FINANCE & ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	Catherine M. Conrad, Town Solicitor
	PREPARED BY:	Brian G. Varner, Manager of Real Property Arup Mukherjee, Manager of Transportation
	DATE OF MEETING:	2004-Jun-28
	SUBJECT:	Thornlea High School Proposed New Access Road Over City of TorontoReservoir Lands 8127 Bayview Avenue, Markham

RECOMMENDATION:

That Council authorize the Mayor and Clerk to enter into a cost sharing arrangement with the York Region District School Board to assist the Board with the annual cost of a License Agreement with the City of Toronto and the capital construction cost of a new access road from the east side of Bayview Avenue to Thornlea School and the Town’s recreational facilities over the City’s reservoir lands, in a form that is satisfactory to the Chief Administrative Officer and the Town Solicitor;

And that funding for this project will be provided for from closed capital projects, to be identified in the 2004 update on the status of capital projects;

And that the 2005 Recreation and Culture operating budget include an amount for the annual land License fee based on the agreement between the York Region District School Board and the Town.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to request Council’s approval for staff to enter into a cost sharing arrangement with the York Region District School Board (“the Board”) for a proposed License Agreement for use of City of Toronto lands and the cost of constructing a new, signalized access road to the Thornlea High School site that includes a Town owned swimming pool facility and to Town owned sports fields constructed on the adjacent City of Toronto reservoir lands.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The Town will provide financial assistance to the York Region District School Board with respect to a License Agreement for land and construction of a new signalised access road to the Thornlea High School and the Town’s recreational facilities on the Thornlea High School site over the adjacent City of Toronto reservoir lands.

BACKGROUND:

Traffic and safety concerns on Willowbrook Road

Traffic congestion and safety issues at the intersection of Willowbrook Road/Bayview Avenue have been a long standing concern for the community. The westbound approach of this intersection has a left turn lane and a shared through/right turn lane.

This intersection is one of only two egress points for the community along Willowbrook Road and provides the only direct access to the arterial road system for the community which contains approximately 1300 households. As a result, there are heavy turning movements at this intersection during the peak hours.

High school traffic affects operations on Willowbrook Road

Thornlea High School is located on the east side of Bayview Avenue north of Willowbrook Road. The two accesses to the high school are not signalized thereby making if very difficult for motorists to exit the school. Many parents use Willowbrook Road as a default drop-off area and then proceed to use the traffic signals to access Bayview Avenue. As a result of this activity, there are significant operational and safety issues near the intersection. Staff recorded almost 180 vehicles dropping off students and 32 U-Turns on Willowbrook Road within 150 metres of the intersection. In addition, there were 28 U-Turns recorded on Westborough Drive which is the first roadway running south from Willowbrook Road east of Bayview Avenue. This activity combined with the heavy demands at the intersection result in significant delays and safety concerns along Willowbrook Road approaching Bayview Avenue.

Signals installed at Dunsinane Road/Bayview Avenue

In response to the community concerns, staff initiated discussions with the School Board and the Region of York in 2000. Several options were reviewed to improve traffic operations along Willowbrook Road. At that time, the Region was in the process of removing a pedestrian refuge island located on Bayview Avenue north of the high school. Based on detailed studies undertaken by Town staff, the Region was satisfied that signals would be warranted at the intersection of Dunsinane Road/Bayview Avenue if the high school constructed an access road on the east side to form a 4-leg intersection. Given the safety concerns of high school students crossing Bayview Avenue, Region of York installed the traffic signals at the Dunsinane Road/Bayview Avenue intersection in anticipation of a new access road on the east leg.

New access road will improve operations

The new access road will provide safe and efficient egress from the high school and recreational facilities. It will also provide the opportunity to accommodate all drop-off activities on the school site. Once this opportunity is provided, Town staff will proceed to restrict stopping along Willowbrook Road and will work with York Regional police and the Town’s By-law enforcement section to target enforcement in this area. These prohibitions were not implemented earlier because it was determined that strict enforcement along Willowbrook Road without a reasonable alternative would result in shifting the problem to other local roads in the community such as Westborough Drive. As part of the changes to encourage parents to use the school site for drop-off activity, the School Board has agreed to close the pedestrian access from Willowbrook Road immediately east of Bayview Avenue. This will discourage drop-off activity along Willowbrook Road.

Agreements required with City of Toronto

The proposed access road would enter and cross over reservoir lands owned by the City of Toronto. The York District Region School Board made initial contact with the City of Toronto Real Estate and Facilities Department about entering into a License Agreement for a parcel of land to accommodate the proposed access road.

Following discussions between Town staff and the Board, the Town’s Manager of Real Property continued negotiations with the City on behalf of the Board and was able to obtain a more favourable arrangement.

The proposed road access requires a License Agreement over 13,283 square feet, as shown on the attached plan. The terms of the proposed License Agreement are as follows:

Term: 10 years

Rent: $9,000 per year

Termination: No termination for first five years, followed by 6 month notice period thereafter.

Cost Sharing Proposal:

The Town has been asked by the Board to contribute to the cost of the License Agreement and the road construction. The cost to construct the new access road is estimated to be $135,000. The Town currently has an arrangement with the York District Region School Board regarding the swimming pool facility on the Thornlea High School site. The Town pays 65 percent of all costs including full time staffing of the facility and the Board contributes the remaining 35 percent. This formula is not recommended for the proposed cost sharing arrangement. The Board has casually indicated that they would anticipate a 50/50 split on the cost. An earlier vehicular count conducted by the Town’s Traffic Department concluded that visitors to the Town’s pool facility and sports fields represents approximately 15 percent of the total traffic volume. This is considerably less than the Board is seeking from the Town and represents the low end of the range of acceptable cost sharing.

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:

None.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Based on a 15/85 split the annual land License would cost the Town $1,350 and the Town’s share of the initial road construction cost would be $20,250. Based on a maximum 50/50 split the annual land License would cost the Town $4,500 and the road construction cost would be $67,500.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

None.

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

None.

ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:

None.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Development Services – Traffic.

ATTACHMENTS:

Site Context Map

Sketch of Proposed Licensed Area

Brian G. Varner, Manager of Real Property

Catherine M. Conrad, Town Solicitor

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