DRAFT 2041 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN FOR THE GREATER TORONTO AND HAMILTON AREA Draft for Consultation September 2017 This version of the Draft 2041 Regional Transportation Plan (Draft RTP) was approved for consultation by the Metrolinx Board of Directors on September 14th, 2017. This Draft RTP will inform public engagement and consultations through the fall of 2017. The feedback received from residents, businesses, civic organizations, partners and stakeholders will be incorporated into a final version of the Plan, to be submitted to the Metrolinx Board of Directors for approval. Read the Draft RTP, and learn more about the research and technical analysis behind it: www.metrolinx.com/en/regionalplanning/rtp/ Have your say on the Draft RTP: www.metrolinx.com/theplan Send your comments by email to: [email protected] Message from the Chief Planning Officer These are remarkable times for The Regional Express Rail transportation in the Greater program, our most ambitious Toronto and Hamilton Area program yet, will transform (GTHA). More than $30 billion is GO Transit and the region with being invested in rapid transit frequent, two-way all-day rail infrastructure over the next eight service, more than doubling the years. number of riders by 2031. Led by Metrolinx, the Eglinton Planning and engineering design Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT) is well underway for 15 additional is under construction in the City of projects that are currently In Toronto and Viva/YRT Bus Rapid Delivery. This includes LRT, BRT Transit (BRT) is being built in York and subway expansions. Region. By the end of 2017, the extension of the Yonge-University Union Station – the hub of the Subway to Vaughan Metropolitan regional transit network – is Centre will be complete. undergoing a major expansion in order to meet the needs of the The decades-long call for a 200,000 people who use it now permanent and fast rail link every workday, and the greater between Lester B. Pearson number who will use it in the International Airport and future. downtown Toronto was answered with the completion of the UP Across the Greater Toronto and Express. Hamilton Area, fare payment has been modernized with the PRESTO fare card. The work of building an job is far from over. By 2041, over integrated transportation system 10 million people will live in the for the GTHA is truly underway. region. That is comparable to the number who currently live When the Province of Ontario in Paris or London. We need to created Metrolinx as a new plan for a future characterized regional transportation agency not only by continued population in 2006, a generation of and employment growth, but underinvestment in transit had also by changing demographics resulted in a transportation crisis. (including an aging population), Travellers in the region wanted the changing nature of work, action to address congested new transportation technologies roads and highways, gridlocked and services, and the impacts of urban streets, unreliable and climate change. inconvenient transit, and a lack of safe and well-maintained bikeways In short, we cannot stop. Our plan and sidewalks. With the release for moving forward – the Draft in 2008 of the region’s first ever 2041 Regional Transportation transportation plan, The Big Move, Plan – calls for governments to Metrolinx set out a common vision move beyond The Big Move to for the region and a blueprint of put people’s needs at the core of how to transform transportation. planning and operations. We need to increase the capacity to move The ambitious expansion of people around the region. transit in the GTHA is the largest in North America today. But the But as the transportation network This Draft 2041 Regional in the GTHA becomes more Transportation Plan is being extensive and complex, travellers’ shared to gather broad public expectations will rise and transit input that can be further infrastructure alone will not be considered for the final Plan. sufficient to meet the needs of a It represents the choices that growing region. Transit providers need to be made to create need to broaden the focus to a transportation system that address not just the quantity, but supports a high quality of life, the quality of transit service for a prosperous economy and travellers. That means making a protected environment for transit more accessible, frequent, the next 25 years. We will be reliable, safe, comfortable and actively listening to inform the convenient. development of the final Plan. As the only body with a regional We would like to thank the mandate, Metrolinx is in a unique Metrolinx Board of Directors position to plan, build, operate for its guidance, the Provincial and connect transportation in government for entrusting the GTHA. But we cannot do this Metrolinx with this important alone. The transportation system mandate, and the many municipal of the future will be extensive, officials, civic organizations, complex and interconnected. educational institutions and Implementation will require citizens who are taking the time to new approaches to financing participate in this important public and new approaches to dialogue. collaborative decision-making in the region. Working with our federal, provincial and municipal partners, the private sector and stakeholders, we can create an integrated transportation system for 2041, one that is focused on delivering the best traveller experience possible. Leslie Woo Chief Planning Officer Table of Contents i Executive Summary 1 Section 1: Introducing the Draft Plan 7 Section 2: Setting the Stage for the Draft 2041 RTP 9 The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area by the Numbers 11 Roles of Government in the RTP 14 The Big Move Legacy 21 Key Influences on Transportation 31 Regional Transportation Challenges 37 Section 3: The Draft 2041 RTP 39 Vision and Goals 40 Preparing the Draft 2041 RTP 46 Strategies and Actions 47 Strategy 1: Complete the Delivery of Current Regional Transit Projects 53 Strategy 2: Connect More of the Region with Frequent Rapid Transit 68 Strategy 3: Optimize the Transportation System 82 Strategy 4: Integrate Land Use and Transportation 94 Strategy 5: Prepare for an Uncertain Future 99 How Will the Plan Make a Difference? 104 Making it Happen 104 Regional Decision Making 109 Funding the Plan 129 Section 4: Next Steps 131 List of Figures, Tables, Maps and Photo Credits 134 Glossary 143 End Notes A-1 Appendices Appendix 1: Metrolinx Technical Studies and Academic Background Research Appendix 2: Developing the Draft 2041 RTP Appendix 3: List of Transit Projects Appendix 4: Transportation Funding and Governance Appendix 5: Additional Resources Appendix 6: Consolidated Draft 2041 RTP Priority Actions i Executive Summary ii Executive Summary The Greater Toronto and Hamilton The Draft 2041 Regional Area is one of the fastest growing Transportation Plan (Draft regions in North America. Its 2041 RTP) for the Greater dynamic economy and diverse Toronto and Hamilton Area population attract about 110,000 (GTHA) is a blueprint for what new residents every year and needs to be done to build an predictions are that in 25 years integrated, regional multi-modal – by 2041 – more than 10 million transportation system, one that people will live here. The region will serve the needs of residents, will look and feel very different businesses and institutions until than the region of today, just as 2041. today feels different from the region of 25 years ago. Keeping The Vision for the region in 2041 our growing and changing region is that: moving – getting people and goods to where they need to go The GTHA urban region will – will be ever more vital for the have a transportation system regional economy, the quality that supports complete of life of those who live here, communities by firmly and the natural environment. To aligning the transportation succeed in a much more complex, network with land use. The interconnected and challenging system will provide travellers environment will require not only with convenient and reliable new transportation infrastructure, connections and support but also new transportation a high quality of life, a services and new ways of working prosperous and competitive together. economy, and a protected environment. Draft 2041 RTP for Consultation Executive Summary iii The goals of the Plan are to A further 16 transit projects are achieve strong connections, In Delivery, which means that complete travel experiences and they are either in the engineering sustainable communities. design stage or under construction. The Draft 2041 RTP was developed by Metrolinx and There is little doubt that The builds on the success of the first Big Move moved the yardsticks Regional Transportation Plan – The significantly for regional Big Move – that was released in transportation, but the work is 2008. The Big Move catalysed far from done. In a region that today’s massive investment in will continue to grow at a rapid rapid transit that has led to the rate, it is vital for the region’s completion of eight major transit communities, economy and the projects: natural environment to further build out the transportation • UP Express (Union Station - system – to increase the capacity Pearson International Airport); to move people around the • Highway 7 Bus Rapid Transit region. It is also important to (Yonge - Unionville GO); make the best possible use • Davis Drive Bus Rapid Transit of transportation assets and (Yonge - Newmarket GO); to provide the best traveller experience possible. All this • Mississauga