Incamera Board Report

Staff Report

To: Metrolinx Board of Directors From: Leslie Woo, Chief Planning Officer Date: December 8, 2016 Re: GO RER New Stations Update

Executive Summary This report updates the Board on the outcome of the negotiations with the relevant municipalities regarding twelve new GO RER stations located throughout the GTHA which were approved by the Board at its meeting of June 28, 2016. The report also addresses the integration of the City of Toronto’s SmartTrack program, which includes six of those stations and the western extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, into the GO RER program. Discussions with the municipalities have been collaborative and productive. All of the municipal councils (Innisfil, Newmarket, Toronto, Vaughan, Waterloo Region, Woolwich and York Region) have formally accepted the program and have agreed to the conditions required by the Board to allow the planning and implementation of the program to go forward. The City of Toronto agreed to proceeding with SmartTrack under a “phased” approach for approving and funding the Smart Track program, based on a stated Stage Gate process. No fundamental impediments were identified to the continued planning and implementation of the program to meet the proposed timeline for the GO RER ten year plan. Work will continue with municipal officials to finalize requirements as part of the procurement process. Recommendations It is recommended that the Board of Directors:

RESOLVED:

THAT the CEO is directed to incorporate the twelve new stations identified in the June 28, 2016 Board presentation from the President and CEO, entitled “GO Regional Express Rail Update”, into the GO RER program and to develop the appropriate agreements with municipalities.

Background On June 28, 2016, the Metrolinx Board of Directors approved, among other things, the inclusion of up to twelve new stations across the GO rail system as part of the GO RER 10 year program, subject to certain conditions (see below) being agreed to by the municipalities in which these stations are to be located. The Board also endorsed an integrated SmartTrack concept in the City of Toronto that would include up to six of the twelve new stations and the extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT to Pearson airport as illustrated on Attachment 2. The conditions required that the relevant municipalities: 1) agree to the station locations;

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2) demonstrate their commitment to implementing transit supportive land-uses around the stations; 3) agree to sustainable station access; 4) in addition, the City of Toronto was asked to commit to full funding for the SmartTrack elements of the program, as listed above. The Board set a deadline of November 30, 2016 for the Councils of the municipalities to indicate their acceptance of these conditions. Two of the new stations are in York Region (Mulock Station in the Town of Newmarket and Kirby Station in the City of Vaughan). One is in the Waterloo Region (Breslau Station in the Township of Woolwich). Innisfil Station is in the Town of Innisfil. Eight are in the City of Toronto. The locations of all twelve stations are illustrated on Attachment 1. On August 4, 2016, Metrolinx’s CEO formally notified each of the relevant municipalities of the Board’s decision to approve up to twelve new stations as part of the GO RER program and the Board’s endorsement of the SmartTrack concept and listed the conditions which the Board had identified. Municipalities were asked to confirm agreement from their municipal Councils by November 30, 2016. Working group structure and objectives

For each municipality where a new GO station(s) is to be located, municipal Working Groups with planning, transportation and transit staff were formed and met at least twice.

The discussions on new stations in Toronto were part of a separate City of Toronto-Province of Ontario bi-lateral transit cost sharing table that was established to address a broader range of issues related to transit project planning, delivery and operation.

Analysis

1. Municipal Responses

All seven municipal Councils approved resolutions prior to the deadline of November 30, 2016 agreeing to inclusion of the station(s) in their municipality as part of the GO RER program and, in the case of Toronto, the extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT western extension. The dates of approval by the Councils are shown in the station-specific charts in Attachment 3.

1.1 Funding for Stations The Board’s June 28, 2016 report directed staff to continue discussions among orders of government to confirm that costs incremental to the GO RER program will need to be funded from a variety of sources, including local development contributions.

1.2 City of Toronto Smart Track

Funding for the six new GO RER / SmartTrack stations and the two other GO RER stations in Toronto is part of a broader City of Toronto - Province of Ontario bi-lateral transit cost sharing agreement. In response to Metrolinx’s requirement that the City of Toronto commit to funding the full cost of the SmartTrack elements of the program at this time, Toronto City Council has agreed to go forward with the next phase of the planning and design work (Stage 3 - Initial Design to 10%) and has asked that Metrolinx accept this agreed upon phased decision making process, which includes milestones. Such an arrangement would allow the Toronto City Page 3 of 22

Council to make decisions progressively through two key remaining stages of the GO RER design and procurement processes.

The first remaining stage (aka Stage 4) would be the approval of the Environmental Project Reports for each station, also the beginning of the formal EA/TPAP process and the second remaining stage (aka Stage 5), the finalization of the AFP bid documents. Once Toronto Council resolves to proceed with the procurement process there would be significant penalties associated and limited to no further opportunity for Toronto Council to revisit its participation in this program and it would also be responsible for any sunk costs. In other words, agreement by Toronto Council to issuance of the bid packages by Metrolinx would constitute final approval of the GO RER / SmartTrack new stations and a commitment to fund the full cost of the project.

Should Toronto decide at any point to withdraw, it has agreed to be responsible for reimbursing Metrolinx for all costs incurred to that date for the design and preparation of the project, to a maximum of $22 million for the six Smart Track/RER stations and to a maximum of $51 million for the western extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

The GO RER/SmartTrack stations and the Eglinton Crosstown LRT western extension would be delivered and owned by Metrolinx. The SmartTrack stations are to be incorporated and delivered as part of the ten year GO RER program. As such it is imperative that the decision points for these stations do not impact GO RER delivery. Timing for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT western extension will be informed by further planning and design so as to be in a state of readiness should funding be confirmed. The project should proceed in the context of the continued delivery and implementation of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT project.

The City-Provincial cost share terms provide for the funding of the two additional GO RER stations in Toronto (Spadina and Bloor-Lansdowne). For details please refer to Attachment 1 of the City of Toronto Executive Committee Report No. 19.1 - Transit Network Plan Update and Financial Strategy, as approved by City Council on November 8, 2016 (link: http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2016/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-97894.pdf – section 2.1)

2. Collaboration with Municipalities

The working relationships with Innisfil, Newmarket, Toronto, Vaughan and Woolwich through the Working Groups on the GO RER stations were collaborative and productive. There were no technical or access issues identified in the Working Groups that could be considered fundamental impediments to the implementation of the program. However, there were some elements that will require further work to resolve as the planning of the GO RER stations proceeds. The main issues are listed in the next sections. More station specific items are shown in Attachment 3.

2.1 Service Planning

In June 2016, the Province made announcements regarding proposed new service on the Kitchener corridor and extensions of service to Bowmanville and Niagara Falls. Work is underway to update the GO RER service plan and the implications for the new stations as a result of these proposed extensions of service. More detailed descriptions of the issue are included in the station specific sheets included in Attachment 3.

2.2 Transit Oriented Development

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All of the municipalities have committed to supporting transit oriented development policies and land uses in the station areas. The twelve stations range from those located in the most intensely developed areas in the City of Toronto (Spadina and Liberty Village) to what are currently greenfield sites (Innisfil and Breslau) and every level of residential and employment development in between. However, each of the stations provides some opportunities for transit-oriented development.

Information on the planned development context for each new station area and related station access that will determine the use of the stations by workers and residents is included in the individual station sheets in Attachment 3.

Metrolinx staff will continue to work with the municipalities to encourage the implementation of policies and land-use controls that permit and promote transit-oriented development in the station areas, within each of their specific contexts.

The form of transit-oriented development that most effectively satisfies multiple Metrolinx objectives is development integrated with the station itself. Metrolinx, with the municipalities, will identify station sites with development potential to determine their ability to be incorporated into the GO RER design and procurement processes. Where this is not feasible integrated development of the remaining sites will progress when market conditions and other development considerations allow.

2.3 Station Naming

Five of the stations (all in the City of Toronto) are currently being referred to by names that closely resemble existing subway station names. Metrolinx will work with the City and stakeholders to find distinctive names for these GO RER/SmartTrack stations, following the Metrolinx Station, Stop and Interchange Naming Policy. The results of this work will be reported to the Board when available.

2.4 Parking and Passenger Pick Up and Drop Offs

The City of Toronto has indicated that it does not support the provision of parking at any of the eight stations within its borders. The Initial Business Cases propose parking at Finch East (up to 350 spaces) and Lawrence (up 100 spaces, which parking exists today to serve that station on the Scarborough RT line). The IBCs show that passengers who use the parking will make up a significant portion of those using this station. No parking is proposed by Metrolinx at any of the other six stations.

The City’s position is that parking at these two station is not in keeping with the City’s Official Plan. They expect that GO RER/Smart Track passengers will arrive primarily by transit, passenger pick-up and drop off, on bicycles and walking.

Metrolinx staff recommend that the stations be designed to protect for a modest amount of parking and to protect for the possibility that the City may come to a different position on the matter once the system is operational. Staff will continue to work with the City on finalizing an approach on this topic.

With regard to Passenger Pick-Up and Drop-Off facilities, the City has requested that Metrolinx consider a more compact design that is more in keeping with the urban context and modified from the current GO standards. Again, staff will continue to work with the City on finalizing an approach on this topic. Page 5 of 22

3. Eglinton Crosstown LRT West

The June 28, 2016 Board Report recommended advancing an at-grade western extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT from Mt. Dennis to Pearson Airport, with targeted grade separations at Jane/Scarlett, Kipling and Martin Grove, and between 11 and 15 stops. The City of Toronto sees the Eglinton Crosstown LRT West as part of the SmartTrack concept and as such the City has agreed to take on the responsibility for the costs associated with the project including planning, design, capital, operating and regular maintenance costs,.with specific interest in seeking funding partnerships with the City of Mississauga and the GTAA. Metrolinx has worked closely with the City of Toronto, TTC, the City of Mississauga and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) to continue to advance the planning of the project and address the number and location of stops, the potential for grade separations and traffic operations issues.

Further public consultation and subsequent Metrolinx Board of Directors and Toronto City Council reporting is planned for both of these work streams in Spring 2017.

4. Next Steps

Planning and further due diligence will continue concurrently with the procurement currently underway for the GO RER program and will be integrated as much as possible. Metrolinx staff will continue to resolve the outstanding site planning and access issues together with municipal staff and other stakeholders. Further service planning and analysis, including rail network simulation, are required to fully understand specific impacts on some stations.

The City of Toronto’s “Stage Gate” chart in Attachment 4 shows the phases the City of Toronto has recommended for the implementation of the SmartTrack project in the City of Toronto (six GO RER / SmartTrack stations and the Eglinton Crosstown LRT West), as the City will be funding these facilities. Metrolinx staff have reviewed this process chart and is prepared to continue discussions with the City on refining the proposed timing in the context of the City’s approvals process.

As noted above, City Council will make the final decision for full funding to align with the GO RER procurement timelines. Metrolinx and the City of Toronto will work closely on further planning and Environmental Assessments/TPAPs for the new stations. Proceeding with the stations within the GO RER timeline and without delay to implementation of the rest of the GO RER program will require timely approvals by the City .

The four stations in Innisfil, Newmarket, Vaughan and Woolwich will also be closely integrated into the GO RER process and will proceed on that timeline. Metrolinx will work collaboratively with all the relevant municipalities in the planning and implementation of these four stations.

Public consultation for all new stations will be part of the next phase (Initial Design and Environmental Project Report) which will begin in the first half of 2017.

Conclusions Subject to any additional direction by the Board, the planning of the twelve stations and western extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT will continue.

The concurrence of all seven municipal governments with Metrolinx’s conditions for this portion of the GO RER/SmartTrack program marks another big step forward in the realization of an Page 6 of 22

expanded GO RER system. These new stations will also contribute significantly to the evolution of the GO rail system from one serving a largely commuter clientele to an important part of an all-purpose transit system in the GTHA.

Innovative approaches, agreements and processes will be needed to incorporate the City of Toronto’s Smart Track stations into the GO RER program. Goodwill and focus on the provision of excellent transit facilities in the City have worked well to advance the project to this stage. Continued collaboration among Metrolinx, the municipalities and stakeholders to resolve the issues identified to this point and as they arise in the future will go a long way toward the timely completion of this process under very challenging timelines.

Attachments Attachment 1 – Location of 12 new GO RER stations Attachment 2 – Location of 6 new GO RER/SmartTrack stations and Eglinton Crosstown LRT western extension Attachment 3 – Detail sheets for each of the 12 new stations Attachment 4 – Stage Gate Chart – City of Toronto

Respectfully submitted,

Leslie Woo

Chief Planning Officer

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Attachment 1 – Location of 12 new GO RER stations

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Attachment 2

Location of six new GO RER/SmartTrack stations and Eglinton Crosstown LRT western extension

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Attachment 3 - Detail sheets for each of the 12 new stations

Stouffville Finch East SmartTrack Corridor

City of Toronto: Approved at Council: November 8, 2016

Relevant Considerations:

• City does not support the provision of parking • TTC is reluctant to commit to diverting buses into the station despite large transfer volumes predicted by City – potential challenge to design an attractive transfer between rail and Finch TTC buses • The immediate area does not currently have transit supportive land-uses and has limited redevelopment potential due to extensive Neighbourhood designations. However, significant passenger traffic from a wider area is expected by the City to access the station by TTC • Metrolinx is confirming the design of the rail-road grade separation for Finch Ave and its impact on the station design – City preference is for road under rail