| Issue 269 | May 15, 2000 |
| On April 26th, Councilman Bill Saundercook,
chair of the Toronto City Works Committee, knocked down a piece
of the eastern segment of the Gardiner Expressway to signal the
beginning of the demolition of this eastern stub of the elevated roadway.
The expressway had been started in 1964, and was intended to be a bypass
around the south-eastern edge of the city. It was never finished. In 1996,
the Metro Council and City of Toronto Council endorsed dismantling the
1.4km highway. One year later the project had received the environmental
approvals necessary and by 1999 the project design had been completed.
The highway stub will be replaced with a new lake-front boulevard, with enhanced landscaping, cycling and pedestrian routes, green space and public art. But according to the Toronto Star, this is just the beginning. Toronto is planning on leveling the entire expressway, not just the eastern stub. Unlike similar projects proposed for Milwaukee, Akron and the Bronx where the highways in question see fewer than 40,000 vehicles/day each, this road handles 200,000 cars daily. Consultants for the project found that the congestion problems on the expressway resulted from its use for local trips. Over 80% of the people using the Gardiner got off downtown, creating backups at on- and off-ramps. So they are redesigning the streets to handle the traffic without the elevated expressway. The removal project will be completed for the 2008 Olympics. |
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