Sheppard Subway - Don Mills Station: Road Modifications and Traffic Regulation for Don Mills Road and East Area (Don Parkway and Seneca Heights)

(City Council at its regular meeting held on October 3, 4 and 5, 2000, and its Special Meetings held on October 6, 2000, October 10 and 11, 2000, and October 12, 2000, adopted this Clause, without amendment.)

The Works Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (July 28, 2000) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services:

Purpose:

To provide authority to the Transit Commission (TTC) to carry out roadway modifications in the area of Don Mills Road and Sheppard Avenue East, and to introduce traffic regulations appropriate to the new roadway configuration.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Funding of the reconstruction of the Don Mills Road and Sheppard Avenue East area due to the subway construction, including roadway modifications, is the responsibility of the TTC.

There are no financial implications to the Works and Emergency Services Department.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1) approval be given to proceed with the road works in the vicinity of Sheppard Avenue East and Don Mills Road, as described in this report; and

(2) coincident with the completion of the above-noted road works:

(a) the easterly southbound through lane on Don Mills Road be reserved for public transit vehicles only between the north curb line of Leith Hill Road and a point 50 metres north thereof;

(b) the easterly southbound lane on Don Mills Road be reserved for public transit vehicles only between the south curb line of Leith Hill Road and a point 60 metres south thereof;

(c) pedestrian crossings of Don Mills Road be prohibited between a point 30.5 metres south of the south curb line of Don Mills Station bus driveway and a point 30.5 metres north of the north curb line of Don Mills Station bus driveway; (d) the westerly northbound lane on Drive at Sheppard Avenue East Road be designated for left-turning vehicles only between Sheppard Avenue East and a point 30.5 metres south thereof;

(e) the easterly northbound lane on Parkway Forest Drive at Sheppard Avenue East Road be designated for right-turning vehicles only between Sheppard Avenue East and a point 30.5 metres south thereof;

(f) the two easterly southbound lanes on the Driveway at Sheppard Avenue East Road be designated for left-turning vehicles only between Sheppard Avenue East and a point 30.5 metres north thereof;

(g) the westerly southbound lane on the Fairview Mall Driveway be designated for public transit vehicles only between the north curb line of Sheppard Avenue East and a point 30.5 metres north thereof; and

(h) pedestrian crossings of Sheppard Avenue East be prohibited between the west curb line of Parkway Forest Drive and a point 30.5 metres east of the east curb line of Parkway Forest Drive.

Background:

The Don Mills Station will serve as the eastern terminal for the Sheppard Subway line. Existing Don Mills Road and Sheppard Avenue East bus routes will divert into the new bus terminal. In addition, a number of local bus routes will be modified to access the new terminal. The terminal will have an entrance/exit on Don Mills Road, approximately 75 metres south of Leith Hill Road, which will serve an estimated peak hour volume of 51 buses from the north. All buses approaching from the east will use an entrance located on Sheppard Avenue East approximately 110 metres east of Don Mills Road. Services leaving to the east will use a combination of ramps and transit only lanes to access Sheppard Avenue east via the Fairview Mall Driveway opposite Parkway Forest Drive. The geometric changes to accommodate these movements are outlined below.

Roadway Modifications on Don Mills Road:

The bus entry/exit on Don Mills Road will be at a signalized entrance to the bus terminal located 75 metres south of the Leith Hill Road intersection. To alleviate possible delays to through traffic on Don Mills Road, an additional southbound lane will be provided to accommodate southbound buses making a left turn into the new entrance. This lane will be designated for use by public transit vehicles only. As the signal timing at this entrance will be designed for efficient movement of transit vehicles into and out of the terminal, there will be no pedestrian crossings permitted at this location. To provide the additional bus turn lane, property has been acquired along Don Mills Road. The acquired property is shown in the attached drawings. Roadway Modifications on Sheppard Avenue East:

An entrance to the bus terminal to serve buses arriving from the east will be constructed 110 metres east of Don Mills Road.

The existing entrance to Fairview Mall located approximately 190 metres east of Don Mills Road will be located an additional 20 metres to the east. This will result in improved access to the new parking structure, additional queue length for buses entering the bus terminal, and will serve to maximize the parking area available for the “Passenger Pick-Up and Drop-Off” facility.

Roadway Modifications at the Sheppard Avenue East/ Parkway Forest/Fairview Mall Intersection:

All buses exiting to the east will use ramps from the terminal and a transit only lane to reach Sheppard Avenue via the Fairview Mall Driveway. To ensure efficient operation for the transit vehicles, and to mitigate the impact of transit use of the driveway on the Mall patrons, modifications will be made to both the Fairview Mall Driveway north of Sheppard Avenue and Parkway Forest Drive to the south of Sheppard Avenue. The existing Fairview Mall Driveway is comprised of two southbound traffic lanes and one northbound traffic lane. The driveway will be widened to accommodate one northbound traffic lane and four southbound traffic lanes.

The two easterly southbound traffic lanes will be designated for left turning vehicles only and the westerly southbound lane will be designated for public transit vehicles only. Due to utility impacts and other constraints, the driveway will be widened to the west of its existing location.

To maintain proper north-south alignment through the intersection, the existing Parkway Forest Drive leg of the intersection will be adjusted to the west and the existing centre median will be narrowed slightly. To minimize delays to vehicles exiting the Mall and to improve the overall operation of the intersection, the concept of prohibiting northbound through traffic movements from Parkway Forest Drive to the Fairview Mall Drive was explored with the Mall owners. This concept was found to be acceptable as traffic destined to the Mall from Parkway Forest Drive can make a northbound left turn at Sheppard Avenue and use the second Mall entrance located further to the west. TTC staff also discussed this concept with the area Councillors and undertook public consultation before plans were finalized.

Consequently the northbound curb lane on Parkway Forest Drive will be designated for right-turning vehicles only and the northbound median lane will be designated for left-turning vehicles only.

Currently there are no pedestrian crossings on the east leg of this intersection, and it would be appropriate to formally retain this arrangement to minimize potential conflicts between pedestrians and turning vehicles and permit the appropriate signs to be installed. Conclusions:

The construction of the subway station at Don Mills Road, which is at the end of the Sheppard Subway line, necessitates the construction of a bus terminal and the resulting modifications to the roads and intersections in the vicinity.

Contact:

David Butler Manager, Sheppard Subway Traffic Operations 392-5285

List of Attachments:

Attachment No. 1 – Sheppard Avenue East Attachment No. 2 – Sheppard Avenue East/ Parkway Forest Drive – Details Attachment No. 3 – Don Mills Road Insert Attachment 1 Map: Road Modification Intersection of Sheppard Avenue and Don Mills Road Insert Attachment 2 Map: Road Modification Fairview Mall Entrance Change Insert Attachment 3 Map: Road Modification Intersection of Sheppard Avenue and Don Mills Road