At the November 24 Council meeting, my Council colleagues and I approved a report that enables a review of the transitway alignment in the Ninth Line corridor to take place within the first half of 2015. The Transitway has a significant impact on the type and scale of development that can occur in this area due to its current alignment and property protection requirements. The current design, including station areas, does not take into account the servicing and drainage requirements related to the Transitway and their impacts on future development.
The City and Ministry of Transportation Ontario have agreed to update the alignment, required right-of-way, and hydraulic/stormwater management for the Transitway. This additional work will benefit the Ninth Line Corridor Review Study by:
- Providing greater certainty on the amount of developable land within the Ninth Line lands study area;
- Assisting in the preparation of land use scenarios for review by stakeholders;
- Providing an update to the 1998 Property Protection Study for the Transitway using MTO’s current 407 Transitway Design Standards;
- Addressing property requirements for proposed stations; and
- Providing input into the future preparation of an Enviromnental Assessment (EA) for the Transitway in a manner that incorporates the City’s land use interests.
This additional work would protect land for future stations and right-of-way requirements, and inform the future EA.