More than a third of Torontonians, 36 per cent, would like to see the east end of the Gardiner Expressway maintain its direct connection to the Don Valley Parkway.

That’s the finding of a poll by Forum Research conducted Friday through Tuesday.

Only 28 per cent of respondents preferred to see the Gardiner east of Jarvis replaced by an at-grade boulevard.

But once the issue of relative cost was factored into the poll question, support for the boulevard increased.

Told of the comparative cost of each option — the poll did not provide exact figures — support was evenly split, with 34 per cent each in favour of the boulevard and the direct link to the Don Valley.

The latter is the most expensive option, estimated by the city to cost $919 million, compared to $416 million to turn the Gardiner east of Jarvis into an eight-lane road.

The poll did not provide numbers because, without knowing how the figures translate into property tax, they would be a “quasi-abstract” notion to many respondents, said Forum president Lorne Bozinoff.

“They (respondents) are saying, ‘I know it costs more, but I think it’s worth it,” said Bozinoff on Thursday.

The option that maintains the direct link to the DVP “is like having your cake and eating it too,” he said.

“It gets repaired when it’s rebuilt, and the city looks better because the eastern end is torn down. For people who drive on the Gardiner, it maintains their convenience. The downside is the cost, but there are some positives people would think about,” said Bozinoff.

Repairing and maintaining the elevated stretch east of Jarvis — an option that the city appears to have taken off the table — got the least support. Only 21 per cent preferred it to the other ideas, though once cost was mentioned, the idea got slightly more approval at 24 per cent.

Maintaining the road as it is, has been estimated to cost about $870 million.

Support for the boulevard option was significantly stronger downtown.

Forty-five per cent of Toronto and East York residents favoured replacing the east Gardiner with the boulevard. But in Scarborough, only 22 per cent preferred that option. In Etobicoke and York, 29 per cent approved the boulevard, while 35 per cent of North York respondents supported it.

Forty-one per cent of Etobicoke/York respondents favoured the new link to the Don Valley compared with 27 per cent in downtown.

“What that means is that the suburban politicians will be under a lot of pressure to maintain it,” said Bozinoff.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Among respondents who supported Mayor John Tory (open John Tory's policard) in the last election, 42 per cent approved of the boulevard option and 34 per cent approved of the link to the DVP. Tory hasn’t said which Gardiner solution he favours.

The interactive telephone poll of 822 residents is considered accurate within 3 per cent 19 times out of 20.

Read more about: