CITY OF WINDSOR COMMUNITY BASED STRATEGIC RAIL STUDY Final Report McCORMICK RANKIN CORPORATION in association with Canarail Consultants Inc. April 2008 (Updated August 2008) City of Windsor Final Report Community Based Strategic Rail Study PREFACE The City of Windsor and Transport Canada are undertaking a strategic planning study to assess the opportunities for rail rationalization and modal integration in the City of Windsor. The intent of the study is to produce a strategic plan that is technically feasible and addresses the City’s transportation needs, while being responsive to the local community through consultation with key stakeholders. This Report is based on the various technical reports completed during the study. The technical reports completed are listed below: TR1 Rail Operations – Issues and Opportunities February 2006 TR2 Rail Rationalization Opportunities April 2007 TR3 Modal Integration Opportunities July 2007 TR4 Associated Community Opportunities and Benefits November 2007 TR5 Implementation Strategy January 2008 MRC April 2008 i City of Windsor Final Report Community Based Strategic Rail Study CONTENTS Page PREFACE.....................................................................................................................................................I E1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .........................................................................................................IV 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 2. RAIL OPERATIONS – ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES....................................................... 2 2.1 Existing Rail Operations.....................................................................................................2 2.2 Rail Corridors & Rail Yards ...............................................................................................3 2.3 Road Crossings ...................................................................................................................8 2.4 Land Use Adjacent to Rail Corridors................................................................................10 2.5 Issues and Opportunities...................................................................................................13 2.5.1 Issues ..........................................................................................................................13 2.5.2 Opportunities..............................................................................................................19 3. RAIL RATIONALIZATION OPPORTUNITIES.................................................................... 21 3.1 Development of Rail Rationalization Alternatives ...........................................................21 3.1.1 Passenger Rail ............................................................................................................21 3.1.2 Freight Rail.................................................................................................................22 3.1.3 Rail Yards...................................................................................................................22 3.2 Rail Line Rationalization Alternatives..............................................................................23 3.3 Rail Yard Relocation Alternatives....................................................................................23 3.4 Consultation......................................................................................................................24 3.4.1 Partner Agencies Group Meetings .............................................................................24 3.4.2 Stakeholders Group Meeting......................................................................................24 3.5 Analysis and Evaluation of Alternatives...........................................................................25 3.5.1 Analysis......................................................................................................................25 3.5.2 Evaluation...................................................................................................................25 3.6 Technically Preferred Alternative.....................................................................................26 3.6.1 ‘Ultimate’ Scenario ....................................................................................................26 3.6.2 ‘Interim’ Scenario ......................................................................................................28 3.6.3 Opportunities..............................................................................................................28 3.6.4 Impacts .......................................................................................................................30 3.6.5 Outstanding Issues......................................................................................................31 3.6.6 Preliminary Construction Cost Estimates...................................................................31 4. MODAL INTEGRATION OPPORTUNITIES ........................................................................ 35 4.1 Windsor Airport Lands .....................................................................................................35 4.2 Rail Companies’ Views on Intermodal in Windsor..........................................................36 4.3 Modal Integration Opportunities.......................................................................................36 5. ASSOCIATED COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES AND BENEFITS OF RAIL RATIONALIZATION.............................................................................................................................. 45 5.1 Land Use Redevelopment Opportunities..........................................................................45 5.1.1 Current Uses...............................................................................................................45 5.1.2 City of Windsor Land Use and Rail Use Strategies ...................................................46 5.1.3 Brownfield Development Policies..............................................................................48 5.1.4 Residential and Commercial Developments ..............................................................48 5.1.5 High-Speed Transit ....................................................................................................49 5.1.6 Parks, Bicycle Paths, and Pedestrian Walkways........................................................50 5.1.7 Modal Integration.......................................................................................................50 MRC April 2008 ii City of Windsor Final Report Community Based Strategic Rail Study 5.2 Traffic Impacts..................................................................................................................50 5.2.1 Improvements on Existing Traffic Deficiencies.........................................................50 5.2.2 Road User Delays.......................................................................................................52 5.3 Environmental Impacts .....................................................................................................53 5.3.1 Noise and Vibration....................................................................................................53 5.3.2 Air Quality..................................................................................................................54 5.3.3 Conservation Areas ....................................................................................................54 6. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY .......................................................................................... 55 6.1 Implementation Time Frame and Costs............................................................................55 6.2 Implementation Strategy...................................................................................................57 6.2.1 Business Case and Multimodal Committee................................................................57 6.2.2 Partnerships ................................................................................................................59 6.2.3 Government Approvals and Commitment..................................................................59 6.2.4 Rail Operations and Contractual Agreements ............................................................60 6.2.5 Preliminary Design.....................................................................................................60 7. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 62 APPENDIX A Rail Line Rationalization and Rail Yard Relocation Alternatives B Summary of Key Comments from Partner Agencies C Analysis and Evaluation of Alternatives D Key Benefits and Impacts on the Windsor Community LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 - Existing Rail Infrastructure.....................................................................................................................2 Table 2.2 - Summary of Key Railway Crossings.......................................................................................................9 Table 3.1 - Interim Scenario Preliminary Cost Estimate.......................................................................................32 Table 3.2 - Preliminary Estimated Additional Costs Associated with the