Memo to File

2655 North Sheridan Way, Suite 300 Mississauga, ON Canada L5K 2P8 t: 905.823.8500 f: 905.823.8503 [email protected] www.mrc.ca MEMO TO FILE FROM: Andrew Shea DATE: March 18 th , 2013 COPIES: David Veights, Metrolinx Scott Bowers, MMM OUR FILE: 3212006 SUBJECT: Traffic Investigation for LRT – West Section On May 17, 2010, the Minister of the Environment for the Province of Ontario issued a Notice to Proceed to the City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) for the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (ECLRT) Project, a 33-kilometre electrically powered Light Rail Transit (LRT) line extending from the Lester B. Pearson International Airport in the City of Mississauga to Kennedy Station in the City of Toronto. The Notice signified the completion of a process carried out under the Transit Project Assessment Process (Ontario Regulation 231/08). Subsequent to the issuance of that Notice by the Minister, changes to the Project have been identified that are inconsistent with the project presented in the 2010 Environmental Project Report (EPR) that served as the basis for the Minister’s Notice of May 17, 2010. As described in Section 15 of Ontario Regulation 231/08, any significant change that is inconsistent with a previously approved EPR requires a reassessment of the impacts associated with the project where changes are proposed, the identification of potentially new mitigation measures, and potentially new monitoring systems in an addendum to the previously approved EPR. The 2010 ECLRT TPAP recommended a surface median LRT facility on Eglinton Avenue with an at-grade connection to the proposed Black Creek MSF (requiring LRT vehicles to cross the westbound general traffic lanes in order to access the facility, see Figure 1). The concept proposed in the 2010 EPR converted two of the six general purpose traffic lanes between (approximately) Weston Road and Black Creek Drive to a median LRT facility. The 2010 EPR assessed the traffic impacts associated with the reduction in capacity. Metrolinx has subsequently identified a need to implement an Automated Train Operation (ATO) system for trains leaving the Black Creek MSF site in order to achieve the desired service frequency and reliability along the line, therefore introducing a need to grade-separate the LRT from general traffic at the Black Creek MSF site access and precluding the ability to implement the Black Creek Drive LRT stop proposed in the 2010 EPR. Further, in light of a future GO Rail station at Mount Dennis, as envisioned in the Georgetown South Corridor EA (2009), relocation and redesign of the Weston LRT Stop to a full station under the rail corridor would allow for a future, fully-integrated LRT/GO Rail station. The current plan is illustrated in Figure 2 . Memo Date: March 18 th , 2013 Page 2 Under the approved 2010 EPR, the proposed western terminus of the Eglinton LRT facility was to be at Toronto Pearson International Airport. While this remains the ultimate terminus in the west, the current phased implementation approach will result in an interim western terminus at the Mount Dennis LRT Station. As such, Eglinton Avenue west of Mount Dennis will continue to be served by buses in the interim, until such a time when funding allows for the westerly extension of the LRT. These bus services will serve or terminate at a new proposed bus terminal at the Mount Dennis Station in order to connect passengers from the west with the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in the first phase of implementation. Under the current plan, it is proposed to introduce a new signalized intersection at the existing No Frills site to provide bus-only left-turns into and out of the access. See Figure 3 . Memo Date: March 18 th , 2013 Page 3 Figure 1: 2010 ECLRT EPR Plan – Weston Road to Black Creek Drive Memo Date: March 18 th , 2013 Page 4 Figure 2: Current Proposed ECLRT Plan Memo Date: March 18 th , 2013 Page 5 Figure 3: Proposed Signalized Intersection at No Frills Access Methodology As part of the 2010 EPR for the ECLRT, traffic impacts associated with the reduction of traffic capacity in the study area were assessed, and the plan was approved by the Ministry of the Environment. This approved plan was considered the “base case” for the purposes of the analysis discussed herein. Recognizing the potential for impacts associated with the proposed changes to the approved ECLRT plan are expected to be localized within the study area, existing traffic conditions were assessed on the basis of weekday AM and PM peak hour turning movement volumes recorded at the signalized Eglinton Avenue intersections with Weston Road and Black Creek Drive, and at the signalized Black Creek Drive intersection with Photography Drive. Representative intersection capacity and level-of-service analyses were carried out using Synchro 7 to compare relative traffic impacts associated with the proposed changes. Analysis Parameters An intersection’s overall operating conditions are typically characterized by two standard measures: the volume to capacity ratio (V/C) and the level of service (LOS). Taken together, they provide an indication of delay and the number of vehicles that can be accommodated through an intersection. The V/C ratio is an indication of the volume of traffic attempting to make a specific movement through an intersection (i.e., northbound left, westbound straight through), versus the theoretical capacity of that movement given the lane configurations, operating conditions and signal timings provided at the intersection. A V/C ratio of 1.0 represents a condition where all available capacity for a particular movement is being used. Memo Date: March 18 th , 2013 Page 6 The level of service (LOS) of the overall intersection or a particular movement is a measure of the average vehicle delay experienced by the motorists attempting to travel through the intersection. LOS is measured from “A” to “F” with peak hour LOS in the “A” to “D” range being considered acceptable by most, and a LOS of F representing unacceptable delays. Critical movements were identified as those operating with a volume-to-capacity (V/C) ratio of 0.85 or higher and/or the poorest level of service (LOS). Background Traffic Background traffic data, in the form of 8-hour Turning Movement Counts (TMCs), were applied in the assessment to form a basis for understanding the overall magnitude of the impacts associated with the proposed ECLRT. The TMCs were obtained from the City of Toronto, and are included as Attachment 1. Per the approved 2010 EPR for the ECLRT, the Eglinton Avenue corridor is assumed to be at or near capacity 1, and therefore no growth to background traffic volumes was applied in the future scenarios. PPUDO Traffic Under the current plan, there is an area of the MSF site immediately west of Kodak Building #9 dedicated to a future Passenger Pick-Up/Drop-Off (PPUDO) area associated with the future Mount Dennis GO Rail Station. The PPUDO area is currently sized for approximately 30 vehicle stopping spaces, capable of accommodating the Kiss and Ride activity generated by the forecast order-of-magnitude ridership activity 2 at the GO Rail station of 400 boardings and 600 alightings in the AM peak hour. It was assumed that virtually all of the GO Rail alightings at the future Mount Dennis station would be destined to either local developments (existing or future), or transferring to another transit system (ECLRT or TTC Bus). As such, the volume of PPUDO activity was limited to a portion of AM peak hour boardings. For the purposes of the analysis, a 12.3% 3 mode-split was applied to the alighting passengers to determine the total PPUDO activity at the GO Rail Station, consistent with that observed at the adjacent Weston GO Station. The traffic associated with this volume was applied in both the AM and PM peak hour investigations. Bus Traffic The following TTC bus route changes are proposed for the new bus terminal at Mount Dennis: • 32 Eglinton West bus service would be shortened to operate from Renforth Station to the proposed Mount Dennis Bus Terminal, with peak service every 5 minutes. • 34 Eglinton East bus service would be renamed “34 Eglinton”. Service would operate from the proposed Mount Dennis Bus Terminal to Kennedy Station, via Eglinton/Yonge and Eglinton West stations. Peak service would operate every 15 minutes. • 89 Weston bus service would be revised to serve the proposed Mount Dennis Bus Terminal in both directions via Weston Road / Black Creek Drive / Eglinton Avenue / 1 See 2010 ECLRT EPR, Appendix M, Section 2.2. 2 Per e-mail from I. Griffiths (Metrolinx), Friday, December 14 th , 2012 3 Per the 2011 GO Rail Passenger Survey, GO Transit Memo Date: March 18 th , 2013 Page 7 Weston Road. Local peak service would operate every 5 minutes, with additional express service every 10 minutes. • 35 Jane (Jane Station-Steeles) local bus would be split into two routes: o 35 Jane (Mount Dennis Bus Terminal – Steeles West Station) would operate both ways via Jane Street and Eglinton Avenue to/from the proposed Mount Dennis Bus Terminal. Peak service would operate every 3 minutes. o New 19 Jane South (Jane Station – Mount Dennis Bus Terminal) would operate both ways via Jane Street / Eglinton Avenue to/from the proposed Mount Dennis Bus Terminal. Peak service would operate every 6 miuntes. • 35E Jane Express bus service would operate from the proposed Mount Dennis Bus Terminal to Steeles West Station via Eglinton Avenue / Jane Street / Steeles Avenue both ways. Peak service would operate every 10 minutes. • New 170 Emmett bus service would operate to/from the proposed Mount Dennis Bus Terminal via Eglinton Avenue / Emmett Avenue / Jane Street / Eglinton Avenue.

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