Item - 2025.EX23.1

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, the General Manager, Transportation Services and the General Manager, Fleet Services to:

a. convene a Toronto Island Access and Inner Harbour Transportation Task Force for the purpose of actioning, accelerating and coordinating short- and medium-term Toronto Island access improvements and advancing due diligence related to long-term opportunities, including a fixed link, and inner harbour transportation;

b. request that senior leaders from Waterfront Toronto participate as standing members of the Toronto Island Access and Inner Harbour Task Force;

c. engage staff of the appropriate City divisions, as well as staff of CreateTO, Ports Toronto, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and Harbourfront Centre;

d. consult, on a regular basis, with interested members of City Council, including the local Councillors;

e. consult, as appropriate, with users of the inner and outer harbours, including businesses that rely on shipping and boating, community organizations and organizations that represent the recreational boating community; 

f. consult, as appropriate, with labour unions at the City of Toronto; and

g. undertake public engagement/consultation, including Indigenous engagement, as appropriate.

This report provides a response to City Council’s direction to report on improved active transportation access to Toronto Island, including possibilities for a fixed link across the Eastern Gap. This report also responds to other directives related to moving visitors to and from Toronto Island Park, including opportunities to maximize the service of private water taxi operators and the exploration of a relief ferry vessel.  

The Toronto Island Park is a signature destination for residents and tourists, with over 1.5 million visitors taking the City’s ferries every year and approximately 485,000 trips taken by water taxi. On peak weekends and holidays in July and August, Toronto Island Park sees almost 18,000 visitors per day. In July 2024, Council approved the Toronto Island Master Plan (TIMP) which identified improved access to Toronto Island as a priority, and discussed opportunities for reducing economic barriers for accessing the island and expanding affordable programming and rentals park-wide.

Since the TIMP was adopted, Council has provided staff with a number of directions related to access. Staff have been directed to undertake discussions with private water taxi operators to explore options for maximizing water taxi services to and from Toronto Island Park, and to understand and address barriers related to this goal. Through the Council decision on the award for the construction of new fully electric ferry vessels, Council also requested staff to explore opportunities to lease or retain relief vessels to provide additional service to and from Toronto Island while the new ferries are being procured. Taken together, these directives highlight the critical importance of aligning investments and agreements to facilitate improved access to Toronto Island Park.

On the city side of the harbour, waterfront revitalization has, since 2001, created a number of new destinations from east-to-west, with more to come in the short- and long-term; Biidaasige Park, for example, will open in summer 2025. Further, tens of thousands of new residents are anticipated along the waterfront in the coming decades, particularly in the Port Lands. These changes also create opportunities and demands for new water transportation options. For example, people could have the ability to travel from Bathurst Quay to the Parliament Slip or Biidaasige Park; or they could be able to travel from any of these locations to and from Toronto Island Park. New water transportation options could be realized in both the short- and medium-term through the work underway to improve water taxi services and a proposed sea bus pilot. 

A fixed link over the Eastern Gap is another concept motivated by the popularity of the Toronto Island and the revitalization of the waterfront. It has been advocated over the years by some private architects, planners, and other individuals to complement waterfront revitalization. The Eastern Gap is the waterway separating Ward’s Island on the west side from the Port Lands on the east side (See Attachment 1). It is approximately 220 to 265 metres wide (See Attachment 2). Proposals have included different bridge concepts, a gondola or tunnel. Proponents note the popularity of similar structures in Toronto and around the world for their physical utility and tourist appeal.  Council has directed staff to review proposals and consult with stakeholders regarding this concept, as part of the broader analysis and consultation regarding the goal of improving access to the Island.

While conceptually appealing, a fixed link would face a number of constraints, which are described in this report. The constraints would not make a fixed link project impossible, but they do indicate that such a project would not be quick, simple or inexpensive. Further, a fixed link would not replace the need for planned short- and medium-term investments in Toronto Island access, many of which are underway now. A fixed-link should therefore be thought of as a potential long-term project, possibly to coincide with the future development of planned mixed-use precincts in the Port Lands, with the potential to complement, not replace, existing initiatives.

Taking into the account the multiple initiatives underway and planned, staff, through this report, recommend the establishment of a Toronto Island Access and Inner Harbour Transportation Task Force. The Task Force would be convened by the City Planning Division (Waterfront Secretariat), working closely with Waterfront Toronto and the relevant City Divisions. The purpose of the Task Force would be to accelerate and coordinate the short- and medium-term Toronto Island access improvements that are currently underway, and advance due diligence related to long-term opportunities, such as a fixed link. While undertaking this work, alignment with the Waterfront Toronto 2020 Marine Use Strategy would allow for greater coordination between Agencies and Divisions all responsible for inner harbour transportation, particularly as visits and interest in waterfront destinations grow.

The report reflects collaboration between City Planning, Parks and Recreation, Transportation Services, Engineering and Construction Services, Economic Development and Culture, and the City Manager’s Office. As recommended, these City divisions and agencies would continue to advance the ongoing improvements and longer-term due diligence as the Toronto Island Access and Inner Harbour Transportation Task Force through the implementation of marine transportation initiatives.

Consistent with Council and Committee direction, consultations informing the analysis of a fixed link included Ports Toronto, CreateTO, Waterfront Toronto, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). Stakeholder engagement has included the Toronto Industry Network, Redpath Sugar, Cinespace, the Passenger & Commercial Vessel Association and the Waterfront BIA. The team also spoke with individuals and organizations familiar with past fixed link concepts such as a bridge or gondola. Broader public consultation was considered to be a future work plan activity, should Council ultimately direct staff to proceed based on further due diligence.