REPORT TO GENERAL COMMITTEE
TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
FROM:	Alan Brown, Director of Engineering
PREPARED BY:	Lloyd Fernandes, Senior Capital Works Engineer Allan Arbuckle, Manager of Infrastructure and Capital Works
DATE OF MEETING:	June 20, 2005
SUBJECT:	Highway 404 Mid-Block Crossing Between Highway 7 and 16^th Avenue Class Environmental Assessment

________________________________________________________________________________

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report entitled “Highway 404 Mid-Block Crossing between Highway 7 and 16^th Avenue Class Environmental Assessment dated June 20, 2005, be received;

AND THAT the preferred alternative for the mid-block crossing as described in this report be endorsed;

AND THAT Town engineering staff be authorized, in conjunction with the Region of York and the Town of Richmond Hill, to hold the final Public Consultation Centre during June 2005 to present the recommended alternative;

AND THAT any comments received during the final Public Consultation Centre be incorporated into the Environmental Study Report for the project,

AND THAT Town engineering staff, in conjunction with the Region of York and the Town of Richmond Hill, be authorized to file the Environmental Study Report for the mandatory 30 day review period.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s endorsement of the recommended alternative for a mid-block collector road crossing of Highway 404 between Highway 7 and 16^th Avenue.

BACKGROUND:

Mid-block crossings of Highway 404 were identified in the Markham Transportation Planning Study 2002 (June 2002). The transportation analysis undertaken as part of the MTPS indicated that crossings of Highway 404 would help to achieve a balanced distribution of traffic demand by providing capacity to the network without using all the available capacity of the adjacent arterial roads. This balanced distribution is important given that significant congestion is currently being experienced during peak period operations on the collector and arterial roads within the Highway 404 corridor. In addition, even with future improvements to the area roadways as outlined in the Regional and Town capital road plans, additional roadway capacity is required within the Highway 404 corridor to accommodate traffic generated from the build-out of currently undeveloped parcels of land and overall growth in the Region.

A mid-block collector crossing Highway 404 between Highway 7 and 16^th Avenue will provide a direct route to the Valleywood Business Park, Allstate Business Park, East Beaver Creek Business Park and will potentially reduce congestion on the adjacent arterial roads (Highway 7, 16^th and Woodbine Avenue and Leslie Street) by providing an alternative east-west connection between Richmond Hill and Markham.

In March 2003 Council authorized engineering staff to initiate an Environmental Assessment for a mid-block crossing between Highway 7 and 16^th Avenue. The study is a joint undertaking with the Region of York and the Town of Richmond Hill. The two-stage consultant selection process was initiated in November 2003 with the contract awarded to URS – Cole Sherman in March 2004.

DISCUSSION:

Recommended Alternative

Three corridors were assessed within the study limits. (Attachment “A”). Multiple alternatives have been analyzed for each of the three corridor including overpass and underpass options, horizontal and vertical alignments options, alternative connection options to the existing road networks, number of traffic lanes and intersection configurations.

The recommended alternative for the new mid-block crossing, which is illustrated in Attachment “B”, includes the following key components;

· A new four lane roadway including bike lanes connecting East Pearce Street in Richmond Hill to Centurian Drive in Markham

· An new overpass structure crossing Highway 404

· The installation of new traffic signals at the Allstate Parkway/Centurian Drive intersection;

· Reconfiguration of the existing storm water management ponds abutting Allstate Parkway;

· Relocation of the Seneca College access to connect to the new mid-block collector roadway

This alternative provides a number of benefits over the other alternatives investigated including ,

· Minimizes impact on existing and future development on lands abutting Highway 404 within the Town of Richmond Hill and the Town of Markham;

· Provides alternative access opportunities for adjacent lands (GWL properties, Seneca College) as well as other uses in the vicinity.

· Provides a continuous collector road from Leslie Street in Richmond Hill to Woodbine Avenue in the Town of Markham through connections to Centurian Drive in the Town of Markham and East Pearce in Richmond Hill.

Public Consultation:

The Municipal Class Environmental Assessment process requires that a minimum of two contacts with the public be provided. The first public consultation centre was held on June 2, 2004 with advertisements in the May 27^th and May 29^th editions of the Markham Economist and Sun as well as the May 27^th and May 30^th issues of the Richmond Hill Liberal. Meeting notices were delivered to all property owners (business and residences) by use of Canada Post Postal Code information and associated subareas, as well as approximately 900 direct mailings by way of assessment roll information both in the Town of Markham and the Town of Richmond Hill. External agencies were also contacted and their comments have been incorporated into the development and evaluation of the alternatives.

The first Public Consultation Centre, was conducted as an informal drop-in centre to introduce the project, identify existing traffic operations in the area, establish the need for improvement and provide justification for improvements given forecasts for the 10 and 20 year horizons. In addition, the three corridors which were identified for analysis and assessment were displayed. Project information including comment sheets and contact names were available for review at the June 2^nd meeting. A total of nine members of the public signed the (optional) sign-in sheets and a total of 10 comments were provided via email. In general a majority of the comments received were positive with broad support and acknowledgement for traffic improvements in the area.

The second Public Consultation Centre is scheduled for late June or July 2005 at which time the recommended alignment along with the assessment of the alternatives will be presented to the public. With input from the public and stakeholders as a result of the second public consultation centre, the recommended design will be finalized and details of the assessment, analysis and public consultation will be documented in an Environmental Study Report (ESR).

Separate meetings have also been held with individual property owners who would be directly impacted by all alignments. In the case of the recommended alignment, the two directly impacted landowners within the Town of Markham, Seneca College and GWL Realty Adjusters, have expressed support for the preferred alignment, in particular, with the ability of the preferred alternative to improve traffic operations for existing users and the benefits of improved property access for the undeveloped parcels of land in the area.

Upon completion of the report the ESR will be filed for the mandatory 30-day review period in accordance with the Municipal Class EA. The project schedule is to file the report in early August 2005.

Property Acquisition Required

The recommended alignment as indicated in Attachment “B” requires property from two adjacent Markham landowners, Seneca College and Great West Life (GWL) Realty Advisers. The portion of the land required for the right-of-way that falls within the Seneca College property limits is in the process of being transferred to the Town as a part of the Seneca College Site Plan application. The land required from the GWL property will need to be acquired through the negotiations, as a condition of a future Site Plan application for development of the property or through expropriation.

Other Area Network Improvements

The recommended alternative will provide a connection to Woodbine Avenue through Centurian Drive and improvements to this roadway (i.e widening to 4 lanes and intersection improvements) may be required in order to facilitate the anticipated increased flow of traffic easterly to Woodbine Avenue. Staff is recommending that the Town undertake a separate Environmental Assessment to determine the need for and nature of these improvements and that this Environmental Assessment commence in late 2005, subject to budget approval, to enable the proposed improvements to Centurian Drive to be implemented in conjunction with the construction of the mid-block crossing in 2007.

In addition to the mid-block collector, engineering staff have been investigating the potential for the construction of new roadways located opposite the Highway 404 off-ramps at Highway 7 (Attachment “C”). The construction of a new roadway opposite the easterly ramp (Road “A”) would provide a direct connection to the new mid-block collector road and will provide significant relief for east and westbound traffic on Highway 7 between Allstate Parkway and Leslie Street. The land required to construct this roadway is owned by Seneca College and will be transferred to the Town as a part of the Seneca College Site Plan application. A new roadway opposite the westerly Highway 404 off-ramp (Road “B”) would provide direct access to the Commerce Valley business area and an alternative connection to Leslie Street by way of Commerce Valley Drive and Minthorn Court. Discussions regarding these new roadways have been initiated with staff of the Region of York and the Ministry of Transportation and staff is recommending that the Town proceed with the preparation of an Environmental Assessment for these roadways in the fall of 2005 subject to budget approval.

Project Schedule

The tentative schedule established for the project calls for the preparation of detailed designs and the acquisition of property in 2006 and construction in 2007/2008.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The costs of the project are to be shared equally between the Town of Markham, the Town of Richmond Hill and the Region of York. The Town of Markham’s portion of the detailed design costs will be included in the Engineering Department’s 2006 Capital budget. A consultant selection process will be undertaken and the award of this assignment will be the subject of a separate report to Council in late 2005 or early 2006.

The estimated construction cost of the mid-block collector roadway is $15,000,000 exclusive of property costs and it is proposed that the Town of Markham, Town of Richmond Hill and the Region of York shall equally in the total cost of the project. A formal cost sharing arrangement will be negotiated with the Region of York and the Town of Richmond Hill as the project proceeds. The Town of Markham has included a total of $5.3 million for this project in the Town Wide Hard Development Charges.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

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

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment “A”- Alternative Corridors

Attachment “B” - Recommended Mid-block Collector Alternative

Attachment “C” - 404 ramp extensions

Alan Brown, C.E.T. Director of Engineering

Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Commissioner of Development Services