Item - 2021.IE26.20

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division, the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, the General Manager, Transportation Services, and the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, in consultation with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and other relevant divisions and agencies, to report to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in the Second Quarter 2022 with a status update on the Western Waterfront Master Plan and a proposed work plan for advancing an update to the Master Plan.

On August 5, 2009, City Council adopted the Western Waterfront Master Plan. Please see EX33.20 from 2009 - Agenda Item History - 2009.EX33.20 (toronto.ca).

The Master Plan recognizes the Western Waterfront as an important waterfront park space and transportation corridor, and provides an overall vision for parkland, beaches, break walls, trails, promenades, roads, bridges, servicing and recreational facilities within the Western Waterfront, between the Humber River and Exhibition Place. The objectives of the Plan are to: knit together all the elements of the public ream; enhance public access to and along the water’s edge; provide for a range of compatible land uses; enhance, celebrate and interpret the area’s heritage; and beautify Lake Shore Boulevard.

This Master Plan embedded a Class Environmental Assessment Master Plan for municipal infrastructure and completed Phases 1 and 2 of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment process. Phases 3 and 4 of the Class Environmental Assessment process for realigning and reconfiguring Lake Shore Boulevard West between the Humber River and Exhibition Place was not initiated, in part due to uncertainty related to the best alignment of the waterfront transit network through the study area; this alignment issue was resolved through the adoption of the Waterfront Transit Network Plan on January 31, 2018.

The implementation strategy was to start with small, incremental changes in the short term.  Capital investments in the western waterfront have been made by Toronto Water, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and Transportation Services.  Some capital improvements that have been implemented include:

- Signalized pedestrian access at Jameson Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard West;

- Signalized pedestrian crossing at the Palais Royale;

- Temporary pedestrian bridge at Dowling Avenue (design work on permanent bridge will begin in the near-term);

- Reconstruction of Lake Shore Boulevard West and Net Drive;

- Placement of armour stones to prevent parking on the grass during large events such as the air show and CNE;

- Parking access was removed from Marilyn Bell Park;

- Signalized bicycle crossing and interim safety geometric improvements at Ellis Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard West;

- Interim geometric safety improvements at Colborne Lode Drive and Lake Shore Boulevard West;

- StreetARToronto Mural on the Roncesvalles Avenue pedestrian bridge.

As part of Active TO, the City temporarily closed Lake Shore Boulevard West (6km) from Windermere Avenue to Stadium Road (eastbound lanes only) to vehicles on most weekends between May and October 2020, and for selected weekends in 2021, to provide space for thousands of people to walk and cycle. Traffic data from Active TO weekends May 2021 indicated that the counts on the closed portions of Lake Shore Boulevard West ranged from 16,700-34,000 cyclists and 2,800-5,000 pedestrians per day (15 hour closure).

Humber Bay for All, a sub-committee of the West End Beaches Stakeholders Association, has been working on concepts for environmental and recreational projects that could be incorporated into the future implementation of the Western Waterfront Master Plan. These ideas include:

-Beach improvements with greater accessibility and picnic facilities;

- Expanded recreation areas on newly created habitat islands connected to a new breakwater;

- New nature trails and improved multi-use recreational trails;

- New docks, mooring, launching areas and rentals;

- Reforestation.

With increased use of the western waterfront, and the City discussing the potential for a next phase of waterfront revitalization with the Provincial and Federal governments, there is a need for an update to the Western Waterfront Master Plan.