An integrated and comprehensive transit solution for Toronto’s waterfront

Toronto’s waterfront is truly an asset for the City of Toronto and the surrounding region. Emerging from a diverse past, the waterfront is in the process of being re-discovered and revitalized. The waterfront is now, providing communities with a place to live and work, access to heritage, green and water resources, and supporting existing and planned year-round destinations and institutions.

There has been continuous and rapid development along the waterfront, which has resulted in a variety of transit plans for specific areas in various stages of completion. Consequently, there was a critical need to identify an integrated and comprehensive transit solution across this vital asset.

How we helped

Steer was initially retained to carry out Phase 1 of the project. This provided a roadmap for the City to move transit planning forward along the waterfront. As part of this, we:

• Developed the vision and objectives for the study through stakeholder and public engagement and consultation.
• Reviewed and analyzed the past planning activity for waterfront transit, the planning rationale for the project, and the key markets for transit.
• Designed and conducted the initial screening of concepts for the corridor, resulting in a robust and defensible set of concepts forward to Phase 2.

Significant challenges during Phase 1 included the multi-stakeholder environment, the size of the study area, the planning history, and the project’s aggressive timeline. Steer overcame these challenges because of our unparalleled local knowledge of the waterfront’s context and planning background, along with our ability to balance the multiple and sometimes conflicting needs for waterfront transit.

Successes and outcomes

Steer was subsequently commissioned to carry out Phase 2, following a competitive bidding process. Key tasks include a detailed evaluation of preliminary concepts with in tandem public and stakeholder consultation. We will then produce a preferred concept and develop a phasing plan, functional plan (completed to a 5% level of detail), cost estimates, and an initial business case analysis.