs.  This, in spite of the fact that both the Waterfront West and Waterfront East LRTs are ranked in the top five unfunded rapid transit proposals in the preliminary analysis undertaken by City Planning as part of the five-year review of Official Plan transportation policies (known as "Feeling Congested?"). 

A comprehensive review of waterfront transit projects is needed immediately to articulate the opportunities and options that exist, and to propose an approach to advance waterfront transit.  A preliminary Terms of Reference for this exercise, including a public consultation strategy, has been drafted and attached as Appendix 1.  It is anticipated that the review would extend from the Long Branch GO Station in the west to Woodbine Avenue in the east, and south of the Queensway/Queen Street corridor to Lake Ontario.  The work would lead to a plan for a continuous waterfront transit network with east/west connectivity, as well as strong integrated north/south connections that would link the City to the waterfront.  This network would be further integrated with regional transit network components, including the GO and subway systems, Smart Track and connections to Scarborough.

The proposed review of waterfront transit initiatives and options would be undertaken by a consultant reporting to a team of staff from the City, TTC and Waterfront Toronto.  To ensure expediency and maximum project oversight, it is recommended that the project be managed by an interagency Executive Steering Committee, similar to the Port Lands Acceleration Initiative.  By Quarter 2 of 2016, staff would provide a progress report to Executive Committee on corridor options, preliminary costs, approvals and funding opportunities.  This would be followed by a final report to Executive Committee by the end of Quarter 3 outlining study recommendations and next steps.  The reset would be coordinated with the pending "Feeling Congested?" Official Plan transportation review currently being undertaken by City Planning.  Funds (up to $500,000) are available to conduct the reset in the Waterfront Revitalization Initiative capital budget.

A reset on waterfront transit planning would be a first step towards a transit network that can respond to the rapid transformation that is occurring along Toronto’s waterfront.  It would build on the momentum created by the three orders of government in supporting waterfront revitalization.  Further, it would prioritize projects that could be implemented in a phased manner through "Waterfront 2.0", and funded through development charges and Provincial/Federal funding programs.

The other reporting matter requested by Council in the June 2015 direction and addressed in this staff report concerns the potential of an East Bayfront LRT to reduce travel times under the Gardiner East EA Hybrid option.  The implementation of the East Bayfront LRT, and a number of other transit improvements, were already assumed in the travel time forecasts contained in staff's May 2015 Gardiner East EA report.