TOWN HALL 6311 Old Church Road, Caledon, ON L7C1J6 Town of caledon 905,584.227211.888.CALED0N IFAX 905.584.43251 www.caledon.ca March 28, 2011 RECEIVED CLERK'S DEPT. Region of Peel 10 Peel Centre Drive APR 0 4 2011 Brampton, Ontario L6T4B9 REG. NO.: FILE NO.: Attention: Ms. Carol Reid, Clerk PLANNING, DESIGN &DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Dear Ms. Reid: RE: Bolton Commuter Rail Service - Feasibility Study At the regular meeting of Council held on March 22, 2011, Council received Report PD-2011-019 regarding the Bolton Commuter Rail Service - Feasibility Study. The following was adopted: ThatReport PD-2011-019 regarding Bolton Commuter Rail Service Feasibility Study-Metrolinx be received; and That Metrolinx be requested to expedite the implementation of GO commuter rail service to Bolton and accordingly initiate the property protection process,environmental assessment studyand detailed design process;and That Metrolinx be requested to amend its capital budget to include planning, augmentation and construction within a 10-year priority time frame tofacilitate early implementation for the GOrail service to Bolton; and That Council direct staff to work with the Region of Peel to undertake necessary steps to initiate the Official Plan Amendments as appropriate todesignate the location ofthe preferred GOstation and layover facility site;and That a copy ofReport PD-2011-019 andtheresulting Council resolution be forwarded to Metrolinx, the Regions ofPeel and York and the Cities of Brampton, Mississauga and Vaughan. Please find attached a copy of Report PD-2011-019. If you have any questions regarding the report, please contact Kant Chawla, Senior Transportation Planner at 905-584-2272- ext: 4293 or [email protected]. Yours truly, Barbara Karrandjas Legislative Administrator e-mail: barbara.karrandias(a)caledon.ca cc Kant Chawla, Senior Transportation Planner Region of Peel, Commissioner of Public Works Region of York, Clerk City of Brampton, Clerk City of Mississauga, Clerk City of Vaughan, Clerk Metrolinx, President S:\Legislative Services\C - Councii\C03 - Agendas\2011\2011-03-22 RegulanReporting OuttRB12.doc Administration Department Town of Caledon PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Policy Section Report Report PD-2011-019 To: Mayor and Members of Council From: Mary Hall, Director of Planning & Development Meeting: March 22, 2011 Subject; BOLTON COMMUTER RAIL SERVICE FEASIBLITY STUDY- METROLINX RECOMMENDATION That Report PD-2011-019 regarding Bolton Commuter Rail Service Feasibility Study - Metrolinx be received; That Metrolinx be requested to expedite the implementation of GO commuter rail service to Bolton and accordingly initiate the property protection process, environmental assessment study and detailed design process; That Metrolinx be requested to amend its capital budget to include planning, augmentation and construction within a 10-year priority time frame to facilitate early implementation for the GO rail service to Bolton; That Council direct staff to work with the Region of Peel to undertake necessary steps to initiate the Official Plan Amendments as appropriate to designate the location of the preferred GO station and layover facility site; and; That a copy of Report PD-2011-019 and the resulting Council resolution be forwarded to Metrolinx, the Regions of Peel and York and the Cities of Brampton, Mississauga and Vaughan. ORIGIN/BACKGROUND In June 2007, the Province of Ontario announced the launch of the MoveOntario 2020 initiative, a multi-year rapid transit action plan to develop 900 kilometres of new or improved rapid transit lines in and around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). A new GO rail service between Bolton and Union Station was among the 52 MoveOntario 2020 projects announced by the Government of Ontario. It was also one of the initiatives recommended in the 15 Year Plan of the Regional Transportation Plan completed by Metrolinx in 2008. Subsequently, the Province approved a series of "Quick Wins" projects that could produce tangible benefits within a five year time-frame. One of these proposed projects included the improvement of service frequencies and bus/rail connections for the Bolton GO Transit bus services. It was anticipated that the implementation of bus service improvements would stimulate ridership and support the initiation of the Bolton to Union Station GO transit commuter rail expansion identified in the Metrolinx 15 Year Plan. Report PD-2011-019 Page 1 of 6 S:\C1I - Reportsto CounciMOl1\PD-2011-019 BoltonCommuter RailService-Feasibility Study\PD-2011-019 - FINALdoc March 14, 2011 Town of Caledon In 2008, Metrolinx released a Strategic Plan (GO 2020) which presented GO Transit's direction to the year 2020. The Plan provides the basis for GO Transit's 10-year capital program, three-year operating plan, annual business plans and budgets in order to provide convenient and comfortable longer-distance transportation service to current and potential future customers. Furthermore, Metrolinx confirmed the needs of the Bolton commuter rail service in the GO 2020 Strategic Plan which identifies the requirement to provide peak period train service at 30 minute frequencies on Bolton Corridor. Peel Region and the Town of Caledon had recognized the need for commuter rail service in Bolton a decade ago. Peel Region retained MMM Group to carry out the "Bolton GO Station Needs and Feasibility Study (2002) and an Update was conducted in 2007. The update report identified the triangular parcel west to the rail track south of King Street between Coleraine Drive and Humber Station Road as the preferred site for the location of GO train station in Bolton. The location is displayed in Schedule B. The Bolton Commuter Rail Service Feasibility Study has since been completed and released in late December 2010. Metrolinx took the Region of Peel study as an input and conducted the Bolton Commuter Rail Service Feasibility Study in order to reconfirm the needs for the Bolton commuter GO rail service and assess the feasibility of routing options and ridership forecasts. The study further examined the rail and non-rail infrastructure requirements. During the course of the study, staff input was sought through meetings to discuss the potential GO Rail station locations within Bolton. The discussions also included projected growth (population and employment) in the Town of Caledon and future planned road improvements. DISCUSSION As noted in the preceding section, the feasibility study examined the service and infrastructure requirements to provide a new commuter rail service to Bolton on an existing freight rail corridor where no passenger service currently exists. The feasibility study assessed the projected ridership demands, service options, conceptual station and layover facilities, track capacity, potential property requirements, environmental issues and rail/non-rail infrastructure components. The study reconfirmed the need for the Bolton commuter GO rail service based on the projected growth in population and employment, and high potential growth in rail ridership. Ridership forecasts indicate that demand. exists to support an inaugural service to provide a direct peak period service (3 peak trains) between Bolton and Union Station. The GO transit Bolton commuter rail service will serve up to eight passenger stations within the corridor length of approximately 43 km. The minimum and maximum distance between any two adjacent stations is approximately 2.4 and 10.3 km respectively (Executive Summary attached as Schedule A). The following are some of the key areas discussed in the GO Transit feasibility report: Service Options Four different service options were considered in the study which included direct rail service from Bolton to Union Station and service options involving passenger transfer Report PD-2011-019 Page 2 of 6 S:\Cll-Reportsto CouncuMOl1\PD-2011-019 Bolton CommuterRail Service-FeasibilityStudy\PD-2011-019 - FINALdoc March 14, 2011 ©\-\* Town of Caledon between Bolton and Georgetown corridor trains at Weston/Mount Dennis stations. The preferred Service Option 4 provides direct rail access to Union Station and will serve 4 new stations using rail tracks of CP Mactier Subdivision. The line will have station stops at Bolton, Weinberg, Vaughan, Woodbridge, York University, Downsview and Union Station. The recommended rail route and rail stations are shown in Schedule C. End to end trip duration is anticipated at just less than an hour. It is estimated to have a base capital cost of $268 million to cover the cost of building the necessary additional track, signals, structures/culverts, station facilities, parking, tunnels, and trains. Station Facilities The locations for new GO Transit stations were investigated in order to serve all major communities in the vicinity of the line and so that direct access from major arterial roads was possible. The recommended site for the GO station in Bolton is different from the site that was identified in the 2007 Region of Peel Study (Update of the Bolton GO Station Needs and Feasibility Study). The presently recommended site in Metrolinx Feasibility Study is located on a property northeast of Humber Station Road and King Street, extending west to the rail track. The recommended station location site is 3.64 hectares in size (as shown in Schedule B). The Metrolinx report assessed the pros and cons of all the potential station sites in Bolton and identified the preferred location for the following reasons: • Adequate access to the arterial road network (i.e.