Item - 2022.SC33.65

Scarborough Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the installation of a pedestrian crossover on Twyn Rivers Drive, at a point approximately 120 metres west of the east limit of the City of Toronto.

2. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services to negotiate, enter into, and execute an agreement with Parks Canada regarding the installation of the pedestrian crossover and associated improvements on terms and conditions satisfactory to the General Manager, Transportation Services, and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

In 2019, lands around Twyn Rivers Drive including the popular Day Use Area at 55 Twyn Rivers Drive and surrounding trails including the Mast, Vista, and Orchard Trails were transferred to Parks Canada for the creation of the Rouge National Urban Park (RNUP). This also transferred the management of operations and maintenance of the parking area and surrounding trails from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to Parks Canada for RNUP.

In the broader regional and park context, Twyn Rivers is a key visitor and trail hub connecting visitors southward to the Glen Rouge Campground and Rouge Beach via the Mast Trail, and northward to Zoo Road, Beare Hill Park, the proposed new RNUP Visitor Centre and the Toronto Zoo via the Vista and Orchard Trails. The Twyn Rivers area also serves multiple communities in Scarborough and Pickering. 

The Rouge Park Bridges Transportation Master Plan (TMP) Environmental Assessment initiated in (2020) by the City of Toronto, Transportation Services, Major Projects is being developed to focus on a rehabilitation strategy for five (5) municipal bridges location in the RNUP.  The purpose of the study is to undertake a comprehensive review in order to develop and evaluate alternative solutions for each of the bridges, including replacement, rehabilitation and retirement of each and prioritize the implementation of the preferred solutions.

Transportation Services and Parks Canada have been working together on a number of other studies in the park and the City right-of-way. Parks Canada's Master Plan for the RNUP identifies new trails, pedestrian bridges, parking lot improvements, and Visitors Centre, as well as some improvements to improve safe crossing of Twyn Rivers Drive adjacent to the Twyn Rivers Day Use Area parking area within Rouge National Urban Park.

Twyn Rivers Drive travels through Rouge National Urban Park, between Sheppard Avenue East and the east boundary of the City of Toronto. The surrounding area is generally forested and there are bridge crossings of the Rouge River and the Little Rouge Creek. There are a number of horizontal and vertical curves that over the length of the road require steep grade and curve warning signs.

Twyn Rivers Drive is further characterized by the following conditions:

· It operates two-way traffic on a pavement width of approximately seven to eight metres

· It provides a single lane of traffic in each direction

· The daily two-way traffic volume is approximately 5,000 vehicles

· The speed limit is 40 km/h

· Heavy trucks are prohibited at all times

· There is no TTC service provided

· There are no sidewalks located on either side of the street

The parking lot to the Twyn Rivers Day Use Area parking area is located on the south side of the road, at the eastern edge of the park. Park users can access a number of trails from the subject parking lot. These trails are located on both sides of Twyn Rivers Drive and cross the street at a number of different locations. These road crossings are not marked, although there are pedestrian warning signs posted at various locations. As there are no sidewalks provided on Twin Rivers Drive, trail users may cross in potentially unsafe locations, or may walk along the gravel shoulders of the road with no separation from passing traffic.

In order to provide a safe and consolidated crossing point for pedestrians accessing the trails on both sides of Twin Rivers Drive, changes to the trail system will be made by Parks Canada to consolidate the trail crossings at a single point, adjacent to the parking lot. The parking lot will also be modified and the existing single access removed and replaced with two accesses. In conjunction with this work, the City of Toronto investigated the installation of pedestrian crossing protection at this consolidated crossing.

Transportation Services staff have worked closely with Parks Canada staff and their consultant to review and enhance the pedestrian crossings of Twyn Rivers Drive in the vicinity of the Twyn Rivers Day Use Area parking area. Transportation Services recommends the installation of a pedestrian crossover (PXO) in this location. The proposed PXO will be designed and built by Rouge National Urban Park and will complement changes being made to reconfigure the parking area and trail system by providing a safe and consolidated crossing for users of Rouge National Urban Park.

To accommodate the planned improvements associated with Twyn Rivers Drive, authority is requested for the General Manager of Transportation services to negotiate, enter into and execute an agreement with Parks Canada.