'Hybrid' Gardiner Expressway imagined 3 ways by city staff

City councillors are getting their first look at what the "hybrid"Gardiner Expressway could actually look like.

City staff presented three visions for the eastern Gardiner's futurein a new report for the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, all different from the original depiction of the roadway. The "hybrid" expressway which Mayor John Tory managed to persuade council to support in a close vote this June will run from Jarvis Street east to the Don Valley Parkway.

• Toronto council backs 'hybrid' plan for Gardiner's future

Many councillors, as well as several prominent planners, favoured tearing down the Gardiner, but lost a narrow vote 24-21.

The three options incorporate proposals from stakeholders and landowners, city staff sayin the report. In the renderings, developments dot the West Donlands as well as the land between the Keating Channel and rail tracks.

An environmental assessment of the plan is ongoing, but staff notethat once that's complete, council will have to decide on a preferred option quickly.

"Timely decision-making related to the Gardiner Expressway East is critical as interim repairs will only extend the service life of the Gardiner's eastern deck to 2020," the report says.

The three options include:

• Revised hybrid with "tighter" ramps. This option would cost $260 million (according to a calculation staff call "net present value"). This version would allow for 8.5 acres of new development.
• New hybrid, further north. This version would cost between $350 and $400 million but allow the development of 12.5 acres of land.
• New hybrid, further north with rail bridge widening. This design would cost between $380 and $440 million and allow 13.5 acres of land to be developed.

All three designs are expected to cost around $70 million to maintain during their lifecycle.