Dismantling the easterly portion of Toronto's elevated F.G. Gardiner Expressway has opened the lands adjacent to it for redevelopment, encouraged cycling and walking in a highway corridor previously dominated by vehicular traffic, and created an urban place for a residential community living in the shadow of the elevated expressway for close to 40 years. In every sense the Gardiner Expressway East Dismantling has demonstrated the principles of sustainable urban transportation - encouraging varied modes of transportation and supporting urban intensification to maximize use of existing infrastructure while minimizing taxpayer's costs. The project replaced 1.4 km of the 6 lane elevated expressway with a 4 lane arterial road paralleled by a pedestrian /cycle path and landscaped boulevard. The project featured public art elements and an environmental cleanup of contaminated soils. This paper details the history of the project and its construction. This project was nominated for the Sustainable Urban Transportation
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