Toronto's top mayoral candidates faced off in yet another contentious debate on Thursday, which included a heated conversation centred around the future of the crumbling eastern portion of the Gardiner Expressway. 

Current city councillor Brad Bradford specifically criticized two other candidates — namely Josh Matlow and Olivia Chow — for their plans to move the crumbling section of the elevated expressway to ground level instead of rebuilding it. 

The other candidates want to tear down the Gardiner and keep you in gridlock.

As your Mayor, I’ll take action to rebuild it faster with 24/7 construction and reduce congestion to get you moving. #TOPoli pic.twitter.com/lup73axOBK

— Brad Bradford✌️ (@BradMBradford) May 26, 2023

"This would add significant delay to a decision that was made in 2015,” Bradford explained during the 90-minute debate. "You would take an elevated expressway, build a ramp down at grade for 240 metres and then you would ramp it back up to the other elevated expressway. That's ludicrous."

Bike lanes reduce gridlock.
The financial cost of doing anything with the elevated portion of the Gardiner needs to be weighed against not doing it and spending that vast amount of money on other things.

— Doug Wedel (@wedel_doug) May 26, 2023

Matlow argued that there's no denying that the eastern portion of the highway — which "sticks out like a sore thumb" — must come down, but what the city decides to do with it afterward is the important part. 

As you acknowledge, this section of the Gardiner has to be torn down regardless.

Building a surface highway will be cheaper, and ‘get us moving’ faster than rebuilding the raised structure ever would.

Especially as the money saved can be used to improve roads across the city.

— Rob Gosse (@RobGosse1) May 26, 2023

A clip of the debate, uploaded by Bradford, began to pick up criticism after several people suggested that rebuilding the crumbling portion of the expressway won't do much to relieve gridlock. 

How will encouraging more people to drive help reduce the amount of cars, which is the only thing that can reduce gridlock?

— Duane Rollins 🇺🇦 (@24thminute) May 26, 2023

Back in 2015, City Council voted in favour of a "hybrid" option that would move the expressway 100 metres to the north and rebuilt from the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) to Jarvis Street. 

I didn’t even have to go to school for urban planning to know that the only thing that reduces congestion is convincing people not to drive

— matt (@yyz_matt) May 26, 2023

Later that year, an option to tear down the eastern portion of the highway and replace it with an eight-lane Lake Shore Boulevard failed in a vote of 19-26 at City Council. 

Tear it down! The Gardiner has a limited life span anyway. Toronto residents should stop throwing good money after bad.

— Standupnow (@Standupnow15) May 26, 2023

"You know that Gardiner does not equal congestion relief. You are getting desperate," one person responded to Bradford.

Reduce congestion? If one parks downtown in Bay or Yonge area, it takes a lot more time to get to Gardiner on ramps than to get the rest of the way home…especially on a Friday. 😀

— Née Montréal (@NeeMontreal) May 26, 2023

"Do you actually live in this city? Tear down that eyesore," another person wrote. 

Earlier this year, dozens of community groups part of a coalition called Gardiner East Transparency (GET) penned a letter to Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie and city councillors to disclose the full go-forward costs associated with the Gardiner East project, which they alleged could exceed $1 billion.