Item - 2021.IE23.14

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council endorse the Preliminary Preferred Recommended Transportation Master Plan solutions identified as Alternative 4B in Attachment 3 to the report (June 18, 2021) from the General Manager, Transportation Services for the purposes of full public engagement, and request the General Manager, Transportation Services to report back on the feedback received throughout the consultation undertaken through the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment process and any resulting refinements made to the Preliminary Preferred Recommend Transportation Master Plan solutions to address any feedback received as part of developing the Recommended Preferred Solution.

2. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to guide the Council directed negotiations on the cost-sharing arrangement for Street A with the Owner of the Christie’s site, and in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, based on the four principles included in Attachment 1 to the report (June 18, 2021) from the General Manager, Transportation Services .

3. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to develop a phasing and implementation plan for the Park Lawn Lake Shore Transportation Master Plan, inclusive of the Legion Road Extension, with the anticipated timing, implementation and costs of the transportation infrastructure improvements for the Park Lawn Lake Shore Transportation Master Plan study area as part of the final report on the Park Lawn Lake Shore Transportation Master Plan anticipated for fourth quarter of 2021, and to inform the 2022-2031 Transportation Services Capital Budget and Plan submission.

4. City Council request the City's portion of applicable infrastructure costs required to meet the City's growth needs for the redevelopment of the Christie's redevelopment site be included in the list of works considered for incorporation within the planned update to the City Development Charges By-Law.

The Park Lawn Road and Lake Shore Boulevard West area is a vibrant waterfront community that has experienced considerable growth over the last two decades and is set to continue to transform and intensify with the revitalization of the former Christie's cookie factory site into a transit-supportive, mixed-use residential and employment district anchored by a new transit hub as adopted by City Council in May 2021.

Continued growth in the area results in the need for new and improved multi-modal transportation infrastructure that accommodates people of all ages and abilities, and to complement the planned transit hub consisting of the new Park Lawn GO Station and new streetcar loop.

At the direction of City Council, Transportation Services initiated the Park Lawn Lake Shore Transportation Master Plan in 2016 as a comprehensive transportation study to plan for the required transportation infrastructure in the area. The Transportation Master Plan was put on hold from 2017 to 2019 pending City Council's decision on the land use of the Christie's lands, and was reinitiated at Council's direction in 2019 to integrate the work with the Christie's Planning Study.

The Transportation Master Plan  is completing phases 1 and 2 of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment process - establishing a long-term transportation vision for the area including reassessing the previously completed Municipal Class Environmental Assessment for the Legion Road Extension.

This report provides an update on the status of the Transportation Master Plan and its process, key findings to date including the identification of a preliminary preferred network, and outlines next steps to finalize the Transportation Master Plan. This report also provides a status update on the Legion Road Extension. 

The revitalization of the Christie's cookie factory site introduces new opportunities for street connections that could not have previously been contemplated. The Transportation Master Plan is also considering other opportunities for north-south street connections that were not previously considered.

This report recommends that City Council endorse the preliminary preferred transportation network - Alternative 4B Neighbourhood Main Streets with a Four Lane Lake Shore Boulevard - for the purposes of consulting the public. This report also identifies and recommends principles for the cost-sharing associated with First Capital for Street A - a street that will provide east-west and north-south connectivity through the Christie's site, and recommends that City staff develop a phasing and implementation plan as part of the final report for the Transportation Master Plan. Finally, the report recommends that the City's portion of the costs for Street A be included in the current update to the City's Development Charge Background Study.