Item - 2013.PW22.2

The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee received the item for information.

In 2008, Council authorized the City to act as co-proponent with Waterfront Toronto to undertake an Environmental Assessment (EA) for a segment of the elevated Gardiner Expressway east of Jarvis Street to The Don Roadway. The Terms of Reference for the Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard Reconfiguration EA and Integrated Urban Design Study (the Gardiner East EA) were subsequently developed and approved by City Council and the Minister of the Environment in 2009.

As part of the City's Capital Budget process in January 2013, Council reallocated $4.41M within the Waterfront Revitalization Initiative budget for the completion of the EA. This report provides the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee with an update on the Gardiner East EA scope and process, including key milestones and public consultation.

The impact of the resumption of the Gardiner East EA on the 10-Year Capital Plan for the Gardiner Expressway Rehabilitation Project is the subject of a separate staff report to the Committee. The Rehabilitation Project and the ongoing EA have to be aligned to maintain the Gardiner Expressway in a safe and operable condition. This requires a Council decision on a preferred EA option by the Spring of 2014 so that the work on refining the option and finalizing the design and submission to the Minister of Environment can all be completed by the Spring of 2015.

Information about the Gardiner Expressway rehabilitation program and related matters, including links to the Gardiner Individual EA study, is available on the City of Toronto web site at http://www.toronto.ca/transportation/gardiner.