WATCH ABOVE: Toronto councillors began more debate Wednesday on the future of the Gardiner Expressway East. Mark McAllister reports.
TORONTO – The fate of the Gardiner Expressway is now in the hands of city council.
A decision on what to do with the eastern portion of the crumbling Gardiner will go to a debate on Wednesday at city hall.
There are two options for the elevated section east of Jarvis St.: tear it down and replace it with a boulevard, or a hybrid option.
The hybrid plan, supported by Mayor John Tory, would re-align the expressway east of Jarvis St, moving it south of the railway tracks. The elevated portion east of Cherry St. would be torn down and replaced with a street-level roadway.
The cheapest option is the boulevard, which would cost $450 million. The hybrid option clocks in at more than $900 million.
Tory has pushed for the more expensive hybrid option. He says the boulevard plan will result in spillover traffic and the clogging of residential streets.
An equal number of councillors are publicly supporting both plans – meaning pressure is mounting on members of council who are still undecided.
Wednesday’s debate over Toronto’s iconic expressway is likely to be lengthy and impassioned.
A vote is expected sometime this week.
Former mayor Rob Ford is the only councillor proposing to keep the Gardiner in its current state.
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