Agenda

This meeting of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee will be conducted with members participating in person and remotely.  

Members of Council, City Officials, and members of the public who register to speak will be provided with the video conference details closer to the meeting date.

To provide comments or make a presentation to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

The public may submit written comments or register to speak to the Committee on any item on the agenda. The public may speak to the Committee in person or by video conference.

Written comments may be submitted by writing to iec@toronto.ca.

To speak to the Committee, please register by e-mail to iec@toronto.ca or by phone at 416-392-4666. Members of the public who register to speak will be provided with instructions on how to participate in the meeting. 

Special Assistance for Members of the Public: City staff can arrange for special assistance with some advance notice. If you need special assistance, please call 416-392-4666, TTY 416-338-0889 or e-mail iec@toronto.ca.

Closed Meeting Requirements: If the Infrastructure and Environment Committee wants to meet in closed session (privately), a member of the Committee must make a motion to do so and give the reason why the Committee has to meet privately (City of Toronto Act, 2006).

Notice to People Writing or Making Presentations to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee: The City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the City of Toronto Municipal Code authorize the City of Toronto to collect any personal information in your communication or presentation to City Council or its Committees and Boards. The City collects this information to enable it to make informed decisions on the relevant issue(s). If you are submitting letters, faxes, e-mails, presentations or other communications to the City, you should be aware that your name and the fact that you communicated with the City will become part of the public record and will appear on the City’s website. The City will also make your communication and any personal information in it - such as your postal address, telephone number or e-mail address - available to the public, unless you expressly request the City to remove it.

Many Committee, Board, and Advisory Body meetings are broadcast live over the internet for the public to view. If you speak at the meeting you will appear in the video broadcast. Video broadcasts are archived and continue to be publicly available.

If you want to learn more about why and how the City collects your information, write to the City Clerk's Office, City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Toronto ON M5H 2N2 or call 416-392-4666. 

toronto.ca/council

This agenda and any supplementary materials submitted to the City Clerk can be found online at www.toronto.ca/council. Visit the website for access to all agendas, reports, decisions and minutes of City Council and its Committees and Boards.

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Declarations of Interest under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act

Confirmation of Minutes - September 27, 2024

Speakers/Presentations - The speakers list will be posted online at 8:30 a.m. on October 22, 2024.

Communications/Reports

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee will hear an update from the Chair of the OMERS Administration Corporation Board of Directors, the Chief Pension Officer, the Vice President, Sustainable Investing, and the Vice President, Sustainable Investing and Operations, Oxford Properties, on the OMERS Climate Action Plan and progress.

The General Manager, Toronto Water, and the Chief Procurement Officer recommend that: 

1. City Council authorize the General Manager, Toronto Water, to enter into negotiations with Aclara Technologies LLC, as the manufacturer and exclusive supplier of the Meter Transmission Units, for the supply and delivery of additional Meter Transmission Units, and to report back to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee on the outcome of those negotiations, and the strategies identified in Confidential Attachment 1, by the end of the first quarter 2025.

2. City Council adopt the Confidential Instructions to Staff as contained in Confidential Attachment 1 to this report.

3. City Council direct that Confidential Attachment 1 to this report remain confidential in its entirety as it contains information and Confidential Instructions to staff respecting a plan to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the City, and direct that the confidential instructions to staff, if adopted, be made public at the discretion of the City Solicitor.

The issuance of this non-competitive contract was a matter of extreme urgency. The rapidly increasing and premature failure of over 150,000 of the City’s 470,000 Meter Transmission Units, at a far greater rate than expected, has created a significant challenge for Toronto Water, requiring immediate action to support accurate, timely and efficient City water utility billing and customer service. This premature failure is expected to continue.

The purpose of this report is to advise City Council, in accordance with Chapter 195 of the Toronto Municipal Code, Procurement, Section 195-7.5, of a non-competitive emergency contract with Aclara Technologies LLC (Aclara) for the supply of initial replacement Meter Transmission Units at a total cost of $4,040,000 USD ($5,534,800 CAD), net of all applicable taxes and charges ($4,111,104 USD or $5,632,212. CAD, net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries) issued pursuant to Purchase Order 6055735, as amended. This cost represents an agreed pro-rata warranty replacement cost for the failed Meter Transmission Units.

The issuance of the Purchase Order was a matter of urgency as the premature failure of the Meter Transmission Units was deemed an emergency by the General Manager, Toronto Water, under Chapter 195, Procurement, Section 195-7.1(G), and reporting back to City Council is required in accordance with Section 195-7.5, where the potential value of the non-competitive contract exceeds $500,000.

This report also seeks the necessary Council authorities to continue to address this on-going emergency, enabling Toronto Water to secure the materials and services required to maintain the level of service necessary to support City water utility billing based on actual consumption and associated customer service operations.

Additionally, this report provides an overview of the steps taken to manage this issue, and provides, in Confidential Attachment 1, information for consideration by Committee and City Council, and recommended Confidential Instructions to Staff.

The cost to the City of the Aclara Contract is $4,040,000 USD ($5,534,800 CAD), net of all applicable taxes and charges ($5,632,212 CAD, net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries).

Funding is included in the Toronto Water 2024 Approved Capital Budget and 2025-2033 Approved Capital Plan, as summarized in Table 1 below.

Table 1 - Financial Impact Summary

There are additional financial implications resulting from this report outlined in Confidential Attachment 1.

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.

The General Manager, Transportation Services recommends that:  

1. City Council authorize the closure of the F.G. Gardiner Expressway, eastbound lanes only, from the Humber River to the Don Valley Parkway, including all ramps, and the Don Valley Parkway, northbound lanes only, from the F.G. Gardiner Expressway to Eglinton Avenue East, including all ramps, on Sunday, July 27, 2025 from 2:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., for the 2025 Toronto Triathlon Festival event;

2. City Council prohibit other road closures due to events or film permits on arterial roads bounded by Highway 401, Warden Avenue, Lake Ontario, Humber River, Queen Street/The Queensway, and Yonge Street, on Sunday, July 27, 2025 as they will be required to accommodate overflow traffic from the expressway closures resulting from the 2025 Toronto Triathlon Festival event; and

3. City Council require the organizer to pay, within 90 days of the City issuing an invoice, any costs incurred to the City to secure the work zones along the F. G. Gardiner Expressway during the F. G. Gardiner Expressway rehabilitation work.

The purpose of this report is to seek City Council's authority to close portions of the eastbound lanes on the F.G. Gardiner Expressway and northbound lanes on the Don Valley Parkway for the Toronto Triathlon Festival event for 2025. The proposed route of the 2025 Toronto Triathlon Festival event will remain the same as 2024.

The revenues related to permit issuance for the 2025 Toronto Triathlon Festival are approximately $15,000 and will be included as part of the 2025 Operating Budget submission for Transportation Services. The event organizers will be responsible for full costs associated with the event.

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.

The General Manager, Transportation Services recommends that:

1. City Council endorse, in principle, the road safety project on Parkside Drive, as described on pages 5 through 16 in the report (October 8, 2024) from the General Manager, Transportation Services, including a bikeway, intersection safety improvements at Lake Shore Boulevard West and Bloor Street West, new and updated Toronto Transit Commission bus stops, and designated turning lanes at intersections.

Parkside Drive is a major arterial road that serves as the eastern boundary of High Park and provides multi-modal connections to key destinations in the city with residential frontage on the east side. As directed by Council in November 2021, the Parkside Drive Study was initiated to explore possible design changes that could improve safety and mobility along the corridor with a focus on people walking, cycling and other vulnerable road users, as a companion to the High Park Movement Strategy. Over the last three years several improvements have been made to the roadway to manage vehicle speeds and improve road user safety.

The Parkside Drive Study builds on community advocacy for improved road safety. In the last ten years there were seven collisions that resulted in five serious injuries and three fatalities. All seven collisions involved vulnerable road users. Narrow and missing sidewalks, lack of bikeways, excessive vehicular speeds and aggressive driving, and a history of collisions resulting in fatality or serious injury are frequently heard concerns. The Parkside Drive Study recommendations support the City's Vision Zero Road Safety Plan efforts to implement changes that would prevent serious injuries and fatalities on our streets.

This report summarizes the findings from the Parkside Drive Study and seeks City Council endorsement in principle of the study recommendations to implement a road safety focused redesign project. Preliminary design and consultation for the road safety project on Parkside Drive have been completed, and installation is targeted for the near-term (2025 - 2027). The Parkside Drive road safety changes would add 3.8 lane kilometres (1.9 centreline kilometres) of new bikeways, reconstruct the Lake Shore Boulevard West intersection and improve vulnerable road user connections to the Martin Goodman Trail and include design changes to decrease motor vehicle speeds.

This report seeks endorsement, in principle, to advance detailed design of the road safety changes that were identified in the Parkside Drive Study. The current planned estimated cost to implement the Parkside Drive Study road safety changes including a bikeway and intersection safety improvements is $7,500,000, subject to further refinement as detailed design proceeds. Funding for these improvements are submitted as part of the 2025 - 2034 Transportation Services Capital Budget submission for Council consideration and approval, forming the budget requests for the Cycling infrastructure Program and Road Safety Plan which are categorized as service improvements and enhancement and Health and Safety related improvements. 

Funding for maintenance of the proposed bikeway will be determined based on the approved design and will be included for consideration as part of future operating budget submissions for Transportation Services.

The installation of on-street paid parking on Parkside Drive was undertaken with the understanding that future development of safety improvements and cycling infrastructure may impact the inventory of on-street paid parking spaces. The removal of approximately thirteen Pay and Display on-street parking spaces may decrease Toronto Parking Authority’s annual gross revenue by an estimated $7,000.

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.

Councillor Paul Ainslie recommends that:

1. City Council request the Toronto Parking Authority Board of Directors to:

a. Review and consider a universal security protocol for their garages and parking lots; and

b. Provide a list of the current security measures in place at each location.

As the City of Toronto’s appointed "Nighttime Economy Champion" I am writing to express my concern regarding the current state of nighttime security at Green P parking facilities. As you may be aware, many businesses in Toronto rely on these facilities for their customers, and the safety of both vehicles and patrons is a critical concern.

I have had interactions with numerous businesses during the past year who have expressed their desire for increased security measures after 9:00 p.m. They have cited instances of safety concerns which have negatively impacted their business operations.

I believe implementing regular patrols of Green P parking facilities after 9:00 p.m. would significantly enhance the safety and security of these locations. This would not only benefit businesses but also provide peace of mind for patrons who use these facilities.

I understand Green P operates a large network of over 300 parking facilities, each with its own unique security risks. However, I believe a standardized approach to nighttime security, would be beneficial. I recommend Toronto Parking Authority review universal security standards and guidelines to identify best practices which could be applied across its entire network.

I urge the Committee to consider this matter and take steps to enhance nighttime security at Green P parking facilities. This would be a valuable investment in the safety of our community and would help to support the continued success of local businesses.

Councillor Michael Thompson recommends that:

1. City Council endorse the application under the Province's Community Sport and Recreation Investment Fund: Stream 1 – Repair and Rehabilitation for the Jack Goodlad Park Basketball Court Rehabilitation project, and direct the General Manager of Parks, Forestry and Recreation to submit the City's application to the Community Sport and Recreation Investment Fund.

As part of the 2024 Ontario Budget, the province launched a cost-shared program, Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund that provides funding to municipalities to revitalize sport and recreation facilities.

Each municipality is allowed to advance one project per stream. Under Stream 1: Repair and Rehabilitation, I am recommending that the City advance the basketball court rehabilitation work planned at Jack Goodlad Park.

Jack Goodlad Park is included within the Kennedy Park Ionview Parkland Study area, which has identified opportunities for improvements of outdoor community recreation facilities at this location. This project is eligible for the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund, Stream 1 - Repair and Rehabilitation.

Under the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund application guidelines, Council endorsement is a mandatory requirement for the funding consideration.