General Committee
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	Alan Brown, Director of Engineering
	PREPARED BY:	Ralph Ehlers, Capital Engineer
	DATE OF MEETING:	2005-Oct-17
	SUBJECT:	Region of York Individual Environmental Assessment Markham By-Pass from Hwy 407 to Morningside Road

RECOMMENDATION:

That the staff report entitled “Region of York Individual Environmental Assessment, Markham By-Pass from Hwy 407 to Morningside Avenue dated October 17, 2005 be received;

And that the recommended alignment developed through the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed four-lane arterial road between the Markham Bypass / Highway 407 interchange and Morningside Avenue be endorsed subject to the following conditions:

1. The Region report back to the Transportation Committee with an implementation plan, including any phasing requests;
2. The Region include in the EA report a Noise study addressing issues as it relates to residents on Rouge River Circle and Ridgevale Drive;
3. The Region include in the EA report the evaluation of Bridge Type options for the bridge over the Rouge River, including a single span option;

And that the Regional Municipality of York be requested to review with the Town of Markham construction of the 4 lane urban road from Highway 407 to the 9^th Line By-Pass as part of the Box Grove Phase 2 development.

And that Town staff be authorized to hold a Public Meeting when the Box Grove Developer submits an Official Plan Amendment and/or Rezoning Application for the location of a Service Station to the east side of the By-Pass, within the Box Grove Secondary Plan area.

And that Mr. B. Macgregor, Commissioner of Transportation and Works, Regional Municipality of York be advised accordingly.

PURPOSE:

This report seeks the endorsement of Council regarding the preferred alignment of the Markham By-Pass from Hwy 407 south to Morningside Avenue. The EA study was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Individual Environmental Assessment and recommends the preferred alignment for the Markham By-Pass as presented in the Region’s report of October 12, 2005 to the Transportation and Works Committee at the Region.

BACKGROUND:

The Region of York is nearing the completion of the Environmental Assessment for the Markham By-Pass from Hwy 407 south to Morningside Avenue and will file the EA Report for public review by December 31, 2005. The preferred alternative recommended is a multi-modal solution that combines various transportation strategies that include a base case of planned road network improvements, transit initiatives, TDM initiatives plus a new road in the Markham Bypass Corridor South of Highway 407.

A comprehensive public consultation process involving input from the public, adjacent landowners, provincial and public agencies has been followed in developing the preferred design. The Region and their consultant presented to the Town’s Transportation Committee on April 18, 2005 the study’s findings and recommendations.

A member of the Boxgrove Ratepayers Association wrote the Region’s consultant on June 22, 2005 expressing his concern over the impact on noise the preferred alignment will have on the properties on Rouge River Circle. He suggested that further noise tests be undertaken to analyse the noise impacts on Rouge River Circle specifically.

The Owner of the Parkview Golf Club expressed concern over the preferred alignment and the impact on the Golf Club. They requested the Region to meet with them to discuss options other than the preferred alignment which would impact less on the Golf Club.

A subsequent site visit and workshop with the Town, Region and owner of Parkview Golf Club took place on September 1, 2005 to review the alternative alignments in the field and discuss further options. After the site visit the workshop continued at the Town’s offices where the Region’s consultant presented the alternative options and their evaluation.

The Town received a letter from Box Grove Hill Developments Inc. to the Region on August 31, 2005 endorsing the preferred alignment subject to:

w The relocation of a proposed automobile Service Station to the east side of the By-Pass;

w The Service Station be provided with a full movements signalized intersection at Copper Creek Drive and the By-Pass;

w The Service Station be provided with a right-in right-out access at the north end of the site;

w A satisfactory layout for the service station can be accommodated on the proposed site;

w The proposed Service Station is not referred to the Ontario Municipal Board.

The owners of the Highcock property, on the east side of the preferred alignment attended the presentation on September 1, 2005 and are having further discussions with the Region and the Box Grove Developer regarding the alignment and the impact on their property.

Subsequent to the Workshop of September 1, 2005 it has become public that the owner of Parkview Golf Club has an agreement of purchase and sale with a developer to sell the Golf Course property with the intent to develop residential housing on part of the site. The Golf Club lands are designated Urban Residential and Hazard Lands in the Official Plan.

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:

Alternatives Evaluated

The Region’s project team developed and evaluated nine distinct alternative alignments and presented them to the public in April 2005. As part of the recent consultation with the public and stakeholders, most of the discussion and interest focused on four of the nine alternatives.

The preferred alternative and alternative A2 were reviewed further at a Workshop held on September 1, 2005 with the Region, Town and owner of Parkview Golf Club.

Public Consultation

The Region’s project team undertook the following consultation activities:

w PCCs on April 20, 2005 in Markham and April 21, 2005 in Scarborough

w Presentation to the Markham Transportation Committee on April 18 and June 20, 2005

w Presentation to the Toronto Works Committee on May 26, 2005

w Presentation at a July 13, 2005 public meeting organized by the Parkview Golf Club

w Presentation at a Markham Council Workshop on September 1, 2005 (included a site visit at the Parkview Golf Club to review road alignment alternatives).

One of the key conclusions reached during the recent public and stakeholder consultation and reported in the Region’s Committee report is that there are no easy answers and no one solution will satisfy all stakeholders. With any significant undertaking, there will be impacts to the natural environment as well as to area landowners, residents, businesses and the development community. The project team has focused on mitigating adverse impacts to the extent possible and to finding a fair balance between the interests of the various stakeholders.

Deadline For Filing the EA

The February 1999 Morningside Heights OMB Decision provided for a Morningside Avenue extension in a 36m right-of-way through part of the Morningside Heights lands in Toronto, with a condition that an EA study for the northerly extension to Steeles Avenue be submitted for approval by December 31, 2005, or that the Terms of Reference for such a study be submitted for approval by December 31, 2004. Failing such submissions, the further extension of Morningside Avenue to Steeles Avenue is to be finalized through the plan of subdivision process.

The Terms of Reference were submitted to the Ministry of the Environment on April 15, 2004 and approved on July 13, 2004, thereby satisfying one of the timing restrictions imposed by the OMB decision.

The deadline for submission of the final EA by December 31, 2005 is a critical deadline for this project. Should the submission of the EA not meet the prescribed deadline, the City of Toronto may proceed to define the corridor through plans of subdivision. As they have already identified a preference for a discontinuous corridor, it is likely that the development plans would be approved accordingly.

Recommended Alignment at Highway 407

The Markham Bypass has recently been constructed from Highway 407 to Highway 7 and includes a partial interchange with Highway 407 to and from the north. Once the Markham Bypass is extended to the south, there will be a need to complete the interchange to allow access to the highway from the south.

The additional ramps that will be required were not included in the EA undertaken for the Highway 407. In order to avoid having to do a separate EA for completion of this interchange, the missing ramps have been included in the EA for the Markham Bypass to Morningside Avenue Link. There is currently no funding commitment from the 407 ETR to construct these ramps and funds are not included in the Region’s DC Bylaw. A separate report to the October 17, 2005 General Committee on the matter has been submitted.

Recommended Alignment South of Highway 407 to the CP Rail

Immediately south of Highway 407, the proposed alignment impacts lands owned by Box Grove Hill Development Inc. and M. Highcock.

The Highcock property includes an old farmhouse occupied by the landowners along with barn structures near the west limit of their site. Their lands are designated Business Park in the Box Grove Secondary Plan. The landowners have attended all PCCs during the conduct of the EA and have emphasized their desire to continue residing on the property in the long term. They have also emphasized the desire to eliminate the road alignment from their lands or reduce the impact to the extent possible.

The alignment through the Box Grove Hill land falls within the Phase II Box Grove Secondary Plan development phasing. This area of the Box Grove Hill land has not been draft plan approved and must accommodate the final alignment of the Markham Bypass Extension in accordance with the Box Grove Secondary Plan (Markham OPA 92).

Representatives of Box Grove Hill Developments have also attended the PCCs for this project. They have identified concern with the alignment that was presented to Committee on April 18, 2005, and to the public on April 20 and 21, 2005. That alignment would impact approximately 12 proposed townhouse units, one proposed auto service centre and the size of one remnant parcel east of the alignment.

Following the input received by the adjacent landowners, the Region’s project team developed a refined alignment with the following key features:

· Provides acceptable geometry consistent with the design speed of the road and with the required MTO standards at the Highway 407 interchange.

· A revised alignment that impacts the west limit of the Highcock property but avoids impact to the barn structures.

· Impacts the landscape strip at the north-east edge of the planned townhouse development but should be accommodated without any loss of townhouse lots.

· Required relocation of the planned gas bar.

· Results in a 1.2 ha remnant block east of the Markham Bypass Extension.

The refined alignment has been developed in consideration of the comments received by both affected landowners and Box Grove Hill Development have endorsed such alignment subject to conditions previously mentioned.

The agreement by Box Grove Hill Developments is subject to the proposed auto service centre being relocated to the east of the bypass (utilizing the remnant parcel) and site access being provided to the bypass. Regional Staff have agreed, in principle, to access being provided to the bypass and will work with the Town of Markham and the developer through the usual re-zoning and Official Plan amendment approval process.

The Town’s Planning Department has not expressed objection to the relocation of the Service Station, however a Public Meeting is required for the Official Plan amendment and Rezoning application to properly consider the proposal.

Recommended Alignment at 14^th Avenue

The proposed alignment for the Markham Bypass and 14^th Avenue intersection includes an interim at-grade intersection and protection for an ultimate grade separated alignment where 14^th Avenue would go over both the Markham Bypass and the CP Rail line.

The proposed at-grade intersection includes a minor realignment of the Markham Bypass westerly to provide for a required 30m setback to the 14^th Avenue /CP Rail level crossing. The interim scenario also includes a realignment of 14^th Avenue to provide for improved intersection geometry on the east and west approaches to the Markham Bypass. The realignment of 14^th Avenue has also been developed to function as a detour allowing construction of a future grade separation over the Markham Bypass and the CP Rail when warranted and with minimal impact to traffic.

Currently there are approximately two trains per day on this CP Rail line which would not warrant grade separation with 14^th Avenue. The long-term plan for this CP Rail line is to include GO Train Service to the Pickering Airport and Seaton development area. With increasing train service and increasing traffic, the warrant for a grade separation is likely to ultimately be realized.

The EA for the Markham Bypass Extension has developed the future grade separation in sufficient detail to identify property limits to be protected within the Box Grove Development.

Recommended Alignment at the South End of Box Grove

At the south end of the Box Grove development area, a storm water management pond has recently been constructed as part of the Phase I development. The alignment presented to Committee on April 18th would result in the need to reconfigure this pond to accommodate the planned road.

In consultation with the Box Grove landowners, the Region’s project team developed a refined alignment in this area that minimizes the impact to the existing storm water management pond.

Recommended Alignment from Box Grove to Steeles Avenue (Segment 2)

At the south limit of Box Grove, the proposed alignment swings west past the existing 9^th Line alignment and crosses the Rouge River, approximately 150m south of an existing residential area (Ridgevale Drive and Rouge River Circle). The noise assessment undertaken as part of the EA has determined that noise mitigation is not warranted in accordance with the MTO/MOE Noise Protocol and the Region’s current Noise Policy. The Region is in the process of reviewing the current Noise Policy. At the time of detailed design, the noise impact associated with this project will be reviewed against the latest Noise Policy and mitigation will be included in the design if warranted. Further consultation with residents is required.

Recommended Alignment Through Villages of Fairtree East Draft Plan

Immediately north of Steeles Avenue, the proposed alignment runs generally parallel to the existing property line between the Parkview Golf Club and the planned Villages of Fairtree East subdivision (Forest Bay Homes Inc.). The preliminary draft plan of subdivision has been developed in consideration of potential alignments for the Markham Bypass Extension. The Recommended Alignment is different from what was assumed on the preliminary draft plan, however, the effects are considered minor. The Region is also reviewing a new refined alignment immediately north of Steeles Avenue to preserve an existing row of mature trees along the west limit of the Parkview golf coarse. Forest Bay Homes should be contacted by the Region to review the proposed alignment and are required to incorporate the alignment into the final plan of subdivision in accordance with the conditions of draft plan approval.

ISSUES

Implementation Through the Box Grove Secondary Plan

Through the Box Grove Community Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Box Grove Landowners will be constructing the 9^th Line Bypass as a four-lane urban cross section from the existing 9^th Line just south of the Highway 407 interchange to fully bypass the Hamlet of Box Grove and reconnect to the existing 9^th Line south of the Hamlet and just north of the CN Line / CP Line crossings.

A section of this 9^th Line Bypass has been identified in the EA as part of the Markham Bypass Extension to Morningside Avenue alignment and is planned to be constructed as part of the Phase 1 Box Grove Development.

The MOU also commits the Box Grove Landowners to the construction of the road link between the Markham Bypass / Highway 407 interchange and the 9^th Line Bypass as a two-lane Town of Markham road with a rural cross section. This road is currently proposed to be built in conjunction with Phase 2 of the Box Grove Development.

Rather than build this road as a two-lane rural cross section as envisioned in the MOU, the Region and the Town of Markham will investigate the opportunity to have it constructed as a four-lane urban road as part of the Phase 2 Box Grove Development (subject to final approval of the EA for the Markham Bypass to Morningside Avenue link). Construction of this road would provide a good quality continuous arterial connection from the Markham Bypass north of Highway 407 to the south limit of the Box Grove Secondary Plan where it would connect to the existing 9th Line, avoid future traffic distribution and reduce throw away costs.

Impact to Parkview Golf Club

The proposed alignment west of 9^th Line crosses an existing hydro corridor north of the CN Rail line before crossing under the rail. In this area, the proposed alignment impacts the existing Parkview Golf Club. The Parkview Golf Club includes a total of 36 holes on lands directly owned by the Club south of the CN Rail line and within the hydro corridor north of the CN Rail on lands leased from Ontario Realty Corporation.

The Owners of Parkview have identified significant concerns with the proposed road alignment through the golf course and the resulting impact on their business. The Region’s project team retained a golf course architect to develop concepts for reconfiguration of the course to accommodate the proposed road alignment and try to mitigate adverse effects. Although the concepts are feasible, there would still be a net effect on the overall course yardage and significant disruption during construction. Parkview continues to oppose any alignment through the course noting concerns with significant effects to their business during the construction phase with potential to impact the long term viability of the golf course.

The project team recognizes the potential impact to the Parkview Golf Course as the most significant adverse socio-economic effect of the Recommended Alignment. It is for this reason that staff recommend that Council endorse the proposed EA subject to finalization of an implementation plan including any phasing requirements.

Implementation of this segment of the overall alignment should be coordinated with the section south of Steeles Avenue to complete the continuous link from the Markham Bypass to Morningside Avenue. In the interim, the first segment through the Box Grove Secondary plan can be implemented and can rely on the existing 9^th Line connection to Steeles Avenue until the segment through the Parkview Golf Club can be implemented.

The section of the proposed road through the Parkview Golf Course includes a crossing of the Rouge River and the CN Rail, making it an expensive section to construct. If this section is staged with any future development of the Parkview lands, there are opportunities to reduce costs. In conjunction with land development, the right-of-way would be acquired in accordance with Regional policy for new road alignments (the first 20m of right-of-way dedicated free of cost and the remainder purchased at fair market value). There would also be an opportunity to coordinate overall road grading with the subdivision grading as well as construction of underground services and utilities.

Rouge River Bridge Crossing

The preferred alignment crosses the Rouge River south of Ridgevale Drive. The bridge would span the floodplain in this area. It has been indicated that the structure will span the watercourse with piers potentially in the floodplain. The Region will address the issue of bridge structure type and spans during their presentation on October 17, 2005. It is recommended that the Region include the evaluation of bridge type options, including number of spans, and a single span option for the preferred alignment along with the costs of these structures as part of the EA.

Financial Implications

There are no financial implications to the Town as a result of the Markham By-Pass South of Hwy 407 to Morningside Avenue Environmental Assessment or the preferred design. The Town of Markham, as per the June 2002 Memorandum of Understanding have included an allowance in the Town wide Development Charges By-Law and draft 2006 Capital Budget to expropriate if necessary property required for the Box Grove Developer Group to construct the two lane rural road from Hwy 407 to the Ninth Line By-Pass.

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment A, Region of York Report to Transportation Committee, October 12, 2005

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\2005\Oct\Markham By-Pass South Alignment Endorsement Report.doc