Item - 2025.IE20.1

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services to improve project execution by developing an enhanced Integrated Project Management Framework, that includes responsive on-site contract management to facilitate faster decision-making in the field, with development and implementation beginning in 2025.

2. City Council direct the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, to embed the community engagement function into the project management framework, ensuring better communication tools and responsiveness, including moving towards area-based engagement teams with a phased rollout starting in 2025.

3. City Council direct the Chief Engineer and Executive Director of Engineering and Construction Services, and the Chief Procurement Officer, in coordination with relevant Infrastructure Services divisions and Legal Services as needed, to enhance the City's contractor qualification procedures, strengthen the contractor code of conduct beginning in 2025, and implement an enhanced performance management program starting in 2026.

4. City Council direct the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the Chief Procurement Officer in coordination with other Infrastructure Services divisions and Legal Services to develop new contracts, forms, templates and procedures for alternative delivery models with the initial Construction Manager at Risk model to be completed by the end of 2025 and additional alternative delivery models to be reviewed and implemented when appropriate in future years.

5. City Council direct the Director, Strategic Capital Coordination Office to publish a project pipeline by the first quarter of 2026.

6. City Council increase the 2025 Operating Budget for Engineering and Construction Services by approximately $0.360 million gross and $0 net for four new temporary positions for a term of 2 years, fully funded from the 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Transportation Services (50 percent) and 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Toronto Water (50 percent) for the implementation and delivery of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program.

7. City Council increase the 2025 Operating Budget for Toronto Water by $0.085 million gross and $0 net for one new temporary position for a term of 2 years, fully funded from the 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Toronto Water for the implementation and delivery of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program.

8. City Council increase the 2025 Operating Budget for Transportation Services by $0.085 million gross and $0 net for one new temporary position for a term of 2 years, fully funded from the 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Transportation Services for the implementation and delivery of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program.

9. City Council increase the 2025 Operating Budget for Legal Services by $0.127 million gross and $0 net for one new temporary position for a term of 2 years, fully funded from the 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Transportation Services (50 percent) and 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Toronto Water (50 percent) for the implementation and delivery of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program.

10. City Council request the Mayor to consider including the required resources in the 2026 Budget process for Engineering and Construction Services to maintain the positions approved in Recommendations 6, 7, 8 and 9 for continued implementation and delivery of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program.

11. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services, and the Chief Procurement Officer to report back in the second quarter of 2026 on the progress of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program.

12. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services, as part of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program's objective to Enhance Community Engagement and Transparency, to explore options, and implement changes, to posted construction signage for major City-led infrastructure projects to promote improvements and awareness that the project is funded by the City of Toronto.
 

13. City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, in coordination with the Executive Director, Transit Expansion, to work with Metrolinx to enhance construction coordination on overlapping City and Metrolinx capital projects in the Thorncliffe Park and Leaside Business Park area, and to seek any additional funding required from Metrolinx.

14. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services to report annually to Infrastructure and Environment Committee, starting with the second Strategic Capital Coordination Office Annual Report, on capital delivery coordination and delivery of key performance metrics, including established targets, related to program and project delivery performance, including overall reliability, consultant and contractor accountability and community engagement effectiveness.

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services to improve project execution by developing an enhanced Integrated Project Management Framework, that includes responsive on-site contract management to facilitate faster decision-making in the field, with development and implementation beginning in 2025.

2. City Council direct the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, to embed the community engagement function into the project management framework, ensuring better communication tools and responsiveness, including moving towards area-based engagement teams with a phased rollout starting in 2025.

3. City Council direct the Chief Engineer and Executive Director of Engineering and Construction Services, and the Chief Procurement Officer, in coordination with relevant Infrastructure Services divisions and Legal Services as needed, to enhance the City's contractor qualification procedures, strengthen the contractor code of conduct beginning in 2025, and implement an enhanced performance management program starting in 2026.

4. City Council direct the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the Chief Procurement Officer in coordination with other Infrastructure Services divisions and Legal Services to develop new contracts, forms, templates and procedures for alternative delivery models with the initial Construction Manager at Risk model to be completed by the end of 2025 and additional alternative delivery models to be reviewed and implemented when appropriate in future years.

5. City Council direct the Director, Strategic Capital Coordination Office to publish a project pipeline by the first quarter of 2026.

6. City Council increase the 2025 Operating Budget for Engineering and Construction Services by approximately $0.360 million gross and $0 net for four new temporary positions for a term of 2 years, fully funded from the 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Transportation Services (50 percent) and 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Toronto Water (50 percent) for the implementation and delivery of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program.

7. City Council increase the 2025 Operating Budget for Toronto Water by $0.085 million gross and $0 net for one new temporary position for a term of 2 years, fully funded from the 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Toronto Water for the implementation and delivery of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program.

8. City Council increase the 2025 Operating Budget for Transportation Services by $0.085 million gross and $0 net for one new temporary position for a term of 2 years, fully funded from the 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Transportation Services for the implementation and delivery of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program.

9. City Council increase the 2025 Operating Budget for Legal Services by $0.127 million gross and $0 net for one new temporary position for a term of 2 years, fully funded from the 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Transportation Services (50 percent) and 2025-2034 Capital Budget and Plan for Toronto Water (50 percent) for the implementation and delivery of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program.

10. City Council request the Mayor to consider including the required resources in the 2026 Budget process for Engineering and Construction Services to maintain the positions approved in Recommendations 6, 7, 8 and 9 for continued implementation and delivery of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program.

11. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services, and the Chief Procurement Officer to report back in the second quarter of 2026 on the progress of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program.

12. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services, as part of the Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program's objective to Enhance Community Engagement and Transparency, to explore options, and implement changes, to posted construction signage for major City-led infrastructure projects to promote improvements and awareness that the project is funded by the City of Toronto.
 

13. City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, in coordination with the Executive Director, Transit Expansion, to work with Metrolinx to enhance construction coordination on overlapping City and Metrolinx capital projects in the Thorncliffe Park and Leaside Business Park area, and to seek any additional funding required from Metrolinx.

14. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services to report annually to Infrastructure and Environment Committee, starting with the second Strategic Capital Coordination Office Annual Report, on capital delivery coordination and delivery of key performance metrics, including established targets, related to program and project delivery performance, including overall reliability, consultant and contractor accountability and community engagement effectiveness.

Judy Tse, Director, Strategic Policy and Programs, Jennifer Graham Harkness, Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, and Roger Browne, Director, Traffic Management, gave a presentation on Strategic Capital Coordination: An Integrated Approach to Capital Coordination, Delivery and Congestion Management.

Toronto is undergoing an unprecedented wave of infrastructure investment to modernize aging assets, meet the demands of growth, enhance mobility, and build resilience—all while managing record congestion.

The Evolution of Canada’s Largest Municipal Capital Program

The City’s Infrastructure Services service area oversees Toronto’s most significant capital programs, including Toronto Water, Transportation Services, and Solid Waste Management, and manages the largest municipal capital program in Canada. In 2025, it is projected to invest more than $2 billion. Engineering and Construction Services, responsible for delivering the major projects in this portfolio, has nearly tripled its capital delivery rate over the past ten years, now exceeding $1 billion annually. As Toronto continues investing in growth, resilience, and state-of-good-repair projects, this number is expected to rise further.

Essential Infrastructure Needs

These investments are essential to Toronto’s economic competitiveness and livability, ensuring residents, businesses, and future developments have access to reliable infrastructure, including roads, sidewalks, transit, sewers, and watermains. They also enhance the city’s resilience by upgrading and adapting infrastructure to help withstand the increasing impacts of extreme weather.

Current Challenges

Delivering capital construction projects efficiently has become progressively challenging due to increasingly complex coordination requirements, procurement practices that have not kept pace with evolving needs, and capital construction delivery project management methodologies that have not adapted to the growing delivery rate and complexity of coordination.

A Comprehensive, Integrated Strategy

A four-pronged, systems-based strategy is being recommended to address these challenges by integrating capital coordination, project delivery, procurement, and congestion management into a unified framework. Outlined in the following reports, this approach will be reviewed by the respective Committees in April and presented to City Council for consideration at its meeting on April 23-25.

1. Strategic Capital Coordination Office - First Annual Report

- Focus: Foundational steps in program coordination

- To be considered by the Infrastructure and Environment Committee on April 9, 2025

2. Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery (this report)

- Focus: Improving project execution to align with the growing delivery rate and increasing coordination complexity

- To be considered by the Infrastructure and Environment Committee on April 9, 2025

3. Review of Bid Award Panel

- Focus: Modernizing procurement practices to better support evolving project delivery needs and industry capacity

- To be considered by the General Government Committee on April 7, 2025.

4. Congestion Management Update

- Focus: Managing congestion, including mitigating the impacts of critical construction on mobility

- To be considered by the Infrastructure and Environment Committee on April 9, 2025

Significant construction will remain a visible part of Toronto’s landscape, making it important to set realistic expectations. Coordinating infrastructure projects at this scale is inherently complex—tough choices are sometimes required, and the process may not always appear seamless. Essential projects like sewer upgrades, watermain replacements and road improvements will have temporary impacts and can be disruptive. While modernizing procurement is necessary, a natural and healthy tension will continue to exist between meeting industry needs and safeguarding the city's interests. Congestion is a multifaceted challenge that is not solved by enhanced capital construction delivery alone. However, a data-driven, well-coordinated and strategic approach with clear goals will help minimize disruption, improve mobility, and maximize the impact of infrastructure investments.

Towards More Efficient Capital Delivery

The Enhancing Capital Construction Delivery program will follow an agile implementation approach, delivering improvements quickly and continuously. It will be supported by an enhanced Integrated Project Management Framework, strong performance metrics, cross-divisional collaboration, leadership support, dedicated staff resources, and a commitment to culture change.

By strengthening planning, execution, and industry accountability, the program will support reliable, scalable project delivery. Success also relies on strong partnerships with engineering consultants and construction contractors, providing them with the clarity and confidence needed to plan and bid effectively. Prioritizing transparency and measurable results will further strengthen public trust.

This marks the beginning of a structured transformation, delivering near-term improvements while laying the foundation for lasting, system-wide change.