Item - 2025.IE24.15

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1. Requested the the Deputy City Manager, Corporate Services, in collaboration with the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services to report to Infrastructure and Environment Committee on the City of Toronto’s industrial yard portfolio and the feasibility of ensuring that no changes are made to the portfolio without an assessment of the ability to support the City’s current and anticipated future operational needs for all City divisions, agencies and corporations that utilize these yards.

As Toronto continues to grow rapidly, the demand for essential city services will only increase. To meet this challenge, we must prioritize the development and modernization of service yards and infrastructure facilities that support the current and future needs of Solid Waste Management, Toronto Water, Parks and Recreation, Transportation Services, and the Toronto Transit Commission.

There was a previous initiative linked to ModernTO to consolidate service yards; however, it was flawed as it did not look at service requirements, maintenance requirements and service standards linked to growth. Some yards and buildings were closed, and others were put on a closure list with no prior impact review on service levels or replacement requirements.

Residents in in each quadrant of the city deserve confidence that Toronto is actively planning for both the immediate and long-term needs of the divisions and agencies that deliver essential hard services. There is now a shared recognition that growth planning must be informed by a comprehensive approach - one that incorporates a growth perspective, an environmental focus, and a strong commitment to servicing and maintaining the core infrastructure that supports daily life in our city.

Agencies such as the Toronto Transit Commission require substantial footprints to operate effectively. For example, the Leslie Barns required a 22-acre yard in the south end of the city to support Toronto’s new streetcars. This illustrates the scale of infrastructure needed to support modern transit and other services.

An orderly and service-based approach is necessary before any changes are considered to the yards that are the backbone of services that Toronto residents rely on.