Gardiner East Transparency (GET)��

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Who are we, and why we care?

Individuals and community groups that want

• to GET the facts
• prudent fiscal management
• good transportation planning
• action on climate change, and compliance with city plans
• a city that provides decent housing, adequate social programs, and efficient public transit

The Gardiner Expressway

• Current city capital budget allocates $2 billion over next ten years to “rehabilitate” the Gardiner Expressway
• This $2B is in addition to amounts spent in previous years to repair this aging infrastructure
• In the short term, this rehabilitation plan will focus on the Gardiner West

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That is not what this is about …

It’s about the Gardiner East

Our demand for transparency relates specifically to the (2.4km) Gardiner East project, and largely to the decision to rebuild (further north of the current location) colossal, elevated ramps connecting the Gardiner to the Don Valley Parkway

Gardiner Expressway ramp to the Don Valley Parkway. ANDREW FRANCIS WALLACE / TORONTO STAR

Work completed to date …

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a) tear down of the Gardiner between Cherry Street and Logan Avenue

b) ”rehabilitating” (or rebuilding, in place) the expressway section between Jarvis and Cherry Streets

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These monies have been spent, and are not the subject of our call for transparency

Image showing stub of Gardiner East, and existing, functioning ramps in background linking Gardiner and DVP

Image showing stub of Gardiner East, with elevated link in background connecting Gardiner and DVP. The stub,

under the city plan, will in any case be connected to Lakeshore Blvd East

Gardiner-DVP link looking east, from east of Cherry Street

A simpler variation of staff recommendation

Image comparing council approved plan and (possible) at-grade modification of staff recommendation

• Gardiner East Accounting TCBC GIF FINAL

What’s at issue

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Colossal, elevated ramps connecting the Gardiner and DVP, estimated to cost about $640m

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• The rebuilding of these ramps was a key part of the project approved by council in 2015 after an intense debate and a close vote
• The plan also includes building new ramps onto the Gardiner from Lakeshore Blvd East at Cherry Street

Councillors 2014-2018

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Summary of costs and foregone revenues

1. higher one-time construction costs, amounting to as much as $650 million – dramatically greater than a surface link (most of which has to be built anyway to connect the eastern stub of the Gardiner at Cherry Street to Lakeshore Blvd East);
2. lost land sale revenues and development charges of an estimated $450 million (or more if sold gradually) by freeing up an additional 5.4 acres of land; 
3. higher long-term maintenance and operating costs for the elevated expressway; and
4. lost property tax revenues that could be generated from new developments. 

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orders of magnitude difference in costing between rebuild & remove options

Image: Steve Munro Transit & Politics - Oct 20, 2013

https://stevemunro.ca/2013/10/20/moving-people-downtown-the-gardiner-east-is-only-the-beginning/

How much money is at stake?

• Perhaps $1,000,000,000 … or more

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• 1,000 x $1,000,000

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• 1,000 times X

But hasn’t the rebuilding work already started?

• No

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• The work that has been completed was the tear down of the Gardiner between Logan and Cherry Street – a permanent change

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• The Gardiner now ends at a point just east of Cherry Street, which is about 500m from the Don Roadway

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The work in question is not scheduled to begin until 2025

• No contracts have been put to public tender for the rebuilding of the ramps
• We have a golden opportunity to measure, in today’s dollars, what we are spending, and what we are losing

What about east-end motor traffic

• The current bottlenecks are not along the Gardiner-DVP connection, but rather at the outlet onto congested city streets
• It doesn’t matter how fast you get onto the Gardiner from the DVP; what matters is the bottlenecks getting off the Gardiner, or onto the Gardiner from city streets
• The Gardiner is not an east-west thoroughfare, but rather a route into the central city
• In any case, construction of the connection between the Gardiner and Lakeshore Blvd East is not scheduled to begin until 2025

Prudent financial decision-making?

• Would you buy a pair of shoes, a fridge, or a house without knowing the price (even if you actually have the money)?

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• if you wouldn’t do this for an item that might cost $100, $1,000 or $1,000,000, why would you do it --- especially if you have no obligation to buy --- for a project that may cost over $1,000,000,000?

What has our coalition done so far?

• Reached out to various individuals who have been closely engaged on this issue
• Circulated a community letter for sign on
• Published an op ed in Toronto Star
• Reached out to four of the six councillors on the IEC (Morley, Saxe, Colle, and Perruzza) and to Councillor Matlow
• Prepared a media release to go out shortly

What does our call for transparency have to do with Councillor Matlow’s ”admin inquiry”?�

• Our call for transparency includes foregone revenues, and a financial account of the options
• Our call is independent of his inquiry
• The admin inquiry is, however, coming up at IEC on March 20
• This gives us an opportunity to address the issue in a broader context, with a more comprehensive ask

What was city staff response to Matlow’s recent admin inquiry?

• summary

Who has signed the letter?

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• ABC Residents’ Association (ABCRA)
• FoNTRA
• David Suzuki Foundation
• Toronto Environmental Alliance
• Lytton Park Residents’ Organization (LPRO)
• and 30 others
• https://docs.google.com/document/d/18nIaXl7OjXNijmrzkNK8I856H6Ff3aGd/edit

What do we want?

A comprehensive report on the costs and foregone revenues of the approved project, comparing the approved option to a ground-level connection – either the recommendation of city staff in 2015, or a simpler, ground level connection between the Gardiner and DVP via Lakeshore Blvd East

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How long would a report take and how much might it cost?

• The report should be a comprehensive review of updated construction costs of the approved option, and the costs and foregone revenues of the alternatives, including additional land sales
• Such a report may take several months to prepare and cost several hundred thousand dollars – a prudent financial investment given the dollars at stake

Questions

• Albert Koehl, Community Bikeways (TCBC), albert@koehl.ca, tel 647-985-3754
• Lyn Adamson, ClimateFast, lyn.adamson9@gmail.com, tel 416-731-6605
• Peter Miasek, Transport Action Ontario (TAO), peter.miasek@rogers.com, tel 416-526-9132

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Thank you!

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