CITY HALL: Council green lights Gardiner EA
Waterfront Toronto to begin multi-year environmental assessment
Toronto Council has voted to go ahead with an $11 million environmental assessment on the mega-project of tearing down a piece of the Gardiner Expressway from Jarvis to the Don Valley Parkway.
The project, which could cost as much as $300 million, is still a long way from final approval - but the environmental assessment, that will include an examination of various configurations of roadway, from turning Lake Shore into an eight lane "great street," or simply doing nothing at all, is a crucial first step.
"I'm very pleased at the overwhelming support of city council today to support the environmental assessment to remove the Gardiner from Jarvis East to the Lake Shore and the ramps to the Don Valley Parkway " said mayor David Miller after the 30-11 vote Tuesday afternoon. "I think council made a significant step toward building a 21st century city and I was pleased to hear the support from members of council from all geographic areas of the city. There is a tremendous opportunity for this city on the waterfront. I think you saw council not thinking about managing the past but trying to build the future."
The vote means that Waterfront Toronto will begin the multi-year environmental assessment project - initially with public consultations over the next year. The environmental assessment will help nail down details on how the project is to proceed.
The waterfront agency has already painted a picture in broad strokes. The elevated highway would come down between Jarvis and the Don Valley Parkway. Vehicles that now bypass the city from DVP to Gardiner would descend onto an eight-lane road, which would either continue on as the Lakeshore or connect via much smaller ramps.
The roadway itself would be lined with developments ranging from street-front cafes to condominiums.
Councillors from Etobicoke - whose constituents make use of the Gardiner to get to work or just to other parts of Toronto - were mixed in their views.
Ward 4 (Etobicoke Centre) Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby voted against the project. A member of Miller's Executive Committee, Lindsay Luby is also a long-time opponent of Gardiner demolition projects. She stuck to her guns.
"Numerous governments over time have looked at removing the Gardiner - and it's unfortunate but they refuse to look at ways of ameliorating its problems," she said, and suggested that the city is deliberately allowing the highway to deteriorate to the point where demolition becomes the only option.
"By not putting money into the Gardiner, it will get to the point where they'll say it will cost too much to keep it up," said Lindsay Luby. "It's all there. And the costs of the project are going nowhere but up. Who are we kidding? I want to see public transit, but it won't be serving people from northeast Scarborough."
Ward 3 (Etobicoke Centre) Councillor Doug Holyday accused Miller of trying to sneak the environmental assessment through in the summer when residents are out of town. And he accused Miller of engaging in a long game of demolishing the entire Gardiner.
"We're dismembering the Gardiner Expressway piece by piece," he said. "People say that's not the plan, but I think that's the plan. We just don't have to do it all at once. That seems where we're going. I would like you to come to Etobicoke, and ask them what they think about taking down the Gardiner."
But Ward 5 (Etobicoke Lakeshore) Councillor Peter Milczyn said that while he got some concerned calls from constituents, looking at a Gardiner tear-down is the right thing to do.
"Some of my constituents have told me that if you take down the Gardiner, it's their last opportunity to see the lake as they drive through the city," he said. "Well the waterfront is meant to be enjoyed as a pedestrian - not while going 100 kilometers an hour 50 feet in the air. It's not a place to be enjoyed at high speed."
