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City of Toronto to tear down part of the Gardiner Expressway
Teardown an 8-year project
RENE JOHNSTON/TORONTO STAR
It will take up to eight years and approximately $ 200-300 million to tear down the East Gardiner Expressway from Jarvis St. to the Don Valley Expressway, including up to five years to conduct an environmental assessment of the project, Waterfront Toronto announced today in a press conference.
On June 12, the Waterfront Toronto board will make a recommendation supporting the East Gardiner tear-down through an individual environmental assessment that will analyze and clarify the technical issues and impacts, Waterfront Toronto Chair Mark Wilson said.
It will also recommend the re-allocation of funds from the Front St. extension to the improvement of the waterfront.
City council will discuss the proposal on July 14 and 15.
Tearing down the eastern stretch of the Gardiner will allow the development of surrounding communities, create high-quality urban design and support new transit initiatives, Wilson said.
The impact on traffic and travel time includes an added 2 minutes from Queen and Woodbine to King and Bay during the morning peak hours and a reduction in travel speed by 12.5 percent, Wilson said. The east end of the Gardiner is the least congested part of the expressway. Repairs cost the city about $6-10 million annually, according to Waterfront Toronto statistics.
"This decision is a decision about the future vision for the city. We need a vision that embraces and leads the global changes we're a part of, not one that tries to preserve patterns and habits of the past," Wilson said. "Taking down the Gardiner is a bold step and a declaration that Toronto is ready to be part of that future."
Waterfront Toronto CEO John Campbell described the project as "realistic and doable now."
Early proposals had raised the idea of tearing down the Gardiner from Spadina Ave.
“We just don't have the funds,” Campbell said of that idea. “It's too big a bite."
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