Doug Ford’s Ontario Place plan will make traffic congestion worse: report
Plans for the Ontario Place redevelopment could make Toronto’s traffic problems worse, according to a new report from the city of Toronto.
Dec. 23, 2024
By Ben Spurr City Hall Bureau Chief
As Premier Doug Ford vows to alleviate Toronto’s infamous traffic congestion, his government’s designs for Ontario Place would add to the problem.
That’s the conclusion of a new report from the city of Toronto that examined the projected traffic impacts of the Ontario PC plan to redevelop the lakeside waterpark.
The report from city transportation staff noted that the $2.2-billion revamp — consisting of the Therme spa, expanded Live Nation concert venue, new public spaces and a mainland pavilion for Ontario Science Centre programming — will convert the
Ontario Place site into a year-round destination.
Ford government’s Ontario Place redevelopment was ‘not fair, transparent or accountable,’ auditor general finds in scathing report
By 2032, the redevelopment is projected to increase traffic volumes on Lake Shore Boulevard West by up to 27 per cent in the morning rush, 23 per cent in the evening rush and as much as 40 per cent during major events like Toronto FC games and the Canadian National Exhibition, according to the report.
That would add about 1 to 2 minutes to vehicle travel times on Lake Shore between British Columbia Road and Strachan Avenue during typical weekday or weekend peak periods, the city estimated. During major events, trips would take about 5 to 6.5 minutes longer.
The projections, which were based on a previous analysis performed for Infrastructure Ontario by LEA Consulting Ltd., take into account other factors that could affect traffic, such as development applications, corridor growth, new pedestrian promenades, and planned transit improvements in the Ontario Line, Lake Shore West GO upgrades and SmartTrack stations.
Ford’s government has signalled that reducing gridlock in Ontario’s biggest city is among its top priorities. In July it announced $73 million to speed up lane-reducing construction on the Gardiner Expressway one year early, and last month it took the extraordinary step of passing legislation that will allow it to remove bike lanes it claims are causing congestion on major Toronto thoroughfares.
Asked whether the province was concerned the Ontario Place redevelopment could undermine those traffic-fighting efforts, Ash Milton, press secretary for Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma, said in an email that the government “is ensuring that Ontario Place and the surrounding area will be served by numerous transport options, including the Ontario Line, which is part of the largest subway expansion in Canadian history.”
“We will keep ensuring that residents and businesses in Toronto have the transport options they need as the population continues to grow,” Milton said.
But Norm Di Pasquale, co-chair of Ontario Place for All, an advocacy group that opposes the province’s plan, said the report shows the Ontario Place plan would cause “an intense amount of traffic in downtown.”
The premier “is manifesting the exact thing that he is saying he is trying to avoid,” argued Di Pasquale.
He said that the Ford government’s intention to build 2,500 parking spaces near the Therme spa and relocate the Ontario Science Centre from Flemingdon Park would be major drivers of the worsening congestion.
Di Pasquale, whose group has previously criticized the redevelopment over its cost to taxpayers and impact on public space, said the traffic data is further evidence that “this is ultimately the wrong site for both the mega spa and the Ontario Science Centre.”
City staff produced the traffic analysis in response to a motion from Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik (Ward 10, Spadina—Fort York) at June’s council meeting.
It’s clear the transportation impacts of the province’s proposal “had not been properly considered,” Malik said in a statement Monday, and the new report shows “it will have significant impacts on an already busy corridor,” as well as on congested areas like Liberty Village.
She said the Therme development does “not belong on our waterfront.”
The report will be debated at Toronto and East York Community Council on Jan. 14, and is scheduled to go to city council the following month.
Plans for the Ontario Place redevelopment could make Toronto’s traffic problems worse, according to a new report from the city of Toronto.
Dec. 23, 2024
By Ben Spurr City Hall Bureau Chief
As Premier Doug Ford vows to alleviate Toronto’s infamous traffic congestion, his government’s designs for Ontario Place would add to the problem.
That’s the conclusion of a new report from the city of Toronto that examined the projected traffic impacts of the Ontario PC plan to redevelop the lakeside waterpark.
The report from city transportation staff noted that the $2.2-billion revamp — consisting of the Therme spa, expanded Live Nation concert venue, new public spaces and a mainland pavilion for Ontario Science Centre programming — will convert the
Ontario Place site into a year-round destination.
Ford government’s Ontario Place redevelopment was ‘not fair, transparent or accountable,’ auditor general finds in scathing report
By 2032, the redevelopment is projected to increase traffic volumes on Lake Shore Boulevard West by up to 27 per cent in the morning rush, 23 per cent in the evening rush and as much as 40 per cent during major events like Toronto FC games and the Canadian National Exhibition, according to the report.
That would add about 1 to 2 minutes to vehicle travel times on Lake Shore between British Columbia Road and Strachan Avenue during typical weekday or weekend peak periods, the city estimated. During major events, trips would take about 5 to 6.5 minutes longer.
The projections, which were based on a previous analysis performed for Infrastructure Ontario by LEA Consulting Ltd., take into account other factors that could affect traffic, such as development applications, corridor growth, new pedestrian promenades, and planned transit improvements in the Ontario Line, Lake Shore West GO upgrades and SmartTrack stations.
Ford’s government has signalled that reducing gridlock in Ontario’s biggest city is among its top priorities. In July it announced $73 million to speed up lane-reducing construction on the Gardiner Expressway one year early, and last month it took the extraordinary step of passing legislation that will allow it to remove bike lanes it claims are causing congestion on major Toronto thoroughfares.
Asked whether the province was concerned the Ontario Place redevelopment could undermine those traffic-fighting efforts, Ash Milton, press secretary for Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma, said in an email that the government “is ensuring that Ontario Place and the surrounding area will be served by numerous transport options, including the Ontario Line, which is part of the largest subway expansion in Canadian history.”
“We will keep ensuring that residents and businesses in Toronto have the transport options they need as the population continues to grow,” Milton said.
But Norm Di Pasquale, co-chair of Ontario Place for All, an advocacy group that opposes the province’s plan, said the report shows the Ontario Place plan would cause “an intense amount of traffic in downtown.”
The premier “is manifesting the exact thing that he is saying he is trying to avoid,” argued Di Pasquale.
He said that the Ford government’s intention to build 2,500 parking spaces near the Therme spa and relocate the Ontario Science Centre from Flemingdon Park would be major drivers of the worsening congestion.
Di Pasquale, whose group has previously criticized the redevelopment over its cost to taxpayers and impact on public space, said the traffic data is further evidence that “this is ultimately the wrong site for both the mega spa and the Ontario Science Centre.”
City staff produced the traffic analysis in response to a motion from Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik (Ward 10, Spadina—Fort York) at June’s council meeting.
It’s clear the transportation impacts of the province’s proposal “had not been properly considered,” Malik said in a statement Monday, and the new report shows “it will have significant impacts on an already busy corridor,” as well as on congested areas like Liberty Village.
She said the Therme development does “not belong on our waterfront.”
The report will be debated at Toronto and East York Community Council on Jan. 14, and is scheduled to go to city council the following month.
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