The Gardiner Expressway is limited access freeway which runs east-west along the Toronto waterfront and is operated by Metropolitan Toronto. It connects the east-west Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and the north-south Highway 427, provincial highways in the west, with Metro Toronto's north-south Don Valley Parkway in the east. The Gardiner is a key link in the area freeway grid, providing the only direct freeway access to the downtown core from the west. Lake Shore Boulevard is a major divided arterial roadway operating parallel to the east-west Gardiner Expressway facility. These facilities operate together to support commuter downtown access, and are collectively referred to as the Gardiner - Lake Shore Corridor. For commuter access from the west, Lake Shore begins as the primary alternative facility to the Gardiner just to the east of the Humber River, a north-south barrier at the western boundary of Metropolitan Toronto. To the west of the Humber River, the primary alternative to the freeway is the Queensway, another major arterial roadway. Exhibit 1 illustrates how the Humber Bridges crossing represents a critical transition for commuter corridor access to Toronto from the west. (A)
Abstract