Mayor John Tory pitches for Gardiner ‘hybrid’ option
Toronto’s mayor heads into Wednesday's council meeting with 44 councillors fairly evenly split on what to do about the east Gardiner.

thestar.com
June 8, 2015
By David Rider

A day after being forced to reverse himself on police carding, now in a fight to prevent a politically damaging loss at city council Wednesday, Tory warned of spillover traffic clogging residential streets, a wrecked economy and out-of-control commute times.

“We simply cannot sever a link between the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner, a critical link in our city’s transportation grid...and not dramatically affect the quality of life for the people in this city,” Tory told an Empire Club of Canada luncheon Monday.

Despite contrary opinions from his own chief planner and her three predecessors, he said overflow cars would “go on to a street in front of your house or your condo or your apartment” if council opts for the boulevard rather than his preferred “hybrid” option that would remove only the ramps to Logan Ave. east of the Don River.

Tory said he shakes his head when told the boulevard’s longer projected commute times are “not that bad.”

“Tell that to a parent who is panicked and rushing home from work to pick up their child from child care,” he said, or a commuter who already spends an hour each way in their car or a driver who will be late with a delivery.

Tory highlighted, as he has many times previously, a 10-minute delay that is a worst-case scenario for a particular tear-down option - not the one currently before council - contained in a study prepared at the University of Toronto for an industry group that includes CAA South Central Ontario and the Ontario Trucking Association.

City staff argue both options would increase commute times more than maintaining the expressway as it is, but estimate the boulevard option would increase commutes into downtown by between two and three minutes more than the hybrid, depending on the route.

On costs, Tory acknowledged his is the pricier option but highlighted the city’s projected short-term costs - $336 million compared with $240 million - and ignored the 100-year forecast of $991 million for hybrid and $461 million for boulevard.

The gap in cost between the two options would be erased within a few years when you factor in the economic cost of longer commute times, Tory argued, saying that in the long run, the “damaging” boulevard would “cost the city money and jobs every year thereafter.”

The only responsible plan is to take as much of the Gardiner down as possible while maintaining the vital link to the DVP, he concluded. “The hybrid option is the best thing to do in the overall best interests of the city we love.”

The Bay Street audience, which interrupted him several times with applause, rose to a standing ovation at the end.

City councillors are fairly even split on how they plan to vote. A handful of undecided councillors are being intensely lobbied by politicians and groups on both sides.

Those championing the hybrid option include the industry coalition and the Toronto Region Board of Trade.

Those urging council to back a boulevard include the current and former chief planners, former mayor David Crombie and a group of 14 prominent developers and land owners.

But from city staff, councillors are getting no recommendation. The report simply says removal is best in terms of urban design, environment and economic impacts because it frees up the most land for development. Hybrid is touted as superior in terms of vehicle travel times, goods movement and construction impacts.