Pg 1 of Report E-22-10 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& Comments 01– Approved 02 – Not Approved 03 – As Amended 04 – Referred 05 – Deferred 06 – Received & Filed 07 – Withdrawn Council Disposition & Comments 01– Approved 02 – Not Approved 03 – As Amended 04 – Referred 05 – Deferred 06 – Received & Filed 07 – Withdrawn 1.0 RECOMMENDATION: That Council endorse the following comments as the City of Burlington response to the Ministry of Transportation regarding the latest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. Pg 2 of Report E-22-10 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 Niagara Escarpment 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. Pg 3 of Report E-22-10 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. Pg 4 of Report E-22-10 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 Pg 5 of Report E-22-10 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