Item - 2021.IE23.18

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council endorse the recommended preferred alternative design for the Don Mills Crossing active grade-separated crossing over the CPR rail corridor, as described in Attachment 2 to the report (June 18, 2021) from the General Manager, Transportation Services.

2. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services to issue a Notice of Study Completion and file the Environmental Study Report on the public record for a minimum of 30 days, in accordance with the requirements of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment process.

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1. Requested the General Manager, Transportation Services to report back to the October 26, 2021 meeting of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee on the cost of building an elevator for residents to access the Eglinton LRT from the Wynford community.

The Don Mills Crossing area at Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue East is planned to be transformed into a new complete community with a mix of housing structured around a connected public realm and open space system, community facilities, additional employment uses and connections to the ravine system. The anticipated growth (approximately 16,000 new residents and 9,000 plus jobs) and intensification in the area creates a need for new transportation infrastructure to enhance the existing multi-modal network that accommodates people of all ages and abilities.

Transportation Services has completed a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment study to identify the preferred design and develop a functional design for a new active transportation grade-separated rail crossing in the area northwest of the intersection of Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue East. The recommended preferred design consists of a steel I-girder bridge with elevated ramps and a staircase to connect people walking and cycling between the Don Mills Trails to the north of the rail corridor to the proposed community and ravine and trail system to the south.

This EA study completes phases 3 and 4 of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment process. The recommended preferred design emerged through a comprehensive comparative evaluation of alternative designs and has been developed to a functional level of design. The Don Mills Crossing Mobility Plan Study completed phases 1 and 2 of the Environmental Assessment process in 2019.

There is an agreement between the City and the landowners of 844 Don Mills Road and 1155 Eglinton Avenue East, secured under Section 37 of the Planning Act, for the landowners to complete detailed design and construct the bridge before conveying the bridge to the City. As part of this agreement, the City and landowners will share the cost of construction, each contributing approximately 50 percent of the cost with the landowners' share capped at $4,000,000. The City's share will be secured by Transportation Services through a subsequent report to request funding as part of the division's Capital Budget and Plan.

In addition to recommending the preferred design for the Don Mills Crossing Environmental Assessment study, this report also provides an update on improvements to pedestrian access to the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit - Wynford Stop in the nearby area.  At the request of Infrastructure and Environment Committee, Transportation Services, in consultation with Toronto Transit Commission, reviewed options to improve pedestrian access to and from the future Wynford Stop which will be located on Eglinton Avenue East, on the west side of the bridge over Wynford Drive.  As a result, a new sidewalk is planned alongside the ramp connecting Wynford Drive and Eglinton Avenue East at the northeast quadrant, to be completed in advance of the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit opening.