Item - 2018.EX30.1

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council endorse the overall Waterfront Transit Network Plan (as shown in Figure 1 to the report (January 10, 2018) from the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B), and direct the Acting Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division, to incorporate the Waterfront Transit Network Plan into the second phase of the Official Plan Review of Transportation and Transit policies.

2.  City Council request the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, and the Acting Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning in partnership with the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Transit Commission, to report back on the next steps for design and construction, and associated financial implications of the exclusive Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) transit right-of-way extension between the Exhibition Loop and the Dufferin Gate Loop in the second quarter of 2019 or earlier.

3.  City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, and the Acting Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in partnership with the Toronto Transit Commission and Waterfront Toronto, to complete a focused feasibility study of light rail and automated funicular technology options for connecting transit below grade between Union Station and Queens Quay, and the extension of light rail along Queens Quay East, and report back on the preferred overall solution, including a refined cost estimate and next steps for design and construction, to the Executive Committee in the second quarter of 2019 or earlier.

4.  City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, in partnership with the Toronto Transit Commission, to extend the scope of the Park Lawn Lake Shore Transportation Master Plan Environmental Assessment currently underway to include and prioritize an exclusive transit right-of-way along Lake Shore Boulevard West, from approximately Legion Road to the Humber Loop.

5.  City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, in partnership with the Toronto Transit Commission, to undertake a review to improve transit operations in the interim at the intersection of Bathurst-Fleet-Lake Shore, including the previously approved closure of westbound Fleet Street to automobiles between Iannuzzi Street and Bathurst Street.

6.  City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, the General Manager, Transportation Services, and the Acting Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in partnership with the Toronto Transit Commission and Waterfront Toronto, to prepare background studies required for a Transit Project Assessment Process (TPAP) Environmental Assessment of the realignment and exclusive right-of-way operation of streetcars on Bathurst Street from Fort York Boulevard-Bremner Boulevard to Queens Quay, and on Queens Quay from Bathurst Street to Spadina Avenue.

7.  City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, in partnership with the Toronto Transit Commission,  to undertake a review to improve transit operations for the section of the Toronto Transit Commission streetcar network on Lake Shore Blvd between Long Branch and Legion Road.

8.  City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B and the Acting Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in partnership with the Toronto Transit Commission, to prepare background studies required for a Transit Project Assessment Process (TPAP) Environmental Assessment of a new exclusive transit right-of way from Colborne Lodge Drive and The Queensway to Dufferin Street at the Dufferin Gate, as per the preferred route identified in the report dated January 10, 2018 entitled Waterfront Transit Network Plan. 

9.  City Council request the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, the General Manager, Transportation Services, and the Acting Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, continue to consult with St. Joseph's Health Centre and other stakeholders on providing accessible access to the hospital.

10. City Council direct the Acting Chief Financial Officer to include eligible components of the Waterfront Transit project in the City's development charges bylaw review currently underway.

11. City Council direct the City Manager to forward this report to Metrolinx for consideration in the ongoing review of the Regional Transportation Plan for 2041.

This report was prepared in collaboration with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and Waterfront Toronto.

The goal of this study was to create a waterfront transit network from Long Branch and Lake Shore in the west to Queen Street and Woodbine Avenue in the east. The results of the study and latest travel demand forecast confirmed the direction of previous initiatives to create an exclusive streetcar right-of-way (LRT) from Legion Road and Lake Shore Boulevard in the west to Leslie Street and Commissioners Street in the east. This direction is consistent with land use projections to 2041 where it was found that the waterfront will outpace most other areas of the City and Region in terms of growth.

In this report, solutions are being advanced for key sections of the network between Humber Bay Shores and Exhibition Place, along Bathurst Street from Fort York Boulevard to Queens Quay, and for the Port Lands from Parliament Street to Leslie Street.

The study has defined the primary east-west waterfront transit corridor as a component of a connected transit and multi-modal system that supports significant growth areas, the greatest concentration of cultural, recreational and special events in the City, and also provides flexibility and network resilience. As a result, a series of streetcar infrastructure projects are recommended that will support a range of route and service options that will allow different future demands to be served.

The two most significant projects in the network are the westerly extension of a new exclusive Light Rail Transit right-of-way from Exhibition Place to serve the Humber Bay Shores area ("Humber Bay Link"), and improving the underground transit link from Union Station to Queens Quay, including the previously approved exclusive LRT right-of-way along Queens Quay East. Without these two components of the network, the benefits of further transit improvements to the west and the east cannot be fully realized. 

The 30% design is already underway for a first phase of the westerly extension of the exclusive transit right-of-way to Humber Bay Shores. This is the section of the network between the Exhibition Loop and the Dufferin Gate Loop, and the next steps are to complete the design and build the infrastructure. This interim extension to the Dufferin Gate Loop has the added benefit of linking the waterfront line to the existing light rail lines on King Street and Queen Street. The initiation of planning for the Humber Bay Link will proceed based on the advancing design of the interim extension.

The underground transit link along Bay Street from Union Station to Queens Quay remains the most critical and challenging section in the network, due to transit ridership volumes, costs and construction challenges. Options have been narrowed down to expanding light rail capacity at Union Station, or repurposing the existing underground link with an automated dual-haul funicular transit system. These two options are recommended for continued feasibility assessment, and thereafter to quickly proceed to detailed design for a preferred solution by the second quarter of 2019 or sooner.

The recommended direction for transit infrastructure improvements across the waterfront network is summarized schematically in Figure 1 below, and will be included in the City's update to the Official Plan in 2018, subject to approval. Services to be operated would be approved by the Toronto Transit Commission Board at a later date, when the infrastructure is ready.

Figure 1: Recommended Waterfront Transit Network Improvements

(See Figure 1 titled Recommended Waterfront Transit Network Improvements

in the Summary Section of the report dated January 10, 2018

from the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B)