By Elizabeth Ford –
Clashing views on the Gardiner East construction project came to a head at the city’s Infrastructure and Environment Committee meeting on March 20. In 2013, City Council approved repairs to the Gardiner from Lower Jarvis Street to Cherry Street. A year later, council adopted a hybrid model by a 21 to 24 vote. At the time the eastern Gardiner’s 11 kilometre stretch accommodated just three per cent of commuters travelling into the core according to Waterfront Toronto.
A 2016 staff report said the 2013 cost of rebuilding the elevated expressway was estimated at $1.053 billion. Last year, another staff report increased that sum by $257 million to $1.31 billion. The project is now in the design implementation phase.
Representatives from groups including Toronto for Everyone and the Federation of North Toronto Residents’ Association (FoNTRA), spoke at the meeting demanding transparency regarding the updated cost. Some attendees including mayoral candidates Josh Matlow and Gil Penalosa, say the city should reconsider the grand boulevard model, which would replace the upper concrete portion of the 60-year-old expressway with an eight-laneboulevard – the preferred option until hybrid alternatives were later introduced.
“The whole world will laugh at Toronto for building a highway along the waterfront,” Councillor Matlow said. “The world has changed and most cities have demolished their elevated freeways that reflect 1950’s and 60’s thinking.”
FoNTRA, representing 30 member organizations between Bloor Street and Sheppard Avenue from the Don Valley to Bathurst Street, endorsed Matlow’s view in a letter to City Council arguing that the decision should reflect the priorities of a more modern city. The group said councillors should consider long-term maintenance costs, lost revenues as well as construction costs.
A city spokesperson confirmed in a letter that around $500 million has been committed implementing Sections 1 and 5 of the hybrid 3 model. The same letter says Section 1, from Jarvis Street to Cherry Street was completed in 2021 at a cost of $350 million. And $148 million has been committed to implementing the design for Section 5 from Jarvis Street to Logan Avenue.
FoNTRA calls this “sunk” costs as the completed section of upper deck between Jarvis Street and Cherry Street would have to be demolished if the ‘remove’ option were implemented. The spokesperson also confirmed that construction is not scheduled to start until 2026.
Mayoral hopeful Gil Penalosa, who finished second to John Tory in last fall’s contest, spoke on behalf of the Toronto for Everyone group. He said the city should reconsider the alternative even if it ends up costing more than the rebuild. Penalosa argues the hybrid may not be the most cost effective option and that the city needs to take into account long-term maintenance and operating costs, lost revenues and the benefits of connecting the city back to the lake.
“The boulevard alternative would save over half a billion dollars,” Penalosa said. “We are going to open up space for 800 homes that’s over 15,000 people—more parks, more green space.”
For those living in neighbourhoods like the Beach, an elevated expressway is convenient. When the portion from Logan Avenue to Leslie Street came down over two decades ago, many east enders who were used to popping on the expressway just blocks from home were furious. Former Toronto Sun journalist Anthony Furey, who has also entered the race for mayor, is one of them. He says it would be premature to tear down the Gardiner until more modes of alternative transportation such as the Ontario Line are available.
“I’m the father of three kids who lives in the east end and I can tell you that everyone I speak with finds it very frustrating that the Gardiner off-ramp was torn down, he said. “It feels impossible now to head to the west end. We need to halt all this talk about tear down the Gardiner because that will only make things worse for east-end residents.”
In addition to the cost of demolishing the Jarvis to Cherry section, work on the Port Lands Flood Protection zone at the mouth of the Don River could be affected if the grand boulevard option is chosen and differs from the current alignment. An environmental assessment for the alternative could take up to three years and would cost millions of dollars, according to the City. The current hybrid 3 model, is to shift the elevated expressway away form the waterfront and the Keating Precint and closer to the rail corridor north of Lake Shore Boulevard.
The results of this June’s mayoral election could go a long way determining the fate of the Gardiner Expressway.
