The work to replace the deck on the Gardiner Expressway, from Strachan Avenue to just west of Bathurst Street, resumes August 19.

While this work is taking place, two lanes of traffic in each direction will be open. The work is expected to be completed October 31, 2016.

While this work is taking place, the City is taking steps to minimize disruption to the travelling public, including implementing traffic signal timing changes to enhance traffic flow on nearby routes and working to plan improved co-ordination and response to incidents on the Gardiner Expressway

In addition, the daily closure of the westbound ramp from Jameson Avenue to the Gardiner Expressway will be temporarily suspended during the construction period.   When the construction work is completed, the normal closure on weekdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. will be reinstated in order to enhance driver safety and reduce congestion.

Drivers who use this route should consider options such as carpooling, taking transit, cycling to work, or travelling outside the usual rush hours.

The City has a web-based map to help residents and visitors make their travel plans, available at http://www.toronto.ca/roadrestrictions. Information about the City's planned capital construction work, which also affects roads, is available at http://www.toronto.ca/inview.

Public and industry input invited on regulations for Toronto's ground transportation industry

The City of Toronto is undertaking a review of the operations of Uber and similar technologies, including the public's interest in them and their impacts on Toronto's taxicab and limousine industries.  

Key areas of the review will include:

• What bylaw changes are necessary to bring new and emerging technologies into regulation as part of the City's for-hire ground transportation industry;
• How the City can ensure public safety and consumer protection are maintained; and
• How the City can ensure a level playing field is established and maintained with respect to commercial insurance, driver training, equality of fares and other licensing issues.

Members of the public and the ground transportation industry are invited to participate by taking an online survey, available at http://bit.ly/1S8vxx8 until August 14, 2015. In addition to the online survey, public input will be gathered through research conducted by IPSOS Reid, including a general population survey of Toronto residents, focus groups and individual interviews.

City staff will host several roundtable meetings with key stakeholders including taxi and limousine drivers and owners, taxi brokerages, limousine service companies, Uber and other technology-oriented service providers.

More information about the review and current regulations is available at http://bit.ly/1rOu4Qv.

City Staff will report the consultation findings and recommendations to the Licensing and Standards Committee on September 18. 

Road closures for events in Toronto this weekend (July 24-27)

Two festival events along with the Pan Am Games run, race-walk and cycling competitions will involve some road closures in Toronto this weekend. Residents and visitors are encouraged to come out and enjoy these events. Businesses in the areas involved will remain open as usual.

The Pan Am Games and other special events are important for Toronto, boosting the city's economy and providing opportunities to showcase local communities. Whenever possible, residents and visitors are encouraged to consider carpooling, public transit, walking or cycling to get around this weekend and throughout the Games.

Beaches Jazz Festival – Thursday to Saturday Queen Street East between Woodbine Avenue and Beech Avenue will be closed from 6 p.m. to midnight on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (July 23 to 25).

PrideHouse TO Celebrates Street Festival – all weekend Church Street from Alexander Street to Dundonald Street will be closed on Friday, July 24 from 6 p.m. to Monday, July 27 at 2 a.m. The intersection of Church Street and Wellesley Street will remain open to traffic during that period.

Training for cycling and marathon races – all weekend Full road closures of Colborne Lodge Drive (The Queensway to Bloor Street West), Centre Road, West Road, Spring Road and High Park Boulevard will take place from midnight on Friday, July 24 to 6 a.m. on Sunday, July 26.

Additional road closures will take place on Friday, July 24 from 10 a.m. to noon to allow athletes to familiarize themselves with the road cycling and marathon courses, including:

● Lake Shore Boulevard in both directions from Colborne Lodge Drive to Strachan Avenue will be closed.  Access to Ontario Place and the Gardiner Expressway will be maintained.

● The Queensway from Claude Avenue to Ellis Avenue will be reduced to one lane in each direction. 

● Bloor Street from Harcroft Road to Parkside Drive will be reduced to one lane in each direction.

● Parkside Drive from Lake Shore Boulevard to Bloor Street will be closed.

● Ellis Avenue, Ellis Park Road, Olympus Avenue and Harcroft Road will also be closed.

Men's marathon and cycling road races – Saturday The closures highlighted above for Friday, July 24 will occur again from 12:01 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 25 to accommodate the men's marathon and the cycling road races. The marathon will take place from 7 to 11 a.m. The cycling road races will take place from 1 to 8:45 p.m.

Note: Lake Shore Boulevard from British Columbia Road to Strachan Avenue will remain closed overnight.

During the closures noted, one lane of Lake Shore Boulevard, from Colborne Lodge Drive to Net Drive, will remain open using a counterflow system (no through traffic, local access only) to provide access for businesses and residents.

There will also be cycling detours. Some sections of the Martin Goodman Trail will be closed to bicycle traffic from Saturday, July 25 at 1 a.m.

until Sunday, July 26 at 2 p.m. Signage is in place along the 2.85-kilometre detour. Detour routes:

● Cyclists travelling east must exit the trail at British Columbia Road/Lake Shore Boulevard and then take the detour route north on British Columbia Road, east on Saskatchewan Road, south on Princes'

Boulevard and follow Prince Edward Island Crescent to Ontario Drive, south to Lakeshore Boulevard and travel east to rejoin the Martin Goodman Trail at New Brunswick Way.

● Cyclists travelling west must exit the trail at Remembrance Drive opposite New Brunswick Way and then travel west on Lake Shore Boulevard, north on Ontario Drive and immediately west onto Prince Edward Island Crescent, north on Princes' Boulevard  to Saskatchewan Road, proceeding west on British Columbia Road to rejoin the Martin Goodman Trail at Marilyn Bell Park.

Men's 50-km race walk – Sunday

Lake Shore Boulevard from British Columbia Road to Strachan Avenue will remain closed until 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 26. Local access will be provided only past Strachan Avenue. All drivers, including spectators driving to events, will need to show their Games event ticket to gain access beyond that point.

The race itself will take place from 7 a.m. to noon.

Cycling detours associated with this Pan Am Games competition will involve the closure of some sections of the Martin Goodman Trail to bicycle traffic from 1 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Sunday. Signage is in place along the 2.85-km detour. Details about detours for eastbound and westbound cyclists on Sunday are identical to the detour listings above for Saturday.

More information on transportation relating to the Pan Am/ParaPan Am Games is available at http://www.toronto2015.org/transportation.

Festivals and other special events inject hundreds of millions of dollars annually into the city's economy. In addition to road closures related to special events, a significant amount of road work is taking place in Toronto. People are encouraged to take public transit as a greener, faster and more affordable way of getting to their destinations. Those who need to drive in the general vicinity of special events should allow extra time to get to and from their destinations.

The City has a web-based map to help residents and visitors make their travel plans, available at http://www.toronto.ca/roadrestrictions.

Information about the City's planned capital construction work, which also affects roads, is available at http://www.toronto.ca/inview

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games.

You might recall that back in April City Council passed my motion to direct Toronto's Chief Planner to ensure that land-use planning and urban design considerations are part of the EA process being carried out by Metrolinx on the Davenport Community Rail Overpass. As a result, the Chief Planner wrote to Metrolinx on June 16, 2015 with a list of key issues that City staff have identified after reviewing information they have received from Metrolinx to date.

I am pleased to report to you that today Toronto City Council has unanimously passed my most recent motion on this matter. Council has endorsed the list of issues as identified by the Chief Planner and has asked that Metrolinx address and properly fund them. Additionally, Council will be requesting Metrolinx to extend their project schedule by two to three months in order to provide for more time to address City staff and community comments before they start the Transit Project Assessment Process.

This project will greatly impact our community and therefore I hope that Metrolinx can accommodate my reasonable request. I have been working with local residents' groups, elected representatives, City staff and Metrolinx so that our community receives the best possible outcome from this project. It is my hope that we can continue to work together.

City of Toronto seeks input to build Cycling Network Plan

The City of Toronto's Transportation Services division is in the process of developing a new 10-year plan for Toronto's Cycling Network. Toronto residents and businesses are being asked to provide their input by commenting on the draft Cycling Network Plan map.

A technical analysis has been undertaken to design the draft map which shows how Toronto's cycling network could be expanded and improved. More than 10,500 individuals from across the city completed the phase one survey and 3,600 individuals used the City's smart phone app to submit data from over 59,000 cycling trips. Input received from phase one consultations has been used to inform the draft map that is now being circulated as part of the second phase of consultations.

The phase two online consultation is now underway, and will be available until July 31 at https://torontocyclingnetwork.metroquest.ca.

The information collected from the online consultation will assist City staff in developing a report to Council on proposed cycling network projects to be implemented over the next 10 years.

On the draft Cycling Network Plan map, some major corridors have been identified as candidates for opportunities to create City-wide cycling connections. On these major corridors (Yonge Street, Bloor Street, Danforth Avenue, Kingston Road, Midland Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard in Etobicoke) it is recognized that to achieve any cycling network link, a Major Corridor Study would be needed to properly assess traffic impacts and work with all interested stakeholders.

Aside from allowing respondents to rank potential projects identified by the Transportation Services division, the online consultation allows residents to identify which existing cycling routes need upgrades, as well as which routes they think should be added.

The next step for the project is the phase three consultations involving drop-in consultation events, featuring conversations in motion for interested stakeholders who wish to cycle with City staff and discuss specific locations and routes on site.

Information from each phase will assist staff in developing a report to City Council on the proposed Cycling Network projects to be implemented over the next 10 years.

More information about the project is available at http://www.toronto.ca/cyclingnetwork.

At a special meeting of Toronto and East York Community Council on June 22nd, my colleagues and I voted unanimously to reduce the speed limit from 40 km/h to 30 km/h on all local roads (residential streets). (View the staff report) I supported this initiative in light of the many Ward 18 residents who contacted me in support of this proposal, coupled with the evidence presented in this 2012 Toronto Public Health report on improving walking and cycling in Toronto.

Creating safer neighbourhoods and protecting our children is something that is extremely important to me. We need to make sure we are doing everything we can to ensure our children and community members can enjoy the outdoors, walk to school and enjoy our neighbourhoods safely. All of the evidence has shown that lower speed limits help to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities.

The changes that will take place in our community are represented on the map of Ward 18, posted above:

• Speed limits will be reduced from 40km/h to 30km/h on the roads represented with a dashed black line (e.g. Rusholme Rd, Armstrong Ave and Franklin Ave).
• Roads represented by thick grey lines are arterials (e.g. Dufferin St, Lansdowne Ave, College St and Dupont St) and speed limits on these roads will not change.
• Roads represented by solid black lines already have a 30km/h speed limit (e.g. Lappin Ave, St. Clarens Ave, Beaconsfield Ave) and speed limits on these roads will not change.
• Remaining thin grey lines are either laneways or collectors and speed limits on these roads will not change.

The City of Toronto will need to invest the necessary $1.1 million to implement the changes and this would be paid for through the 2016 Budget process. The changes will begin to occur in September 2015 and I look forward to seeing full implementation over the next two years.

On Monday June 22 at 6pm, there will be a special meeting of the Toronto and East York Community Council where Councillors will consider a motion to reduce the speed limit from 40 km/h to 30 km/h on local roads in Ward 18 and across the rest of the Toronto and East York District. The meeting will be taking place in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

In order to view the full staff report on this please click here. In it you will find a wealth of data, information and statistics related to the matter.

If you would like to submit your comments to Community Council on this you can visit the Agenda Item page in order to request to speak or submit your comments to Community Council. Simply click the respective buttons at the top of the Agenda Item page to generate an e-mail that you can complete to do so. You can also register to speak in the meeting room before the meeting starts.

For more information on submitting comments or requesting to speak on this or any other item under consideration by a committee of Toronto City Council, you can visit this page as there is important information and specific steps that must be followed to do so.

You can also always attend these and any other meetings in person as they are public meetings open for everyone to observe. I encourage you to take part in the decision making process here at City Hall. 

Dear Neighbour,

Over the past month many of you have engaged directly with me over the phone, by email, in the community and through the survey that I posted on my website soliciting your feedback on what to do with the Gardiner Expressway East, located between Jarvis Street and the Don Valley Parkway. Currently, it is considered to be in poor condition and at the end of its service life. Due to years of neglect, we have seen instances of concrete falling from the Gardiner, threatening the people that travel under it. Thankfully no one has been seriously injured. In 2013, Toronto City Council authorized a series of interim repairs that would extend the life of the Gardiner East until 2020. Making a decision on the Gardiner East is one that I believe Council should and must make, as the cost of doing nothing is even greater than either the Hybrid or Remove options being presented.

After doing my own research, consulting with different stakeholders, going on a site visit and listening to what residents of Ward 18 have told me, I have decided that I will be voting to remove the Gardiner Expressway east of Jarvis Street and replace it with a street level boulevard, much like University Avenue, which can facilitate both the movement of pedestrians and vehicles. We have in front of us a once in a generation chance to open up the eastern waterfront for people and opportunity. I believe that we should seize that chance and build a city that we can be truly proud of for generations to come.

I have come to this decision after looking at potential revenues from land sales, the expansion of our property tax base with more development opportunities, the ability to provide more land for affordable housing, additional job creation potential, reduced capital, maintenance and operating costs of a street level boulevard, and the environmental and health benefits associated with the Remove option. I believe that it is also important to think about how removing the Gardiner east of Jarvis will create better waterfront connections, animate Lake Shore Boulevard, provide more opportunities to improve the public realm, and still maintain a link to the Don Valley Parkway.

Currently, only 3% of commuters during the morning rush hour use the Gardiner East, which represents a total of 5,200 people per AM peak period hour. These numbers are similar to current car usage on University Avenue or ridership on the 29 Dufferin Bus that runs through Ward 18. The 3% of commuters using the Gardiner East stands in comparison to the 68% utilizing public transportation (49% TTC and 19% GO Transit), 4% walking or cycling, and the remaining 25% driving to get into the downtown core.

We have seen that more people are choosing to travel into the downtown core on public transit than ever before and I feel that it is important to spend your hard earned tax dollars on projects that will expand public transit for all residents of our great city, thereby reducing our overall congestion. Only serious public transportation expansion will address the staggering commute times that people in the GTA are facing. We will need every dollar that we can get in order to make public transit expansion, including the Downtown Relief Line, Smart Track, and other public transit projects, a priority.

When looking at the capital, operating and maintenance costs that are estimated to be spent over the next 100 years for the 1.7 kilometers of roadway in-between Jarvis Street and the Don Valley Parkway, it is clear to me that building a street level boulevard in the place of the Gardiner East is the fiscally prudent thing for the City to do. The difference between selecting the two options before us is $458 million in 2013 dollars. That accounts for the difference in costs between $919 million for the Hybrid option and $461 million for the Remove option.

By utilizing the additional 12 acres of City owned land that would directly be made available for redevelopment by building a street level boulevard in the place of an elevated expressway, we would be able to spur more development, more affordable housing, and an additional $137 million ($2013) in revenue to direct towards other capital projects aimed at improving the lives of Torontonians. By unlocking the value of this land, it will also help us further expand the tax base and provide more property tax revenue in order to address the fiscal challenges our City is facing.

Like the Hybrid option, the Remove option also provides for the ability to develop the First Gulf site into an employment centre, economic catalyst, and a key hub for the Smart Track transportation plan that will provide Torontonians with fast, efficient, reliable, and accessible public transit options in our City. Additionally, with the Remove option, we could create more good jobs for the local economy, helping to break the cycle of poverty and putting us on a path where we could truly create a community where people can live, work and play.

We have seen cities from all around the world that have replaced their elevated waterfront expressways and the massive public benefits that have been realized from those decisions. We need to think to the future, not the past, of the kind of city that we want to build because after all, Toronto only has one waterfront and we need to make sure we get the most out of it.

I look forward to the Council debate and vote on this matter next week and for the start of construction as soon as possible afterwards. We can't afford to wait any longer.

I am working hard to make sure the priorities that will serve our residents are well represented at City Hall.  As always, I will continue to work closely with you so we can build a great city where we can live, work and play.

Sincerely,

Ana

As the Metrolinx Davenport Reference Panel wraps up its work this Saturday, I continue to have serious concerns with Metrolinx's plans to build a large rail bridge over our community. Building on my Motion that was passed at Toronto City Council in April, I wrote to Metrolinx last week outlining some of my concerns.

Some of the key issues that I have asked Metrolinx President & CEO Bruce McCuaig to consider immediately include:

• I believe that it is in the public interest to fully understand the decision behind recommending an overpass, as opposed to a below grade option to bypass the Davenport Diamond as it does appear that there could be significant community benefits that would arise from a below grade option. The first time the City received Metrolinx's two feasibility studies on this project was April 16, 2015. As a result, City Planning staff require adequate time to complete a technical review of the work completed to-date and determine whether City objectives have been addressed in the decision making process that flowed from these studies. 

• The City has recently advised Metrolinx that a new GO Station at Bloor Street and Lansdowne Avenue is in the City's Official Plan and is a key issue. I strongly believe that a GO Station at Bloor Street and Lansdowne Avenue as part of the Barrie GO Line is necessary for local residents, the surrounding community and to enhance network connectivity. This stop would help alleviate the ridership pressures on the Jane, Keele, and Dufferin TTC bus routes, while providing another vital link for transit riders on the Bloor-Danforth Subway Line.

If this station does not get built, it would represent a missed opportunity by Metrolinx to enhance network connectivity for both GO Transit and the TTC, and to increase the economic competitiveness of the Greater Toronto Area. In addition to the local community benefits, there are employment lands located nearby that would benefit from such a transit connection. I am sure that you and I can both agree on how important it is to provide more public transit options for riders.

• As you may be aware, Toronto City Council has directed the City's Chief Planner, Jennifer Keesmaat to ensure that land-use planning (including grade separation underground or above ground) and urban design considerations are part of the Environmental Assessment process being carried out by Metrolinx for the rail grade separation project. The process to consider how design excellence is embedded in the project solution has yet to be realized, as no scope has been developed and no process appears to be in place to co-ordinate this with the technical review. It is important that the local community also receives the best possible benefit from this project. In light of those points, a related point is how much will Metrolinx contribute for public realm improvements as part of this project?

• Development of an agreed Project Schedule in consultation with City staff, that provides sufficient time for technical review iterations, and community input and discussion on the options, analysis, community benefits, and design excellence of the preferred solution.

I look forward to meeting with Metrolinx in the near future to discuss my concerns and other issues that have been raised throughout this process. I will continue keep you informed every step of the way as we obtain more information.

I believe that safe, efficient and affordable urban transportation is a cornerstone of building a great city.

As a transit rider, driver, cyclist, pedestrian and frequent taxi customer I understand that personal choice and convenience are paramount in selecting our most suitable mode of transportation on a daily basis. I believe in the merits of personal transportation choice and I have heard from hundreds of Ward 18 residents that Uber is a transportation choice they wish to have in Toronto.

Before Uber can become an officially accepted mode of transportation within The City of Toronto there are a number of processes that will need to take place. First, the City is proceeding with its legal challenge and will see Uber in court on May 19^th. This hearing is being pursued by the City's Municipal Licensing & Standards Division on the basis that Uber entered the Toronto market while ignoring the City's licensing requirements. While Uber's entry into the Toronto transportation market was not well executed, I believe they are open to making changes and we have recently seen evidence of this.

Uber Canada formally applied for a taxi brokerage licence with the City of Toronto recently. This move indicated a departure from Uber's original stance that it is merely a technology company, as well as a willingness to work within the City's regulatory regime in some respects. This application will be considered after the court case is heard. I believe the company can do more to address the City's concerns about passenger safety and that the solutions may be found through a new regulatory framework.

Just as it is important for Uber to operate within the City's regulatory regime, it is also important for our regulatory regime to adapt to the realities of the 21^st century. Mayor Tory has called for a people oriented solution to these issues through a modernization of City regulations and I also believe this is a direction we need to move in. I view this issue as a test-case and a huge opportunity for the City of Toronto. The pace of innovation in 21^st century global cities is intensifying. In this instance, and in many more which are likely to come, we can practice smart and nimble accommodation of innovation. Hopefully through this process we will foster more innovative and solutions-oriented attitudes at the City of Toronto.

In the coming months the City will revisit its taxi industry standards and include Uber's services in this review. I look forward to this process, to promoting your interests as well as asking challenging questions along the way. As this issue continues to evolve, I look forward to an open dialogue with you. Please do not hesitate to contact me again with respect to this issue, or any other.