GARDINER EXPRESSWAY and LAKE SHORE BOULEVARD EAST RECONFIGURATION ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Infrastructure Baseline Conditions Report - 2014
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
GARDINER EXPRESSWAY AND LAKE SHORE BOULEVARD EAST RECONFIGURATION ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Infrastructure Baseline Conditions Report - 2014 1 Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Blvd East Reconfiguration Environmental Assessment Infrastructure Baseline Conditions Report 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Study Area ........................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 STUDY METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................... 4 3.0 DESCRIPTION OF EXISTING BASELINE CONDITIONS ........................................................................ 5 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 5 3.2 Road Infrastructure ............................................................................................................. 6 3.2.1 Gardiner Expressway Corridor ............................................................................... 6 3.2.2 Don Valley Parkway ............................................................................................. 15 3.2.3 Lake Shore Boulevard East Corridor .................................................................... 16 3.2.4 Roads and Streets ................................................................................................ 17 3.3 Rail Infrastructure ............................................................................................................. 22 3.3.1 TTR / Kingston Subdivision ................................................................................... 22 3.3.2 Yards and Spur Lines ............................................................................................ 22 3.4 Public Transit Infrastructure ............................................................................................. 27 3.5 Pedestrian and Cycling Infrastructure .............................................................................. 28 3.6 Utilities ............................................................................................................................. 31 3.6.1 General Study Area .............................................................................................. 31 3.6.2 Utilities Under the Gardiner Expressway ............................................................. 34 3.7 Property and Site Access ................................................................................................... 36 3.8 Structures .......................................................................................................................... 36 3.8.1 West Don Lands Precinct ..................................................................................... 36 3.8.2 Lower Don Lands and Keating Channel Precinct ................................................. 37 3.8.3 Distillery District and St. Lawrence Neighbourhood ............................................ 37 4.0 Future 2031 Baseline Conditions ................................................................................................... 40 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 40 4.1.1 Gardiner Expressway, Lake Shore Boulevard and Rail Corridor .......................... 43 4.1.2 Port Lands and South Riverdale ........................................................................... 47 4.1.3 West Don Lands Precinct ..................................................................................... 47 Infrastructure Baseline Conditions Report i Dillon Consulting Limited Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Blvd East Reconfiguration Environmental Assessment Infrastructure Baseline Conditions Report 2014 4.1.4 Lower Don Lands and Keating Channel Precinct ................................................. 48 4.1.5 Don Mouth Naturalization and Flood Protection Project EA Study Area ............ 49 4.1.6 Distillery District and St. Lawrence Neighbourhood ............................................ 49 4.1.7 East Bayfront Precinct .......................................................................................... 50 4.1.8 Lower Yonge ........................................................................................................ 51 5.0 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 52 6.0 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 53 List of Tables Table 1: Characteristics of Key, Directly Affected Roads in the Study Area ................................... 18 Table 2: Key Underground Utilities Beneath the Gardiner Expressway ......................................... 35 List of Figures Figure 1: Study Area ........................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2: Road Hierarchy ................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 3: Bents of the Gardiner Expressway .................................................................................... 13 Figure 4: Gardiner Expressway Ramp Locations .............................................................................. 14 Figure 5: Rail Infrastructure ............................................................................................................. 23 Figure 6: Existing TTC Streetcar Infrastructure ................................................................................ 28 Figure 7: Cycling Infrastructure ........................................................................................................ 28 Figure 8: Lower Don / Waterfront Trail ........................................................................................... 29 Figure 9: Utilities .............................................................................................................................. 32 Figure 10: West Don Lands Storm Water Quality Facility .................................................................. 34 Figure 11: Existing Structures - Locations .......................................................................................... 38 Figure 12: Existing Structures Inventory ............................................................................................ 39 Figure 13: 2031 Conditions Base Plan ................................................................................................ 42 Figure 14: 2031 Road Hierarchy......................................................................................................... 45 Figure 15: 2031 Public Transit and Bicycle Network.......................................................................... 46 Infrastructure Baseline Conditions Report ii Dillon Consulting Limited Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Blvd East Reconfiguration Environmental Assessment Infrastructure Baseline Conditions Report 2014 1.0 INTRODUCTION This report has been prepared to document the infrastructure baseline conditions in the Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard East Environmental Assessment (referred to as the Gardiner East EA) study area. Waterfront Toronto and the City of Toronto (City) are jointly undertaking this Individual Environmental Assessment to determine the future of the eastern portion of the elevated Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard from approximately Lower Jarvis Street to approximately Leslie Street. The EA is being completed pursuant to the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act (EAA). The Gardiner East EA project extends through an area of the waterfront that is undergoing extensive transformation. As part of Toronto’s waterfront revitalization initiative, many of the historical industrial uses in the area are changing into complete mixed-use communities not only with new population and employment growth, but with new servicing, infrastructure, public spaces and amenities. The planning process for many of the communities in the study area is still underway and as such, two conditions for assessment needed to be addressed: the existing baseline conditions that consider what is on the ground and functioning in the study area today (based on 2013 reporting); and a future condition that depicts what the study area will be like once the undertaking is fully operational (a 2031 condition). 1.1 Study Area In 2009 the study area for the EA was defined in the Terms of Reference (ToR) as the section of the Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard East that extends 2.4 km from approximately Lower Jarvis Street to Logan Avenue. Since 2009 this study area has been revised to a slightly greater area in order to capture transition areas to the east and west and the Richmond/Adelaide interchange with the Don Valley Parkway (DVP). The study area now extends from approximately Lower Jarvis Street to approximately Leslie Street. This study area is referred to as the Environmental and Urban Design Study Area. It includes the lands in the vicinity of the section of the Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard East that are being considered for reconfiguration. These are the areas that