No major city on Earth is building an elevated expressway on its waterfront. So why is Toronto about to spend $1 billion to rebuild a 1.7-km crumbling Gardiner Expressway from Jarvis St. to the Don River? The current election is an ideal time to carefully reconsider this question.

In 2015 city council decided to endorse what was called a hybrid solution. The hybrid plan would spend about $1 billion to rebuild and maintain the elevated expressway to the north of the existing alignment away from the edge of the Keating Channel. This was a compromise but a very costly one. The preferred alternative is to replace the existing elevated expressway from Jarvis St. to the Don River with a grand urban boulevard, similar in scale to University Ave.

The business case in favour of the boulevard option is overwhelming. It will cost much less and generate more long-term revenue for the city. It saves approximately $500 million and frees up about 12 acres of public land for private sector investment on the waterfront.

It would also generate perpetual new tax revenue for the city from the development of a complete new mixed-use neighbourhood.

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Opposing view: Should the eastern Gardiner Expressway be torn down? No

In a time of fiscal restraint, it is irresponsible to spend an additional half a billion dollars for an inferior solution when we have so many other pressing financial needs. These dollars could help to build the much-needed waterfront light rapid transit line to serve the eastern waterfront or could eliminate half of the outstanding repair backlog of Toronto Community Housing.

Ironically, traffic is not the central issue. The Gardiner between Jarvis St. and the Don River is the least used portion of the expressway with only 3 per cent of all drivers accessing the downtown in this section. This amounts to about 5,000 vehicles in the peak hour. It is totally feasible to replace the elevated highway with a grand urban boulevard that is capable of accommodating similar traffic volumes.

Cities around the world have made the decision to remove elevated highways with positive results. New York is the best example. The elevated West Side Highway along the Hudson River from 57th St. to the financial district was removed and replaced with a 10-lane urban boulevard separated by a green median. The at-grade boulevard stimulated massive redevelopment of adjacent lands and has resulted in the creation of the Hudson River park running along the entire length of the road.

San Francisco, Portland and Seoul have all done the same thing. Fourteen other North American cities are currently debating expressway removal.

In 1999, Toronto decided to remove the eastern portion of the Gardiner from Leslie St. to Logan St. and replace it with an urban boulevard, new bike path and greenway. It was a major debate at the time but Torontonians who feared traffic chaos admitted that they were wrong.

THE BIG DEBATE: For more opposing view columns from Toronto Star contributors, click here.

This decision is about planning for the future of our city and not the past. Our waterfront will continue to grow. Removal of the elevated highway east of Jarvis St. would open up valuable public lands for the development of new neighbourhoods and allow for the extension of a water’s edge public promenade along the Keating Channel.

It would also facilitate new north-south connections between the downtown neighbourhoods and the new Villiers Island neighbourhood in addition to the re-naturalization of the Don River.

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It is essential for city council to think long-term. Over the next 50 years the 1,000 acre Port Lands will be developed for a full mix of residential, retail, employment, recreational and cultural uses. Rebuilding a 1960s style elevated expressway to service our waterfront makes no financial or city building sense.

Toronto’s newly elected council needs to demonstrate the foresight and political will to remove the elevated Gardiner east of Jarvis St. This is indeed a 100-year decision that is all about our future. A careful review of all the facts and the evidence for removal is essential.

The compete removal represents intelligent city building, responsible economics and wise transportation planning. It is time to plan for the future.

Paul Bedford, FCIP, RPP, is the former Toronto chief planner.

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