Cross-posted to Spacing Votes
The report that details the future of the Gardiner Expressway was released today. David Miller held an information session with the media to give his opinion on the report, while mayoral challenger Jane Pitfield is desperately trying to making this a wedge issue. She said to reporters at City Hall today, “The Gardiner is not a barrier to the waterfront. Everyone knows the best view of lake is from the Gardiner.”
The Toronto Star has the details:
The Gardiner Expressway should come down east of Spadina Ave. and be replaced with a 10-lane street at a cost of $490 million as part of Toronto’s grand plans to transform the waterfront, a long-awaited report recommends.
That is one of four options outlined by the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp. and its consultants in a report first submitted to the city of Toronto in July, 2004. The $1 million, seven-volume report was released this morning to the Star as part of a freedom of information request.
The partial tearing down of the elevated expressway would “improve the quality of place” and is less costly than removing the entire Gardiner.
There are three suggested methods to replacing the torn-down section, but waterfront officials favour a 10-lane surface street with wide sidewalks and a generous median between Spadina and Cherry.
It would diverge into two five-lane, one-way streets in the section between Simcoe and Jarvis Sts.
The report acknowledges the basic cost would be about $490 million and would slow traffic more than other options. It recommends that this option be the starting point for an environmental assessment.
Photo from the Toronto Star
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