Item - 2021.IE21.10

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council endorse the preferred road, pedestrian, and cycling network solutions associated with the Highland Creek Village Transportation Master Plan Study as generally shown in Attachments 1, 2, and 3 to the report (April 14, 2021) from the General Manager, Transportation Services.

2. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services to prepare the Highland Creek Village Transportation Master Plan based on the preferred road, cycling and pedestrian network solutions, issue the Notice of Completion and put the Transportation Master Plan in the public record in accordance with the requirements of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment.

3. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to prepare an Official Plan Amendment to reflect the planned right-of-way widths and new road connections associated with the Transportation Master Plan for a Statutory Public Meeting of the Scarborough Community Council once the Transportation Master Plan is finalized.

Highland Creek Village is located in south-east Scarborough. The Village was one of the first neighbourhoods established in Scarborough. Today there is a mix of commercial, residential and institutional uses in the Village. There are a number of active development applications in the area, primarily along Old Kingston/Kingston Road and Military Trail presenting opportunities to secure some transportation improvements in the area through the development review process.

The area’s transportation network consists of highway, arterial, collector and local roads, bounded on the south and north by Highway 2A and Kingston Road/ Old Kingston Road, and between Military Trail in the west and Meadowvale Road in the east.  Key issues with the transportation network include:

- poor active transportation options

- angled and minimal on-street parking

- unconventional road network connections to support future development

In 2012, City Council directed Transportation Services to undertake an Environmental Assessment in the area as part of its decision on the Highland Creek Village Area Study (Area Study) - Final Report to review the feasibility of changes to the area’s road network.

This report summarizes the outcomes of the Transportation Master Plan process undertaken under the Municipal Class EA process to consider transportation and servicing infrastructure needs in the Highland Creek Village area to support current and longer-term redevelopment of the area. Additional objectives for the Transportation Master Plan are to attract investment to the community and improve the area’s various streetscapes, consistent with the vision for the area.

The recommended preferred solution would provide a continuous, multi-modal transportation network that accommodates all roadway users and will support reinvestment of City-owned land for public objectives once the Highland Creek Overpass is removed. 

The proposed road network, streetscape and sidewalk improvements associated with the preferred solution, would provide a positive environment for pedestrians, support the city’s cycling network, and provide new routing opportunities for the Toronto Transit Commission.

The preferred solution includes a number of improvements to the road network in the area including new signalized intersections, the widening of the Military Trail right-of-way, as well as the implementation of larger infrastructure projects, such as the removal of the Highland Creek Overpass and the conversion of Highway 2A between Lawson Road and Highland Creek to an arterial road. The more complex projects would require completion of additional phases of the Municipal Class EA process, before confirming if they should proceed to detailed design and construction.

The Transportation Master Plan is a long-term plan. The majority of the improvements identified in the preferred solution are proposed to be achieved in coordination with area development at little or no cost to the City.

The primary capital costs for the City would include improvements to Military Trail, including potential signalization at Highway 2A and the potential dismantling of the Highland Creek Overpass. As the Highland Creek Overpass was last reconstructed in 2000, and its service life is expected to continue to at least 2028 and beyond, it is not proposed for the City to make changes to this structure over the short-term, but rather to plan for its potential removal in the long-term.