Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard East Reconfiguration Environmental Assessment Alternative Solutions Evaluation –INTERIM REPORT - FEBRUARY 2014 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Interim Report Summary .............................................................................................................. 4 1.2 Purpose of the Undertaking (Problem/Opportunity Statement) ................................................. 4 1.2.1 Problems ............................................................................................................................... 4 1.2.2 Opportunities ........................................................................................................................ 5 1.3 Study Goals ................................................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Study Area ................................................................................................................................... 10 2. DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS ....................................................................................... 12 2.1 Context for the Undertaking ....................................................................................................... 12 2.1.1 Existing and Future Conditions ........................................................................................... 14 2.1.2 Population and Employment Growth ................................................................................. 14 2.2 Development of Alternative Solutions ........................................................................................ 17 2.2.1 Maintain Alternative ........................................................................................................... 19 2.2.2 Improve Alternative ............................................................................................................ 21 2.2.3 Replace Alternative ............................................................................................................. 23 2.2.4 Remove Alternative ............................................................................................................ 27 2.3 Understanding Transportation Choices and Case Studies .......................................................... 29 2.3.1 Creating a New Transportation Balance ............................................................................. 30 2.3.2 Case Studies ........................................................................................................................ 31 3. EVALUATION APPROACH AND CRITERIA ............................................................................................ 34 3.1 Evaluation Criteria ....................................................................................................................... 34 3.2 Effects Assessment...................................................................................................................... 37 3.3 Evaluation Approach ................................................................................................................... 38 4. COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES ................................................................................ 39 4.2 Criteria Group Ranking Rationale ............................................................................................... 39 4.2.1 Transportation and Infrastructure ...................................................................................... 50 4.2.2 Urban Design ....................................................................................................................... 55 4.2.3 Environment ........................................................................................................................ 59 4.2.4 Economics ........................................................................................................................... 62 Dillon Consulting Limited, Perkins+Will, Morrison Hershfield, Hargreaves, HR&A 1 Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard East Reconfiguration Environmental Assessment Alternative Solutions Evaluation –INTERIM REPORT - FEBRUARY 2014 4.3 Comparison of Alternatives ........................................................................................................ 67 4.3.1 Criteria Group Preference Overview ................................................................................... 68 4.3.2 Paired-Comparison Evaluation............................................................................................ 70 5. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 75 List of Appendixes Appendix A – 2009 Terms of Reference Appendix B – 2009 Case Studies Report Appendix C – PARAMICS Model Results Summary Appendix D – Transportation Demand Management Paper Appendix E – Construction Staging Summary Appendix F – Air Quality Assessment Summary Appendix G – Noise Assessment Summary Appendix H – Economic Assessment Summary Appendix I – Capital Cost and Net Present Value Estimate Summary Dillon Consulting Limited, Perkins+Will, Morrison Hershfield, Hargreaves, HR&A 2 Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard East Reconfiguration Environmental Assessment Alternative Solutions Evaluation –INTERIM REPORT - FEBRUARY 2014 1. INTRODUCTION Waterfront Toronto (WT) and the City of Toronto (City) are jointly undertaking an Individual Environmental Assessment (EA) to determine the future of the eastern portion of the elevated Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard from approximately Lower Jarvis Street to approximately Leslie Street (referred to as the Gardiner East EA). The EA is being completed pursuant to the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act under the Ministry of Environment (MOE). Determining the future of the Gardiner East is a significant decision for the City: it requires reflection about the future of the City and its relationship with the waterfront. This project presents an opportunity for dramatic improvement in the urban design fabric of the City – an opportunity at a scale and with immediate benefit seldom possible in an established City. The Gardiner East EA is not just about road design, it is also about exploring the potential to create a new address that links the City with the waterfront. It is about finding a transportation solution that ties mobility to quality of life and placemaking. As the eastern waterfront gets shaped and energized with new plans, the window of opportunity to reconfigure the Gardiner is now. This EA study effectively integrates urban design objectives and mobility needs in the decision on how to address the deteriorated Gardiner Expressway East. Through a competitive procurement process in 2008, Waterfront Toronto and the City hired Dillon Consulting Limited (Dillon) to lead an international team of engineers, planners, designers, economists and transportation consultants to complete the Gardiner East EA. The team includes Perkins+Will, Morrison Hershfield, Hargreaves Associates, and HR&A Advisors, with support from Sam Schwartz Engineering and Archaeological Services Inc. The Gardiner East EA commenced in 2009 with the preparation of the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the study. The ToR set out the study process to be followed in conducting the Individual EA, including a description of how the public, stakeholders, Aboriginal communities, and agencies will be consulted throughout the EA. The ToR is available as Appendix A to this document and was approved by the Minister of the Environment in December 2009. Studies and debates regarding the future of the Gardiner Expressway have been ongoing for over 20 years. The City is now at a point where a decision on the future of the Gardiner East is needed. The structure is over 60-years old and requires significant rehabilitation investment in order for it to continue to operate safely. This study is intended to identify a plan of action for the Gardiner East that can be fully coordinated with the rehabilitation of the structure west of the study area and with other waterfront revitalization efforts. A decision on the Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Blvd East is an important one that will influence development in the City’s waterfront area for generations. Background information related to the history and role that the Gardiner has played since its inception is provided in the ToR (Appendix A). Dillon Consulting Limited, Perkins+Will, Morrison Hershfield, Hargreaves, HR&A 3 Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard East Reconfiguration Environmental Assessment Alternative Solutions Evaluation –INTERIM REPORT - FEBRUARY 2014 1.1 Interim Report Summary This report has been prepared for the City and Waterfront Toronto as an interim report on the progress of the Gardiner East EA. Presented in this report are the alternative solutions that have been developed and the results of the assessment and evaluation of these alternatives. The evaluation considers the costs/impacts and the benefits/opportunities of the four alternative solutions: Maintain, Improve, Replace, and Remove. Descriptions of the alternative solutions are provided in Section 2.2. The approach to the evaluation of the alternatives is provided in Section 3 and the complete evaluation with results