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COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION Engineering Department

TO: Chair and Members of the Community Services Committee

SUBJECT: An Update on Niagara to GTA Corridor Environmental Assessment

Report Number: E-22-10 Report Date: January 19th 2010 Author(s): Dan Ozimkovic Date to Committee: February 10th 2010 Telephone: 905-335-7600 Ext. 7485 Date to Council: February 22nd 2010 Ward(s) Affected: 1 2 3 4 5 6 All File Number(s): 502-43

APPROVALS: ______Department Head General Manager City Manager

To be completed by the Clerks Department

Committee Disposition & Comments 01– Approved 02 – Not Approved 03 – As Amended 04 – Referred 05 – Deferred 06 – Received & Filed 07 – Withdrawn

Council Disposition & Comments 01– Approved 02 – Not Approved 03 – As Amended 04 – Referred 05 – Deferred 06 – Received & Filed 07 – Withdrawn

1.0 RECOMMENDATION:

That Council endorse the following comments as the City of Burlington response to the Ministry of Transportation regarding the latest material presented on the Niagara – G.T.A. Transportation Corridor Environmental Assessment (NGTA EA), and that, the City Clerk forward a copy of the Council resolution and report to the Ministry of Transportation as the City of Burlington’s comments.

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i. NGTA Corridor, GTA West Corridor, Highway 24 Corridor and Highway 6 Corridor

While the study areas for these corridors are inter-related we continue to be very concerned that there is no cross referencing of the transportation and growth needs between these study areas. The studies are being undertaken by separate study teams and involve separate sets of stakeholders. There continues to be a strong case in our view, for more directly connected planning of these four corridors in an overall context of the Places to Grow Growth Plan for the Western GTA, Hamilton and Niagara areas. The alignment of facilities in these corridors need to avoid encroachment into the provincially established Green Belt as much as possible and new surface crossings of the must not be allowed.

ii. “Stepped Assessment”

We are very supportive of the “stepped assessment” for this EA, beginning with the optimization of existing infrastructure. In this particular category we strongly support the potential of “Improving Incident Management to clear incidents (on Freeways)”.We understand some jurisdictions in North America have passed the necessary legislation (regarding Emergency Response agency authority and liability insurance laws etc.) to enable emergency responders to quickly address and then clear accident scenes. This has to be pursued actively by the Province, with appropriate input from Emergency Service providers and law enforcement agencies. iii. Freight Rail and Commuter Rail

At present the busiest GO rail services use CN and CP tracks in the Halton/Hamilton area. The busiest GO rail service of all is the Lakeshore West service which uses CN tracks. Although, additional tracks have been recently constructed on this corridor, GO rail service will continue to compete for available capacity with increasing freight rail demands. We strongly encourage the study team to consider a new freight rail corridor opportunity along the NGTA and GTA West corridors so as to allow a possible diversion of some freight rail movements from the Lakeshore Corridor. In order to increase the capacity of rail services in the Lakeshore Corridor actions, such as additional grade separations and other measures to improve efficiency and safety will likely be needed. Achievement of these improvements will require additional funding from senior levels of government. iv. High Speed Rail

We are very appreciative that Metrolinx and longer term GO Transit plans are factoring into the NGTA EA. However, we feel that consideration of a longer term high-speed rail service through this area should be recognized and appropriately be protected for.

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v. Corridor EAs and Places to Grow Growth Plans

We are appreciative that the Places to Grow Plan, the Greenbelt Plan and the Niagara Escarpment Plan now provide an overall context for Corridor Plans. However, some of the land-use planning for the growth centers is ongoing (official plan updates, etc.). For example, Hamilton’s growth plan for the Hamilton International Airport area may have a direct impact on the NGTA plans. We request assurances that the transportation alternatives for the NGTA will continue to be updated to reflect decisions being made on growth management and land use plans in the study area.

vi. Tolling (Freeways)

While we appreciate that the issue of tolling on the 400 series freeways is a contentious issue, it is possible that any new freeway facility in the NGTA plan could be a tolled facility. We feel that it would be prudent to do some ‘sensitivity analysis” on any possible new freeway facility being a tolled facility to confirm its usage and its ability to address transportation capacity issues.

vii. Municipal Transit Development Charges

While it is not a direct aspect of the NGTA, the role and usage of municipal transit is expected to increase in the longer term transportation planning for this area. The funding of municipal transit service by development charges is currently constrained by the legislation. The legislation needs to be revised by the Province to permit collecting funding for increased transit service. Even with changes to the legislation, addition funding from senior levels of government on a sustained basis will be needed to achieve the necessary expansions to municipal transit systems to accommodate the growth envisaged in the Provincial Growth Plan. viii. Environmental Impact

Evaluation of transportation corridors will need to carefully consider the impact on key natural systems, such as the Niagara Escarpment. Based on the material available it appears that more detailed weighting of the factors is needed to fully capture the environmental impacts and constraints associated with various corridors. It will be important to involve all stakeholders in the development of detailed evaluation measures.

ix. Land Use

In evaluating corridors it will be important to consider the impact on the agricultural fabric and minimize fragmentation of viable farm properties. In addition serious consideration needs to be given to ensure that established urban boundaries are not compromised, resulting in pressure to convert additional areas for urban development, which is not in the spirit of the Provincial Growth Plan, the Greenbelt Plan and the Niagara Escarpment Plan.

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2.0 PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to provide an update to Council on the Niagara to GTA Corridor Environmental Assessment and obtain approval of formal comments on this phase of the environmental assessment.

3.0 BACKGROUND AND RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN:

The purpose of the NGTA Corridor Environmental Assessment is to assess the needs and options of additional transportation capacity within the NGTA Corridor. All travel modes are being considered: transit, road, rail, marine and air (Metrolinx, CN, CP, St. Lawrence Seaway Authority, Hamilton Port Authority, Hamilton International Airport, municipalities, government agencies, and public stakeholders)

The map below shows the study area for NGTA Corridor and major transportation desire lines to and from the study area.

Currently this study is in ‘Study Phase 2: Area Transportation System Planning’. The last Public Information Centre was held in December of 2009 and it was focused on: ¾ Selection of area transportation system alternatives ¾ Identification and assessment of the general location of area transportation system alternatives

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The following provides an overview of the study as presented by the MTO at the December Open House. i) Transportation Vision: The transportation vision for this study is to develop an integrated, multi-modal transportation system that facilitates and enables the realization of approved provincial policies in support of: ¾ Compact, vibrant and complete communities ¾ A prosperous and competitive economy ¾ A protected environment ii) Problem Statement When it comes to transportation in the study area, the over-arching problems for the system are: ¾ Parts of the system are at or beyond capacity under existing conditions ¾ Increased travel demand, resulting from future growth will result in greater capacity issues ¾ There is limited integration between local and inter-regional transit and between all modes for moving goods The problems for specific transportation sectors in accommodating projected demand can be summarized in the following: Goods Movement Trucks - Growing congestion and increased travel times during rush hour and when affected by accidents/poor weather/construction. Rail - Few rail connections between growth areas Marine - Inadequate connections between ports and roads Air - Inadequate connections between airports, roads and transit Commuter Transit - Limited integration between local and inter-regional transit Auto - Limited options for by-passing congestion Tourism Transit - Public transit schedules generally cater to commuters rather than tourists Auto - Perceived conflicts between tourists and trucks may reduce tourist trips

iii) Key Findings from Phase 1 of the Environmental Assessment indicate that: Goods Movement Trucks - Most efficient over shorter distances and for ‘just in time’ delivery Rail - Rail is well suited to move goods longer distances and for bulk goods Marine - Marine is most effective for global shipping of containers and continental shipping of commodities. Air - Goods movement by air is increasing steadily and this trend is expected to continue, but the focus is on high value goods. Commuter Transit - The Metrolinx Big Move will result in significant improvements for transit commuters in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area Auto - Travel time and congestion on the highway network will increase in the future even with implementation of planned improvements

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Tourism Moderate growth is anticipated and this can be enhanced by providing better connections between gateways and key tourist destinations and transportation services within the tourist destinations.

Transportation System Alternatives for the Niagara to GTA Corridor It is very important to manage growth because the estimates, from the Provincial Growth Plan show that the greater Golden Horseshoe population is expected to increase by 3.7 million by 2031. There will be additional 700 million transit trips within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Truck volumes are anticipated to grow by over 50 percent and rail volume by 30 percent over the next 25 years. Travel time and congestion on the highway network will increase in the future. A multi-modal strategy is needed to address our future transportation needs. For this stage (Transportation System Alternatives) the study team has initiated a ‘stepped assessment’ that consists of four groups as shown on the figure below. The potential environmental impacts increase with each higher level of improvements.

Group 1 – Optimize Existing Network: (measures such as) Metrolinx Initiatives - Using roadway shoulders as bus lanes during peak periods NGTA Study Team Ideas - Improving incident management to clear incidents sooner

Group 2 – New/Expanded Non-Road Infrastructure: (measures such as) Metrolinx Initiatives - Express rail service along GO Transit Lakeshore Corridor NGTA Study Team Ideas and Others Ideas - Transit-supportive corridors, e.g. more reserved bus lanes, transit priority measures, more High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in the area highway system.

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Notwithstanding these positive improvements, by the Year 2031, the study team predicts that serious roadway congestion will still exist in several areas.

Group 3 – Widen/Improve Existing Inter-Regional Roads Widening of existing provincial inter-regional transportation facilities: QEW, Highway 401, Highway 403, Highway 407, Highway 6

Group 4 – New Transportation Corridor This group of potential new road corridor alternatives would follow after all of the recommendations from Group #1 and Group #2, and potentially some of the highway widenings identified in Group #3, as well as the following new corridor alternatives: The potential new road corridor options could connect: ¾ QEW in Welland area to Highway 403 (in Halton) ¾ QEW in Welland area to Highway 401 (in Halton) ¾ QEW in Welland area to Highway 407 (in Halton) ¾ QEW in Welland area to Highway 6 ¾ Upgrade or widening of RR 20 with potential bypasses of settlement areas ¾ Combination of new and existing corridors to provide bypass around urban core of the City of Hamilton ¾ Upgrade/widening of Highway 406 with connection to a new corridor between Highway 406 and QEW south of Niagara Falls. Pg 8 of Report E-22-10

New transportation corridors will consider transitways, HOV lanes and accommodation of other transit related services in addition to roads.

RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN:

The following sections of the City’s Strategic Plan ‘Future Focus 7’ are relevant to the N.-G.T.A. Environmental Assessment: • Managed Growth: o 3.2.A, “Protect the escarpment lands, the rural countryside, prime agricultural land and the Greenbelt from urban development.” o 3.2. B “Facilitate development that supports the use of public transit.” • Transportation and Transit: o 8.2A, “Participate in inter-regional transportation initiatives: Niagara/ GTA Corridor Study; Waterdown/ Aldershot Transportation Master Plan; Greater Toronto Transportation Authority – Greater Golden Horseshoe Master Plan; GTA/Hamilton Fare Card Implementation; Southern Gateway Council, 407 West Transitway Study.” o 8.2.B,”Support opportunities to increase rail, air and water transportation options that reduce the demand on the road network.” o 9.3.A,”Improve integration between local and inter-regional transit systems through service and facility design, and simplified fare payment.” o 9.3. B “Explore service delivery alternatives for cross-boundary conventional and specialized transit services and associated funding opportunities from other levels of government.”

4.0 DISCUSSION:

4.1 Process: City staff supports the comprehensive approach being taken with this E.A., namely considering all modes of transportation to address the current and future transportation needs of this study area. The findings indicate that in order to accommodate the 2031 population and employment projections of the Provincial Growth Plan additional new road capacity will be needed in addition to all of the other recommended transportation system improvements. City staff is supportive of the stepped approach, whereby, the existing system is maximized to its fullest potential, followed by improvements to the non-road infrastructure and then improvements to the existing road network. The development of new road capacity and new corridors should only be considered as a last resort. City staff will report again after the overall transportation strategy is developed and presented by the study team during the next phase.

4.2 Funding: Improving the existing transportation system to improve efficiencies and capacities will require significant levels of funding from senior levels of government. This should include items such as rail/ road grade separations to improve safety and efficiency. In addition, administrative, legal and financial changes may be necessary to achieve strategic improvements, such as expediting the clean up of accidents to reduce congestion. Many of the proposed transit initiatives and upgrading of the existing road network, e.g. widening the Freeman and additional lanes on the Burlington Bay Skyway Bridge Pg 9 of Report E-22-10

will involve a significant financial commitment by the province. At present municipal transit service level increases are not eligible for funding from development charges. Given the need for significant transit improvements to reduce road congestion, it would be appropriate for the Province to investigate development charges as a funding source for increasing service levels for municipal transit.

Tolling of new highways has been suggested as a means of funding. However, previous studies have shown that certain types of traffic avoid toll roads due to the high costs, e.g. goods movement. As a result a decision to build a toll highway, which might not be made until after the E.A. is completed, may affect the ability of the new road corridor to meet its intended function depending on the level of potential tolls.

4.3 Comprehensive Approach: City staff believes that a comprehensive approach to transportation problems in the NGTA study area and beyond is needed. It will be important to integrate the findings and proposed improvements from surrounding transportation studies, e.g. Brantford to Cambridge Transportation Corridor E.A., the GTA West Corridor E.A. and the Highway 6 E.A. to determine the overall impacts on the transportation system.

It will also be important to maintain as many alternative options as possible in order to meet the transportation needs to 2031. The possibility of a high speed passenger rail connection should be considered and protected for if possible. In addition ways should be sought to divert non essential rail freight traffic away from the study area, where possible, in order to allow for increased use of passenger rail services.

4.4. Land Use: The Provincial Growth Plan projections are being used in determining the transportation system needs to 2031. It will be important in evaluating proposed improvements, such as new road corridors, to ensure that they meet the other provisions of the Growth Plan and the Greenbelt Plan. In particular consideration of new corridors must take into account its potential impact on maintaining firm urban boundaries and preventing sprawl into the Greenbelt Plan area. Also minimizing farm fragmentation will be important to maintain a strong agricultural sector in the study area.

4.5 Environment: The study area contains numerous important environmental features including the Niagara Escarpment. As detailed evaluations of various improvements are undertaken it will be critical to place a priority on the natural environment. Development of detailed evaluation criteria and weightings should involve the appropriate stakeholders and involve the highest level of scientific information possible.

5.0 FINANCIAL MATTERS:

No direct costs to City of Burlington are expected at the present time. Should it be necessary to appeal or peer review the findings of this Environmental Assessment there may be the need to retain outside technical and legal assistance.

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6.0 ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS:

The level of environmental impact will vary depending on the specific improvements. However, it is anticipated that the introduction of a new transportation corridor will likely have the most significant environmental impacts.

7.0 COMMUNICATION MATTERS:

The City of Burlington has been invited and we have participated in all of the ‘Municipal Technical Advisory Group’ meetings as well as all of the Public Information Centres held to date. We have provided the MTO and the study team with our comments and concerns throughout the ongoing study and will continue to do the same in the future. The general public is invited to all of the Public Information Centres. Information on all of the Public Information Centres can be found in the local newspapers as well on the project’s website www.niagara-gta.com The general public is encouraged to express their comments or concerns at any stage of the study.

8.0 CONCLUSION:

It is concluded that, while the City supports the comprehensive approach being taken on the NGTA Environmental Assessment, the comments included in the recommendations are warranted.

Respectfully submitted,

Dan Ozimkovic Transportation Engineering Technologist Engineering Department City of Burlington

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Copy filed: s:\inet\csc\2010\02-10

Appendices:

Staff / Others Consulted: Name Telephone Paul Smithson (905) 335-7600 ext. 7477 Tom Eichenbaum (905) 335-7600 ext. 7795 Notifications: Name Mailing or E-mail Address Ontario Ministry of Transportation 2nd. Floor, 301 St. Paul Street Mr. Roger Ward St. Catharines, ON L2R 7R4 URS Canada Inc. 75 Commerce Valley Drive East Mr. Paul Hudspith, P.Eng. Markham, ON L3T 7N9

Special Instructions: