Gondola, tunnel or bridge? Toronto city council eyes improved island access

Toronto city councillors are being asked to create a task force to accelerate expanded access to the Toronto islands, work that includes long-term and pricey options like a possible bridge, tunnel or gondola to the popular park.

City staff are recommending that council create the new group to accelerate access improvements to the Toronto Island Park which has over 1.8 million visitors every year. The debate comes after the city's aging ferry fleet struggled with service outages last year, sometimes resulting in long delays to access the park. 

"I think it's not a bad idea to explore," Mayor Olivia Chow said of options the task force could consider. "Maybe they are too fanciful. We don't know until we examine the possibilities."

The mayor's executive committee approved in principle the creation of the task force last week, but city council will make the final call at a meeting that starts Wednesday. The task force will look at short and medium-term options to expand access like more water taxis and relief ferries. It will also look at long-term solutions like building a bridge, tunnel or gondola, which staff have warned could cost more than $100 million.

"The constraints would not make a fixed link project impossible, but they do indicate that such a project would not be quick, simple or inexpensive," staff said of the fixed link in a report to council.

WATCH | Torontonians frustrated at long lines to island ferry: 

Torontonians frustrated at long lines for island ferry

10 months ago

Duration 2:54

There are renewed calls for the city to work toward building a bridge to the Toronto Islands following a weekend of long lines at the ferry terminal. As CBC’s Britnei Bilhete reports, some Torontonias said wait times were up to an hour and a half.

Council approved the purchase of two new electric ferries to replace a pair of vessels but the first of those ships won't be delivered until next year. Staff said last year the purchase will cost taxpayers $85 million.

Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik, whose downtown ward includes the islands, has been pushing for expanded access to the park since last summer. The space is as close to a backyard as many downtown apartment and condo residents can get, but accessing it can be a problem, she said. 

"I know what an ordeal it can be to get to, especially in our peak summer months," she said. "We've heard it and we've experienced it: the lineups, the heat and sometimes the uncertainty."

Coun.Paula Fletcher, who represents the neighbouring ward, which is home to the Port Lands said building a bridge, tunnel or gondola is easier said than done. The city doesn't own the land where the gap between the city and island is the narrowest — around 220 to 265 metres — and the waterway is a live shipping lane.

"I'm just saying it's really a factor here that sometimes we forget about and it's still a working port," she said.

Deputy Mayor Mike Colle voted against establishing the task force at the mayor's executive committee and does not support expanding access to the islands, saying increased visitor traffic will damage habitat and natural spaces.

"Leave it alone," he urged his fellow councillors. "These hare-brained ideas. I mean, the only gondola I'd like to see is like the one they have in Venice."