Item - 2016.EX13.3

The Executive Committee recommends that: 

1.  City Council request the City Manager and Metrolinx to finalize the technical and planning analysis phase for SmartTrack and prepare background studies required for Transit Project Assessment Processes (TPAPs), by completing the following:

a.  review the approved environmental assessment for the Eglinton West LRT extension from Mount Dennis to the Mississauga Airport Corporate Centre (MACC) and Pearson Airport to optimize design, and remove the heavy rail options on the western corridor from further consideration;

b.  complete the analysis for SmartTrack/GO RER integration options C and D, and remove from consideration the Separate and Parallel SmartTrack option, option A and option B, as defined in table 3 in the report (March 3, 2016) from the City Manager, the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning; and

i.  that the St. Clair West Station being recommended in the integrated GO RER/SmartTrack Options C and D be further considered within the context of the ongoing employment growth in the immediate area, and the purpose of the St. Clair Avenue West (EROW) and St. Clair Avenue Study; and

c.  report to the June 28, 2016 Executive Committee and June 28, 2016 Metrolinx Board meetings with the recommended SmartTrack concept.

2.  City Council direct the City Manager to request Metrolinx to assess the requirement for grade separation at Progress Avenue as part of the infrastructure required by the Province to implement Regional Express Rail (RER) in the City of Toronto and include the results of the review as part of the RER costs and associated municipal impacts to be included in the June 28, 2016 report to Executive Committee.

3.  City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to complete the review of corridor options and related work for the Scarborough Subway Extension, and in doing so:

a.  remove the Bellamy corridor from further consideration;

b.  remove the Scarborough Express Rail (SmartSpur) from further consideration;

c.  develop recommendations to integrate the proposed optimized Eglinton East LRT into the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus secondary plan; and identify areas in need of an Avenue Study to facilitate intensification along the proposed LRT corridor in consultation with the Toronto Transit Commission, Metrolinx and the University of Toronto.

d.  report to the June 28, 2016 Executive Committee on Part c above, along with a recommended preferred corridor and alignment, and number and location of stations for the Scarborough Subway Extension.

4.  City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to work with Metrolinx to create an expedited project delivery schedule for the Eglinton Crosstown East LRT, and report to the June 28, 2016 meeting of Executive Committee.

5.  City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission Board to request the Toronto Transit Commission to add to its service plan the north-south bus route designed for Ward 43 in 2010, considered at its Board meeting on March 24, 2014 for further study, to facilitate ridership to support for the Eglinton Crosstown East LRT.

6.  City Council approve Pape to Downtown via Queen/Richmond as the preferred corridor for the Relief Line project and request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning in consultation with the Toronto Transit Commission to report the preferred alignment and stations to the June 28, 2016 Executive Committee.

7.  City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report to the June 28, 2016 Executive Committee with an update on the Waterfront Transit Reset Study.

8.  City Council direct the City Manager and the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer to include the transit network plan priorities for the next 15 years in the inventory of projects for funding consideration in the development of the City's fiscal plan.

9.  City Council direct the City Manager, the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to undertake additional consultation and stakeholder engagement with respect to the transit network plan and rapid transit expansion projects outlined in the report (March 3, 2016) from the City Manager, the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in advance of the June 28, 2016 report to Executive Committee.

10.  City Council request that the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to review and consider the transportation needs of the employment zone surrounding Toronto Pearson International Airport in the development of the transit network plan and transit expansions on projects outlined in the report (March 3, 2016) from the City Manager, the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

11.  City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Transit Commission to include in their Fall 2016 re-evaluation of all candidate projects using "Feeling Congested?" criteria, a cost range and funding options for an environmental assessment for the Downsview Station - Sheppard -Yonge Line connection as outlined in Communication EX13.3.8. 

12.  City Council direct the City Manager to report to the Executive Committee by the end of 2016 on potential projects to be included in phase two of the City's Transit Network Plan, such plan to include priority transit projects which connect urban growth centres across the City, in order to address the intensification that had already occurred and to ensure that the City's transit planning keeps pace with the development of the City's Urban growth centres.

13. City Council direct the City Manager and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to forward the report and appendices (March 3, 2016) from the City Manager, the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to Metrolinx for consideration in the review of the Regional Transportation Plan ("The Big Move"), and Regional Express Rail planning.

The Deputy City Manager, Cluster B, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the Executive Director, Strategic and Corporate Policy gave a presentation on Developing Toronto's Transit Network Plan: Phase 1.

Significant investment has been made by all three orders of government to expand the transit network and address years of underinvestment in a critical infrastructure system for Toronto. The Toronto York-Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE), Eglinton LRT (Mount Dennis to Kennedy) and Finch West LRT will be in service by 2021. In order to sustain recent progress, planning for new transit expansion projects must keep pace given the lead times to plan, design and build complex infrastructure. The purpose of this report is to recommend advancing planning and technical analysis on SmartTrack, Scarborough Subway Extension, Relief Line and Waterfront Transit, in order to set the stage for upcoming discussions on funding and financing new transit. In particular, this report recommends:

- Finalizing the SmartTrack concept by narrowing the planning analysis to focus on key elements: an optimized Eglinton West LRT extension to Pearson Airport; and two SmartTrack/GO RER integration options that propose an urban service frequency at 11 existing GO RER stations with 4 to 8 new stations on the Kitchener GO and Stouffville/Lakeshore East GO Corridors;

- Approving Pape to Downtown via Queen/Richmond as the preferred corridor for the Relief Line, and proceed to determine the preferred alignment and stations;

- Completing the review of corridor options and related work for the Scarborough Subway Extension, and develop recommendations to integrate the proposed, optimized Eglinton East LRT into the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus secondary plan; and identify areas in need of an Avenue Study to facilitate intensification along the proposed LRT corridor.

- Provide an update on Phase 1 work related to the Waterfront Transit Reset Study in June 2016.

Each project has an integral role in the development of a transit network plan for Toronto that achieves the goals of serving people, strengthening places and supporting prosperity. Taking into consideration projects under construction, planned, and identified in the Official Plan long list of projects, a preliminary transit network plan for the next 15 years is being developed. It is critical to note that this does not represent a full build out of our transit network. This report introduces that vision for Toronto and next steps to review and refine the plan in consultation with the public and key partners, including Metrolinx and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).

Background

Over the past few years, City Council directed City staff to review various transit expansion projects in consultation with the TTC and Metrolinx. Each of these projects are at various stages of the planning and approvals process, with some projects having funding commitments from the City, provincial and federal governments.

In late 2013, the Scarborough Subway Extension (SSE) was approved by City Council and staff were directed to undertake a Transit Project Assessment Process (TPAP). In 2014, City Council directed the Chief Planner to initiate planning for the Relief Line project. In early 2015, City Council approved a work plan for reviewing SmartTrack and its integration with the Province of Ontario's Regional Express Rail (GO RER) program announced in 2014. In December 2015, City Council requested the Deputy City Manager, Cluster B to undertake a comprehensive review of Waterfront transit opportunities. In 2016, Executive Committee directed staff to re-examine the planned Scarborough rapid transit network and to include an optimized network solution in the analysis which includes an express SSE; extension of the Eglinton LRT East to the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC); and SmartTrack/ GO RER.

This report brings together all transit projects currently under study, in order to consider each within the context of their contribution to the transit network as a whole. A systems approach is critical given the complex and interconnected nature of the transit network, and the desire of the City to guide transit infrastructure investment that will serve people, strengthen places and support prosperity. These three strategic objectives are embedded within the "Feeling Congested?" Rapid Transit Evaluation Framework (RTEF), which is used to assess individual projects and guide prioritization of future rapid transit projects from a planning perspective.

Developing Toronto's Transit Network Plan

The identification of future transit network priorities is critical to ensuring that planning and technical work advances on rapid transit projects that will be required to address the future growth and transit needs of the City. This work will be integrated with and developed collaboratively with Metrolinx in light of the Regional Transportation Plan review. The timeframe to plan, design and build rapid transit expansion projects can be significant depending on the technology, existing infrastructure, and conditions. For example, a complex project such as the Relief Line subway has an estimated schedule of 13+ years to move from initial project planning to the in-service date. A long term vision and upfront planning ensures network priority projects are in a state of readiness to be considered for funding and investment. The transit network vision is also a key input to a broader assessment of the infrastructure needs and priorities of the City. This report sets the stage for discussion on funding and financing transit expansion infrastructure for the next 15 years through the City's fiscal plan, being lead by City finance staff.

Based on the Feeling Congested? RTEF, the preliminary network analysis undertaken by City Planning division in 2013 identified the top performing projects for consideration within the next 15 years. The top ten projects include the Relief line (and extension), Scarborough-Malvern LRT, Sheppard RT, Waterfront Transit East and West, Eglinton LRT East and West extensions, Jane LRT and Steeles BRT. The Yonge Relief Network Study recently completed by Metrolinx, recommended that planning for the Yonge North Subway Extension be developed at the same pace as the Relief Line. SmartTrack and GO RER are projects that were introduced post-2013 and will be included in the refinement of the Feeling Congested? network evaluation scheduled to be undertaken in late 2016. This updated network plan will look beyond the next 15 years, identifying a recommended full network build out. The Chief Planner & Executive Director, City Planning will report to City Council in early 2017 on the updated network plan (Phase 2) as part of the proposed package of transportation policy updates to the Official Plan.

However, development of the City's recommended network plan for Toronto is an iterative process that will require further refinement based on the findings of ongoing or future project assessments. Appropriate sequencing of the range of projects will be the subject of further analysis. The resulting outputs will need to be further consulted upon with the TTC, Metrolinx and the public. This includes determining where there is alignment between the City's priorities and Metrolinx's regional planning and prioritization.

Next Steps

Subject to City Council direction to proceed with planning and technical work on key projects, a further report will be brought to the June 28, 2016 Executive Committee in order to achieve the following:

- Seek City Council approval for the recommended SmartTrack concept and business case and initiate discussions on funding and financing with the Provincial and Federal governments;

- Recommend the preferred alignment and stations for the Relief Line project and seek City Council authority to commence the formal TPAP process;

- Recommend the preferred Scarborough Transit network solution, including the preferred alignment for the SSE and seek authority to commence the formal TPAP process. Potential recommendations on amending the environmental assessment for the Eglinton East LRT extension may be brought forward;

- Provide findings on the Waterfront Transit Reset Study, and report on next steps;

- Provide an update on the GTHA Fare Integration study, including the City's own review and analysis of the implications of potential new fare structures proposed by Metrolinx; and

- Continue to advance refinements to the transit network vision for the City beyond the recommendations contained in this report, targeting report out in the first quarter of 2017.