Tear down eastern Gardiner, says former mayor David Crombie

A former mayor and a former chief planner were among those on Monday making impassioned pleas to tear down the eastern portion of the Gardiner Expressway.

David Crombie and Paul Bedfordwent to City Hall to promote the removal option and to try to change the mind of Mayor John Tory.

"Am I friends with the mayor? Yes, for years. But I just think he is wrong on this issue, tragically wrong," said Crombie, who himself was mayor from 1972-1978.

"We have an extraordinary opportunity to create a boulevard and be part of the 21st century," Crombie said to reporters.

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The question of what to do with the stretch of elevated highway will be debated by council on June 10.

One option is to remove the 1.7-kilometre stretch of elevated expressway east of Jarvis Street. A second is the so-called hybrid option which would see the highway rerouted between Jarvis and the Don Valley Parkway.

Tory has come out in favor of the hybrid option, saying there is potential in the land underneath the highway, and pointing to developments that have occurred in other major cities below elevated highways.

Bedford said going that route would be a mistake.

"We would be the laughing stock of the world," Bedford said.

"The hybrid option would result in building a totally new waterfront expressway and we would be the only city on the face of the earth right now doing that," he said.

Poll backs removal option

Also Monday, a new poll suggested widespread support for the removal option.

The poll, conductedby Mainstreet Technologies, found that support for removing the leg of the Gardiner east of Jarvis Street was higher than for maintaining it across the city. That result captured support acrossall age groups and among both men and women.

Of the 2,415 randomly selected Torontonians:

• 45 per cent said they supportthe tear-down option.
• 33 per cent said they supportthe hybrid option touted by Mayor John Tory and his inner circle.
• 11 per cent said they don't support either option.
• 12 per cent were unsure.

The poll had a margin of error of 1.99 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

The removal option is projected to cost $461million, while the hybrid option has a long-term price tag of $919million.

A staff report released last month, however, found that the hybrid option will ultimately lead to fewer additional delays for drivers.