Item - 2023.EX9.14

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1. City Council approve the alignment of the Waterfront East Light Rail Transit as outlined in Attachment 1 to the report (October 17, 2023) from the Executive Director, Transit Expansion.
 

2. City Council approve advancing the 60 percent design for the full Waterfront East Light Rail Transit project from Queens Quay to Villiers Loop; this includes all Segment 2 and 3 components, as well as the Yonge Street Infill and Queens Quay East Extension early works.

3. City Council approve the completion of the following activities:

a. secure environmental approvals for all project components consistent with the current alignment;

b. undertake a Traffic Management Plan to address the construction schedule interface between the Waterfront East Light Rail Transit and other major infrastructure projects in the area; and

c. design and coordinate scope between the Waterfront East Light Rail Transit and the Lake Shore Boulevard East re-alignment and reconfiguration of the Cherry Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East intersection; the Waterfront East Light Rail Transit and the Inner Harbour West Tunnel Project in the vicinity of Queens Quay and Jarvis intersection; and the segment between the Waterfront East Light Rail Transit Cherry Street portal and the Union Station Rail Corridor Hydro One Networks, Inc Relocation project.

4. City Council increase the Transit Expansion Division’s 2023-2032 Capital Budget and Plan by $63.6 million ($21.1 million in 2024, $31.7 million in 2025 and $10.8 million in 2026), with $44.7 million funded by the Roads and Related Development Charge Reserve Fund (XR2110), $10.2 million funded by the Transit Development Charge Reserve Fund (XR2109) and $8.7 million funded by the City Building Fund (XR1730).
 

5. City Council direct the Executive Director, Transit Expansion, in consultation with the Toronto Transit Commission and Waterfront Toronto, to report back to City Council in 2024 with:

a. an update on the progress made on the design and coordination work identified in Recommendations 2 and 3 above, along with a broader update on advances to the Waterfront East Light Rail Transit project.

The Waterfront East Light Rail Transit (WELRT), consisting of the Union Station to Queens Quay Link and the East Bayfront Light Rail Transit, is a City of Toronto priority transit project. According to growth projections, when fully built, the proposed 3.8-kilometre WELRT project will provide over 50,000 daily trips, bringing higher-order transit to support an estimated 100,000 residents and 50,000 jobs. The WELRT will also provide improved transit options to the Central Waterfront, Lower Yonge, East Bayfront, Quayside, Keating Precinct, Lower Don Lands, and the Port Lands communities and is an integral part of the future development of new communities on Villiers Island and the eastern waterfront. The WELRT is a substantial and critical project within the City’s broader 2018 Waterfront Transit Network Plan (EX30.1).

City staff last reported to City Council in 2022 under EX33.2 – Advancing City Priority Transit Expansion Projects – Eglinton East Light Rail Transit and Waterfront East Light Rail Transit and received direction to undertake a constructability review of the WELRT; report back on a recommended alignment and scope; and to provide an updated cost estimate along with a funding, financing and implementation strategy, including a phasing plan. City staff, in partnership with Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and Waterfront Toronto (WT) staff, have advanced the project to 30% design and completed a preliminary design business case, constructability assessment, phasing plan and cost estimate.

As part of the design process and the constructability review, City staff are working to coordinate construction planning with adjacent civil work, including, but not limited to:

- GO Expansion;

- Ontario Line;

- Inner Harbour West Tunnel;

- Villiers Island development;

- Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard East Reconfiguration; and

- Quayside Infrastructure and Public Realm.

Balancing the City’s current financial pressures with City Council’s direction to expedite WELRT construction, the recommendations in this report provide an approach to advance the project while reducing immediate costs by phasing segments. To achieve this, City staff in consultation with the TTC and WT are recommending advancing design to 60% for the Queens Quay, Chery Street and Villiers Island segments of the alignment, as well as the Yonge Street Infill and Queens Quay East Extension early works. This report is also seeking authority to advance additional work, including a traffic management study, and design and scope coordination with other major infrastructure projects in the vicinity of the WELRT.