Report to: General Committee Date of Meeting: June 19, 2006

SUBJECT: Hwy 7 and 9^th Line Reconstruction

PREPARED BY: Alan Brown, Director of Engineering, ext. 7507

RECOMMENDATION:

That the engineering report entitled “Hwy 7 and 9^th Line Reconstruction” dated June 19, 2006 be received;

And that the Region of York be requested to defer the reconstruction and widening of the section of Hwy 7 from approximately Village Parkway to Sciberras Road from 2007/2008 to a mutually agreed upon schedule;

And that the Region of York be requested to defer reconstruction and widening of the 9^th Line from Hwy 407 to approximately Roseway Drive from 2006/2007 to 2007/2008;

And that the Town and the Region of York work expeditiously to address outstanding access, servicing and infrastructure financing matters (as applicable), in consultation with area landowners, in order to allow the required Hwy 7 and 9^th Line Reconstruction projects to proceed as soon as possible;

And that the Region of York be requested to implement on-street dedicated bike lanes on Highway 7 as part of the design and construction for the widening of Highway 7 from Montgomery Court to Sciberras Road at their cost.

And that Bruce MacGregor, Commissioner of Transportation and Works, Region of York, be advised accordingly.

1. Purpose 2. Background 3. Discussion 4. Financial

5. Others (Environmental, Accessibility, Engage 21st, Affected Units) 6. Attachment(s)

PURPOSE:

To address the appropriate timing of the Hwy 7 and 9^th Line reconstruction projects by the Region of York, given the outstanding related requirements and infrastructure costs.

BACKGROUND:

Hwy 7 Reconstruction

The Region of York has scheduled the reconstruction and widening of Hwy 7 ( 5 to 7 lanes) from Montgomery Court to Sciberras Road for 2007/2008. There are a number of outstanding issues related to Hwy 7 east of Village Parkway that warrants the deferral of the easterly section of the road widening (east of Village Parkway) in this area.

These issues relate to;

· Need for Town of Markham to construct sanitary sewers (± $2 million) from Main Street Unionville to Village Parkway to service lands north and south of Hwy 7

· Need for a storm outfall for Hwy 7 east of Village Parkway to a future Stormwater Management Facility in the Sheridan/Lonsmount lands

· Property required from Sheridan Nurseries and Lonsmount Construction Limited to enable the ultimate Stormwater Management Facility and storm outfall to be built

· Concerns regarding the cost to build interim storm outfall and Stormwater Management Facility on Sheridan lands ($800,000) that will be redundant once the ultimate storm system is in place

· Upfront financing by developers for the sanitary and storm related works noted above, is still outstanding

· Need to maintain a separate full turn movement truck entrance for Sheridan to Hwy 7 which would be compromised with the proposed median construction in the proposed 7 lane cross section

· Impact on property owners east of Village Parkway regarding restricted access with reconstruction of Hwy 7 and construction of the median, pending area redevelopment and alternative, internal access arrangements.

Staff have reviewed these issues with the Region and it is recommended that Hwy 7 not be reconstructed and widened east of Village Parkway until these matters are resolved, in consultation with area landowners and the Region.

Upon resolution of the above issues the Region would complete the balance of the road work to Sciberras Road.

The Environmental Assessment for the Highway 7 widening project (Montgomery Court - Sciberrras Road) shows an off-road bike facility on the south side of Highway 7 from Warden Avenue to Sciberras Road. At the time of completion of the EA study, Markham’s Cycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (CPAC) had not been formed. During the EA process, staff responded to the Region stating further discussions were required with our CPAC at the detailed design stage to review whether or not on-road bike lanes should be considered. Upon further review of Markham’s bike master plan and a review of the cycling needs and operational issues, the CPAC recommended on-road bike lanes for this section of Highway 7 for the following reasons:

• It will be difficult to extend the off-road facility beyond this project area due to the significant property impacts.
• There are several signalized intersections proposed along Highway 7 and cyclists would be required to dismount and walk across the pedestrian crossings.
• There are alternative parallel routes available for cyclists that are not comfortable riding on Highway 7.
• It will be difficult to integrate an off-road bike facility with the future vision of an urban pedestrian oriented boulevard across the Markham Centre frontage.
• The Region is considering on-road bike lanes as part of their draft 6-lane road standards study to be funded by the Region.

Based on the above noted issues staff recommend the Region provide at their cost, on street dedicated bike lanes as part of the Hwy 7 reconstruction from Montgomery Court to Sciberras Road.

9^th Line

The Region will be tendering the reconstruction and widening of 9^th Line (2 to 4 lanes) from Hwy 407 to the Markham By-pass this July. The Region has advised that as Hwy 7 is under the jurisdiction of the MTO they require a permit and that the Ministry will not permit storm runoff over a 5 year storm event to flow overland across Hwy 7. This would require piping major flows from north of Hwy 7 to the Cornell Stormwater Management Facility at Hwy 407.

Preliminary estimates of this cost to pipe the major flow are in the $3 million range. The Region has advised that based on the upstream drainage areas the cost would be apportioned as follows:

Region of York (9^th Line ROW) $ 430,000

Town of Markham (lands west of 9^th Line) $1,292,000

Markham-Stouffville Hospital $ 518,000

Cornell Developers $ 776,000

Total $3,015,000

Staff have advised the Region that Markham and the Markham-Stouffville Hospital costs for this work is not acceptable and alternative options must be considered to reduce any financial obligations which can not be funded under development charges.

Accordingly we recommend the Region defer the construction of 9^th Line from Hwy 407 to Roseway Drive from 2006/2007 to 2007/2008 to enable staff to pursue more economical solutions to the overland flow issue.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

Not Applicable

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE:

Not Applicable

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The Planning Department has reviewed and commented on this report. Planning and Engineering staff will work with area landowners to resolve the outstanding access, servicing and infrastructure financing matters, as applicable, on a priority basis.

RECOMMENDED BY:

_______________________________ ______________________________

Alan Brown, C.E.T. Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P

Director, Engineering Commissioner, Development Services

ATTACHMENTS:

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Q:\Development\Engineering\REPORTS\2006\June\Hwy 7 and 9th Line Reconstruction.doc