From structural rehabilitation to civic improvement : how public consultation influenced the design for dismantling of the east end of Toronto's Gardiner Expressway (From structural rehabilitation to civic improvement).

This paper was presented at the session titled `Unique bridges: unique renewals in the public eye'. The 2-km east end of the elevated Gardiner Expressway is in serious need of rehabilitation. The problem is so severe that the City decided (based on an Environmental Assessment study) to dismantle 1300 m of the elevated freeway and build new access ramps. As part of its decision, Toronto City Council directed staff to continue extensive public consultation throughout the design and construction period. This direction presented a unique challenge to the City staff and its consultants - to successfully integrate the concerns of a diverse community while maintaining the project budget and schedule associated with this demanding engineering project. The resulting public consultation has been a catalyst for the project to evolve from a structural/road building project into a significant civic improvement project - at little additional cost. Specifically, a Design and Construction Liaison Committee was established to be the primary vehicle for ongoing consultation. Using a facilitator and an open approach to the consultation, significant improvements to the project were made involving construction staging, construction timing, detouring during construction as well as public art and urban design features associated with the engineering work. Many of these were incorporated within the overall project budget, while others were included at marginal additional cost. Moreover, these improvements were made without sacrificing the original structural and transportation engineering aspects of the project. This paper shows how public consultation was used as a unique structural problem evolved into a significant civic improvement project. It highlights methods and principles employed in the consultation, and how balance was achieved between modifying and maintaining the fundamental engineering solution. It demonstrates how the additional public consultation ultimately tipped the balance towards Council's approval of the final design. The paper concludes that engineers need not fear public consultation during the design of major structural (or other transportation) projects. In fact, public consultation can and should ultimately benefit the project. (A)