Mayor John Tory (open John Tory's policard), elected pledging to bring Toronto together as “One Toronto,” scraped out a 24-21 city council vote to save the east Gardiner Expressway for future generations.

To keep the 1.7-km overhead link to the Don Valley Parkway, rather than replace it with a waterfront boulevard, Tory had to woo two colleagues by agreeing to have city staff reconsider previously rejected options, including a traffic tunnel.

“This was a vote to keep congestion under control and to ensure our residents can get to work and home to their families in a reasonable time,” Tory said later, adding it will also open waterfront land for future development and jobs.

“It was also a difficult vote for this council. There were, and there are, deeply held views on all sides of this issue.”

Gardiner East vote breakdown

Gardiner East vs. Scarborough subway

Councillor Paula Fletcher (open Paula Fletcher's policard) deemed it “a very limp victory” for a mayor only six months into his term. The Ward 30 Toronto-Danforth representative joined all other downtown councillors in demanding the aging roadway be torn down. “I don’t think it’s a great start” for Tory’s term, she said, noting last week he was forced to reverse his position on police carding.

Tory, however, said deeply held Gardiner opinions are “nothing new.”

“It means we have more work to do, but, you know, I didn’t think that we’d be able to come down here as mayor — that I’d be able to — and in six months, sort of, eliminate historic, difficult, long-standing issues that had been difficult before.”

Council’s approval is one of many steps that, if everything goes smoothly including provincial approval of the environmental assessment, would see construction start in 2019.

Costing $336 million in capital costs and $919 million when you factor in 100-year maintenance, the hybrid would resurface the deck to the DVP and replace the ramps to Logan Ave. with a boulevard east of the Don River. New ramps would be built at Cherry St. Lake Shore Blvd. E. would be reconfigured.

Council also agreed to have staff reconsider objections to the original hybrid that moved the Gardiner north near the railway corridor, and to replacing the east Gardiner with a tunnel. That won Tory the votes of councillors John Campbell (open John Campbell's policard) and Jim Karygiannis (open Jim Karygiannis's policard) and will bring the Gardiner back to public works committee in September.

If those previously undecided councillors had voted against the hybrid motion, or one of them plus another wild card such as Giorgio Mammoliti (open Giorgio Mammoliti's policard), it would have failed. Councillor Rob Ford (open Rob Ford's policard), recovering from cancer surgery, arrived in a red track suit to reject against both options and be the lone vote to keeping the expressway as is.

The emotional meeting capped highly charged campaigns by advocates of both the hybrid and boulevard options.

The debate boiled down to those, led by Tory and an industry coalition, arguing the top factor was limiting the increase in motorist commute times, fighting those, led by the local councillors and the city’s most prominent planners, focused on turning derelict waterfront into a new community.

Boulevard proponents also argued the lower cost — $240 million to build and $461 million long-term — could free up big money for transit expansion.

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Jane Robinson, a West Don Lands committee member, said the hybrid with its new ramps would erase almost a decade of effort to create a beautiful neighbourhood.

“We’ve been working really hard on the planning for all of those developments and this is like a stab in the heart,” she said.

Her councillor, Pam McConnell (open Pam McConnell's policard), said the fight is just beginning. She foresees a required change to Toronto’s official plan that could trigger an Ontario Municipal Board challenge, legal challenges from property owners, and, at the end of it all, a risk the environment minister will reject the plan or demand changes.

Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong (open Denzil Minnan-Wong's policard), however, said council has spoken. He noted a separate vote to approve the boulevard option failed 19-26.

“That is not a close vote,” he said. “That is a clear statement that the remove option was not supported by this council.”

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