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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSD-059-09~~ W~~~~ REPORT PLANNING SERVICES Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE , 4~~esolu~ion#~ ~~`70~~09 Date: Monday, June 15, 2009 Report #: PSD-059-09 File #: Pln 23.2.7 By-law #: Subject: GO TRANSIT RAIL SERVICE EXPANSION TO BOWMANVILLE: ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: THAT Report PSD-059-09 be received for information. Submitted by: RH/DJC/df t0 June 2009 i'~G ~ Reviewed by: David Crome, MCIP, RPP Franklin Wu, Director of Planning Services ~ Chief Administrative Officer CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L1C 3A6 T (905)623-3379 F (905)623-0830 REPORT NO.: PSD-059-09 PAGE 2 1. GO Transit, now merged with Metrolinx, is proceeding with an Environmental Assessment for the extension of rail service to Bowmanville under the transit priority environmental assessment process. This is an expedited environmental assessment process similar to private sector projects. A transit priority EA requires the proponent to identify a project and undertake the environmental assessment process for that proposed project. Not all alternatives have to be studied as was done for Highway 407 (eg. alternative means such as roads and alternative .routes do not have to be evaluated). Furthermore from the Notice of Commencement, there is only a 4 month timeline to complete and submit the Study documents and a 6 month timeline for the Minister to make a decision. The Transit Priority EA process was developed only for transit due to the environmental benefits of transit projects for reducing traffic congestion and air pollution, improving quality of life, managing sustainable growth .and improving the business climate. If the Minister does not make a decision within 6 months, the project is approved. 2. As a result of the fixed 6 month timeframe, the study for the extension of GO Rail service to Bowmanville is being carried out in three phases: ^ The Feasibility Study to determine whether the CP or the CN lines would be used ^ The Pre-Consultation Period where initial work can be undertaken and views canvassed on the issues ^ The actual EA process 3. The Feasibility Study (executive summary attached) prepared by AECOM considers what has changed since 1994, as well as what is involved to extend service eastwards to Bowmanville. Both the CN and CP corridors were reviewed again to identify any new opportunities. The Feasibility Study identified two alternative route locations or twinning options: (1) twinning the CN line south of Highway 401; and (2) twinning the CP line north of Highway 401. Despite the additional costs and complications, the CP line was selected as the preferred alternative because its location is closer to core areas for future growth, it provides easier access to regional transit connections, and it allows for an increased number of alternative sites along the corridor, while the CN corridor alternative appears very likely to generate adverse road traffic impacts as the station sites would be located away from the populated areas. the CP alternative can be best implemented through a proposed CN-CP connection east of Thickson Road. The GO Transit Board (now. amalgamated with Metrolinx) accepted and approved the recommendations of the consultant to use the CP corridor. Challenges associated with the preferred CP alternative will include selecting preferred station locations, determining a preferred train layover site, addressing environmental features (i.e. creeks and wetlands) and constructing a new 401 bridge crossing connecting the GO Transit and CP corridors. REPORT NO.: PSD-059-09 PAGE 3 4. I attended a early consultation meeting with the consultants for the next steps in the EA. While the Feasibility Study examined the possibility of an Eastern Heavy Maintenance Facility along the Oshawa to Bowmanville stretch of the corridor, GO Transit selected a site in Whitby for this purpose. The Heavy Maintenance Facility is approximately an 80 acre site to handle all maintenance activities, including painting and washing. The site carried forward in the EA is shown on Attachment 3. 5. Six alternative station sites from the current terminus ih Oshawa to Bowmanville are to be evaluated with the likelihood that 3 stations sites will be selected for the immediate term. The alternative station sites in Clarington are: Courtice Road, Bowmanville West Town Centre or Lambs Road station (Attachments 2A, 26 and 2C). In addition, a rail layover site is required for the evening storage of trains, similar to the current facility just west of the Whitby GO station. Two potential sites have been identified for the layover: the first site is between Prestonvale Road and Trulls Road South and the second site is between Solina Road and Rundle Road. 6. GO Transit, and their consultants AECOM, has scheduled and advertised three Public Open Houses for the study (Attachment 3). The Open Houses will provide participants with an opportunity to review background information and conceptual plans for the proposed rail service expansion. The following sessions will be held: June 17 Thursday, June 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ~ 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ~ 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ~ Durham College Whitby Campus 1610 Champlain Avenue Whitby, ON L1N 6A7 Holiday Inn 1011 Bloor Street East Oshawa, ON L1 H 7K6 Complex Multi-Purpose Hall 2440 Highway 2 Bowmanville, ON L1C 1K5 7. Related to this EA for extension of rail service to Bowmanville, Metrolinx has initiated a study on the electrification of the GO Transit system as a future alternative to diesel trains. The first priority for electrification is the Lakeshore line. Any design for the rail extension to Bowmanville will include design parameters to readily allow for the future electrification of the line. Attachments: Attachment 1 - Attachment 2A- Attachment 2B - Attachment 2C - Attachment 3 - Attachment 4 - Feasibility Study Executive Summary Courtice Bowmanville West Bowmanville East Public Open House Invitation Presentation to Stakeholders Group -June 3, 2009 Attachment 1 co r~z~sn To Report PSD-059-09 Feasi6 iEity Study for Os hzwa fast Track Ezten~icn and Flew Rail f;9a inte nznce racflity _ .-_ Executive Summary In December 1993, GO Transit completed an Environmental Assessment Report titled "GO Train Service Expansion Program -Oshawa West to Oshawa East Study'. In early 1994, GO Transit received approval of the Environmental Assessment for the extension of train service over the CP rail corridor and a new connection between the CN and CP corridors. GO Transit is now interested in proceeding with this plan ,and extending it further to include service to Bowmanville. This Feasibility Study considers what has changed in the intervening years as well as what is involved to extend service eastwards to Bowmanville. Both the CN and CP corridors are reviewed again to identify any new opportunities. GO Transit. plans to proceed with an Environmental-Assessment study to evaluate the preferred alternative recommended in this feasibility study. This study expands on the 1993 study and develops three options for interconnection between the GO Subdivision and the CP corridor. On the CP corridor six possible station sites are identified as well as three rail maintenance facility sites. On the CN corridor six station sites are identified along with iwo rail maintenance facility sites. Each corridor has its own logistical issues and benefits. The municipalities. affected by this extension of GO train service have unanimously indicated that they are very much in favour of this GO train service extension. They prefer that the service be extended over the CP corridor as this option will best fit with their efforts in land use development, meeting the Province's mandates for land use intensification and better transit support to their communities. The communities see the GO train service extension as a catalyst for the development of and improvements to neighbourhoods around the proposed stations and better access to their central locations. They plan to use some of these GO stations as mobility hubs to facilitate transit.mode intersections and to augment bicycle'and pedestrian access to the GO system and other transit serving these hubs.. To select a preferred alternative, AECOM looked at each corridor separately, and as a subset of each corridor, considered the station optio`hs and`the rail maintenance facility options from the perspective of eight criteria. • Socio-economic. impacts • Proximity impacts • Impact on future Land use in the area • Patron access and egress to the Stations • Impacts to roads and traffic in the surrounding area • Environmental impacts • Probable Costs • Logistical challenges. In addition, we looked at the municipalities' efforts in their planning and development along with their stated preferences and reasons. We found that the preferred alternative supports the provincial and municipal objectives of land use intensification and improved transit planning. The municipalHies anticipate that new GO train service can improve transit interaction, stimulate improvement of local streetscapes, and improve the land use planning in an effort to meet the provincial goals set for these communities. RPT~EO]3-081-0POSlie+ie Feasihiliry 5 W Ey-F W PLL96123.Oac AECOM • Feasibility This study has determined that both the CN and the CP corridors are feasible alternatives to extend the GO service to Bowmanville. Significant or Unusual Challenges We have identified three noteworthy issues for this initiative: 1. Anew track connectino the GO Transit and CP corridors will need to be constructed for an extension along the CP corridor. That connection involves two challenges: it must cross Highway 401 and it will interfere with CP's service to the GM auto plant. In this report we have proposed three alternatives for crossing, including an underpass (per the 1993 EA), a new bridge crossing parallel to CP's existing GM Spur, and a new bridge crossing to the west of Oshawa Station (near Thickson Road). All of these. alternatives require costly and complex structures, property acquisition, Highway 401 traffic staging, coordination/approval from MTO, and some re-arrangement of CP trackage in the area of the GM Spur connection. 2. Oshawa Station must be significantly modified to suit whichever alternative is selected. The modifications will include some, or in some instances all, of the following: coordination with VIA service, reconstruction of the station building, pedestrian tunnels/overpasses, reconstruction of platforms, reconstruction of parking lot and bus loop, or complete replacement of the station on a new site. The modifications are necessary to suit either the track connection to the CP corridor or the extension of the existing GO Subdivision tracks along the CN corridor. 3. There are four, or more, locations where the new corridor will impact features of the natural environment such as creeks and wetlands. While this is not unusual for GO corridor. expansion projects, such impacts complicate the EA and approval process and often necessitate complex mitigative measures. Probable Cost The probable costs for the corridors are $321 million for CP, and $260 million for CN, excluding equipment, operations, and property acquisition. • Project Schedule Assuming that Phis project continues uninterrupted, and that the EA process begins by April of 2009, then we estimate that the track can be in-service by Ot of 2013. • .Recommendations We recommend the CP corridor despite the fact that it is more costly and complex. In our opinion, it presents the best overall service to the community. The development of this corridor will provide the best benefit to the communities, enabling them to continue to meet the Province's goals while receiving an excellent commuter rail connection to the rest of the GTA. We suggest that this CP altemative can be best implemented through the proposed CN-CP connection, just to the east of Thickson Road. The CN corridor alternative appears very likely to generate adverse road traffic impacts as the station sites would be located away from the populated areas.. T J Q.C.. w.a e , __------~-,- _ ~____ _y G - ___..___._ ____ - ___ H V __ ~ _. - ___ _ _ -_, __~awwm~___ , „ W Q I I I ~ _ _____ _ I - - - ~ I i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ p _.~ i ~ pO ~ , ~ N m __'~--~--_ _~ j y -„' ~ 2 ~ m ~, O y Z I ~ o I h ~ , ~ ~ W O W ~ ~ (- - ~ a ~ // i x H ' I I N U i. a Ii J F ~ I ~ `~ ~ a ~i ~ ~ '~ _~ i m N ~ W Q LL r ~ O i ~, _ 4 __. ' ` I i i Z 3 £W 1 ~ 0 ~ 1 ~r I I ~~ x ~ Q ~-- N 3 I s 3 Y F_ Ii _ ~ ~ ~ a ~ & ~ ., a V AttachmentZA o Report PSD-059-09 - ~- ~ ~ ., ~ Attachment 2B ~~- ~ t - fix. ~~ `~~ To Report PSD-059-09 =~k -~ i -- t ~ , , i:~,, , F _ _- ~ , L ~ .C~ yG~ w ,.- ~--. i ~ a ~ ..(~ ; ~ ~ :~l ~~` ,. ~f ry~ a ,~` * O -~ ~ -~.. <., ~ ~ i ~ _~ ,, ~ _ L ~~ f 1 ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ' ~ ' ,p ~ ~ > 1Qi ~ q ~ 2. S t +., ° I /// 4' ! ~ a Y Y J 5 a, 4 i/ s ~ i i• 5 ,_ a ~ ~ ~ ~ Z ~ / ~ ~ `bl y ' 2 ' i W i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~. } F m a Q W W LL 2 z z a ~ ~ z m ¢ ~ ~~' e ~~ m Z '+'`~V .'o ty ~ ~ ~ 1 ~ ~ ~ 8 ' ; 'C(~, a n g°`~r. A~ ~~~ Z,,-.. Q Yom, ~e r _ ~' F- ~~ N i ~ // ~~.~ +x''1,1 .~~ a v ~ i ~~ d' a ~~ ~ ~,.. ® - Attachment 2C To Report PSD-059-09 PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE Attachment 3 To Report PSD-059-09 RAIL EXPANSION OF SERVICE FROM OSHAWA TO BOWMANVILLE TOWN OF WHITBY, CITY OF OSHAWA AND THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON BACKGROUND GO Tra nsit, the Province of Ontario's interregional public transit service for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas, has carried out a feasibility study forthe extension of the Lakeshore East rail line from Oshawa to Bowmanville. The purpose of the study was to confirm the feasibility of expanding rail services by twinning the existing Canadian Pacific Railway {CPR) rail line and to identify possible locations to build new stations, layover sites along the corridor and one heavy rail maintenance yard just west of Thickson Rd. OPEN HOUSE GO Transit, in partnership withAECOM Canada Ltd., has scheduled three Public Open Houses for the study. The Open Houses will provide participants with an opportunity to review background information and conceptual plans for the proposed rail service expansion. We welcome your input and attendanceatone of the following sessions: DATE: Tuesday, June 16,2009 TIME: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. LOCATION: Durham College Whitby Campus 1610 Champlain Avenue Whitby ON Lt N 6A7 Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Thursday, June 18, 2009 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Holiday Inn Garnet B. Rickard 1011 Bloor Street East Recreation Complex Oshawa Multi-Purpose Hall ON L1 H 7K6 244D Hwy. 2 Bowmanvi I le, ON L1 C 1 K5 COMMENTS If you are unable to attend one of the above sessions and would like to provide comments, please contact: Mr. Alan D. MacDougall Senior Railway Project Manager AECOM Canada Ltd. 5080 Commerce Blvd. Mississauga, ON L4W 4P2 Te1.: 905-238-0007 Fax:905-238-0038 E-mail: alan.macdougall@aecom.com Mr. Andreas Grammenz EA Project Leader GO Transit 20 Bay Street, Suite 600 Toronto, ON M5J 2W3 Tel.: 416-869-3600, eM. 5524 Fax:416-869-1563 E-mail: Andreas.Grammenz@gotransit.com Comments and information regarding this study are being collected to assist in meeting the requirements of the Environmental AssessmentAct. This material will be maintained on file for use during the project and may be included in project documentation. Information collected will be used in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act With the exception of personal information, all comments will become part of the public record. The legal authority for this collection is the GO Transit Act 2001, c23, Schedule A, s.9111• Pour plus de renseignements, veuillez composer le (416) 869-3200 ou le 1 888 GET ON GO (438-6646). ,,Z ~Mr METROLINX unm rune ,o nuee • ee r r. An epency otihe Govenenent of Onb,ia The study limits extend from west of Thickson Rd. in Whitby to Darlington Clarke Townline Road/Regional Road 42 in Clarington. ~~©, Attachment 4 To Report PSD-059-09 ^^,, -E--+ ~''O^^ W . V! ~_ O U ^ i ~_ .? ~ U >S W ~ ° ~ cn ~ p (n O Q ~? o ~; ~ ~ CV ~ ~ ~ T- _ ~ ~ O ~ o o ~ ~ 1- ~ ° ~ `- ~ Q ~ c~ ~ c~ ~ ~ ~ ~ cC~ ~ ~ c°~ ® ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ o w °o ~ ~ o ~ TQ ~ ~ ~ +~ ® ~ ~ ~ ~ ~s . . a~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ® j= D.. ,.~~- ~r e4 } ,i is i~~ a~ E 0 U a~ O •~ ^, W W ~ + + /^ , / O ~ o ~, O C V W ~ O ~. 2 ~' ; ~~i RR, y0arbn m ;~Bra99 Rd. _ ~ cY C~ 2~ W ~ ~tamtia ru '. a s .t • ~ t R. 7 : • t •1 Goren -" $ • ~a • Ot va Rd• ~ s ~ z Mapw ; ~ olt Rd. z a w g ;,a,. Ra. U 't r In F I~R Y Ra ' g a' cw is aa. F W _ irv is Ra. 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