TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

TO:

Mayor and Members of Council

 

 

 

 

FROM:

Alan Brown, Director of Engineering

 

 

 

 

PREPARED BY:

Allan Arbuckle, Manager of Infrastructure & Capital Works

 

 

 

 

DATE OF MEETING:

2004-June- 21

 

 

 

 

SUBJECT:

Clegg Road Extension

South Town Center Boulevard to Warden Avenue

Class Environmental Assessment

 

RECOMMENDATION:

 

THAT the report entitled “Clegg Road Extension, South Town Center Boulevard to Warden Avenue, Class Environmental Assessment,” dated June 21, 2004 be received;

 

AND THAT the preferred alternative for the Clegg Road extension from South Town Centre Boulevard to Warden Avenue as detailed in the Environmental Study Report be endorsed;

 

AND THAT Engineering Department staff be authorized to file the Environmental Study Report for the 30-day public review commencing June 23, 2004.

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s endorsement of the preferred alternative for the extension of Clegg Road from South Town Center Boulevard to Warden Avenue.

 

BACKGROUND:

A number of previously prepared planning studies including the Markham Transportation Planning Study, the Markham Centre Transportation Assessment, the Markham Centre Transportation Study and the draft Markham Downtown Transportation Master Plan Study have recommended that a continuous collector roadway extending easterly from South Town Centre Boulevard to the future southerly extension of Sciberras Road be constructed as a part of the new Markham Downtown development.  This roadway, referred to as Riverside Drive, would lie between Highway 7 and the Rouge River and was initially envisioned as an extension of Cedarland Drive.

 

In May of 2002, the Town initiated a study undertaken by iTrans Consulting to investigate the feasibility of extending Clegg Road easterly from South Town Center Boulevard to Warden Avenue and aligning the future Riverside Drive with this Clegg Road extension rather than Cedarland Drive.  The study concluded that a Clegg Road extension was preferred over other road network options as it provided for a continuous mid block connection between Rodick Road and the proposed north-south roadways serving Markham Downtown (Birchmount Road and Sciberras Road), provided for improved connections to Warden Avenue and would improve levels of service on the local road network in the Markham Centre area.

 

 In July of 2003, the firm of Cansult Limited was retained to prepare a Class Environmental Assessment to confirm the conclusions of the feasibility study, to identify and evaluate alternatives for the Clegg Road extension and to identify and evaluate alternatives for the future configuration of the existing section of Cedarland Drive between South Town Centre Boulevard and Warden Avenue.

 

An Environmental Study Report which documents the study process and presents preferred design alternatives for the Clegg Road extension  and for Cedarland Drive have now been completed.

 

Property Acquisition

The construction of the Clegg Road extension in the preferred alignment will require the acquisition of property from two landowners, Liberty Developments and the Hilton Suites Hotel. The majority of the property required for the roadway will be acquired from Liberty Developments as a part of their current development application. The Town is requiring that this property be included on the Draft Plan for the Liberty development and dedicated to the Town as a condition of Draft Plan approval. As the preferred alternative for the design of Cedarland Drive includes a narrowing of the existing driving surface and road right-of-way, the opportunity exists to return the excess portion of the existing municipal right-of-way to Liberty Developments to offset in part the proposed Clegg Road dedication.

 

The Town has previously acquired property for the extension of the roadway from the hotel and will now require only a minor additional widening at the Warden Avenue intersection to accommodate the daylight triangle at the north-west corner of the intersection.

 

Public Consultation

In accordance with the requirements of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, a Public Information Centre was held on November 27, 2003.  Stakeholders, review agencies and affected property owners were invited to attend to review preliminary alternative alignments for the Clegg Road extension. Notice of this meeting was advertised in the local newspaper and delivered to all property owners in the study area. Three members of the public attended the meeting including representatives from the hotel and the owner of the property on the east side of Warden Avenue directly opposite the proposed Clegg Road intersection. Subsequent individual meetings have been held with other land owners directly affected by the proposed Clegg Road extension including a meeting with IBM and a number of meetings with representatives of Liberty Developments.

 

DISCUSSION;

Recommended Alternative

The recommended alternative for the alignment of the Clegg Road extension is shown on Attachment “B”.  The main components of the extension include the following:

·        A 24 metre wide right-of-way for Clegg Road with an urban cross-section having two through traffic lanes, a continous center turn lane, two 1.5 m bike lanes and auxiliary turn lanes at the Warden Avenue and South Town Center Boulevard intersection.

·        The reduction of the Cedarland Drive right-of-way from 26 to 21 metres and the reconstruction of the road to an urban cross-section having two through traffic lanes and a continuous centre turn lane.

·        The installation of traffic control signals at the proposed Clegg Road/Warden Avenue and the Clegg Road/South Town Center Drive intersections.

·        the removal of the existing signals at the Cedarland Drive/Warden Avenue intersection and the restriction of turning movements to right-in, right-out turns only through the construction of a center median on Warden Avenue.

 

Project Schedule

The Town’s 10-year Capital plan currently includes the detailed design of the Clegg Road extension in 2004 with construction scheduled to commence in 2005 subject to the timing of the construction of the initial phase of the Liberty development.

 

Future Activities

Pending Council’s endorsement of the Environmental Study Report (ESR) for the Clegg Road extension, the ESR will be filed for the 30 day review period commencing on June 23 2004. Notices of the Study completion will be placed in the local newspaper and delivered to all area landowners and reviewing agencies. During this review period, any person who objects to the proposed project may request the Ministry of the Environment to issue a “Part II Order” requiring the Town to complete an individual Environmental Assessment for the project. The Town would normally deal with any “Part II Order” request through negotiation with the person placing the request and/or applying to the Ministry to have the request denied. If no “Part II Order” requests are received, the Engineering Department will proceed with the implementation of the project in accordance with the schedule included in the Engineering Department’s 10 year capital plan.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The total cost for the construction of the Clegg Road extension is estimated at approximately $ 1.8 million including engineering and contingencies. The cost of constructing this road extension will be included in the Markham Centre Area Specific and Town Wide Development Charge by-laws.

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The Planning Department has reviewed this report and their comments have been incorporated.

 

ATTACHMENTS:

“A” Site Location

“B” Preferred Alternative

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alan Brown, C.E.T.

Director of Engineering

 

Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.

Commissioner of Development Services

 

Q:\Development\Engineering\REPORTS\2004\June\Clegg  Road Extension.doc