Toronto's Gardiner Expressway should be torn down east of Jarvis Street, a move that would revitalize the city's waterfront, says a proposal backed by Mayor David Miller.

Waterfront Toronto, the government agency that manages the city's lakefront, says the plan would "reconnect the city to its waterfront."

The idea is to turn the eastern and little-used portion of the Gardiner into a University Avenue-style boulevard at a cost of between $200 million and $300 million. The roadway would be eight lanes wide.

"Waterfront Toronto believes it's time to make a bold step in dealing with the long-standing issues around the Gardiner," the agency's chairman, Mark Wilson, said at a news conference on Friday.

Miller's support for the plan is seen as a major turnaround for the mayor. In 2006, when Waterfront Toronto issued a massive report calling for the Gardiner's tearing down, Miller said the proposal was "way down on the priority list."

At that time, he thought the proposal to tear down the Gardiner east of Spadina Avenue was too expensive, but Miller said in a statement late Thursday night the new plan was "affordable."

"This is the most practical approach and offers the greatest public benefits," Miller said. "Removing the eastern section of the Gardiner is an affordable step that will allow us to develop the East Bayfront, Lower Don Lands and West Don Lands properly while enhancing the public realm along Lake Shore and improving access to our waterfront. We have already seen what can be done."

The 2006 report said that tearing down the Gardiner east of Spadina would cost nearly $800 million.

The Gardiner has been called "the mistake by the lake" by its critics, who see it as an ugly relic that cuts off the city from its waterfront.

"The challenge is to find realistic options that address revitalization objectives and intelligent, sustainable city-building principles including looking to transit to accommodate future growth," John Campbell, president and CEO of Waterfront Toronto, said in the release.

"Ultimately, any option should help us build a more beautiful city and waterfront."

Waterfront Toronto says it has the money to pay for an environmental assessment, but would need funding from all three levels of government for the demolition and construction costs of the project.

The group will formally consider the proposal at a June 12 meeting. The plan would have to go before the city's executive committee and then be passed by city council.

It the project is approved, Waterfront Toronto says it could take as long as eight years to complete.

Plan criticized

Several councillors have raised their concerns about the proposal, including Denzil Minnan-Wong.

"One of the biggest concerns that I have is, 'What is this going to mean for the motorists in the city of Toronto that use the Don Valley Parkway?'" he said.

"Thousands of people use the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner every single day, and congestion is just awful."

Coun. Case Ootes said traffic would grow by at least 20 per cent on surrounding streets. Motorists said that would mean traffic chaos.

"Where are we going to go? How are we going to get on the Don Valley?" asked one trucker. "There's going to be too much traffic, too much hassle, and it's going to cause too many economic and environmental problems."

"It's a bad idea," said another driver. "We need the Gardiner to get through the city. The Lakeshore's just gridlocked as it is."

One cyclist who recently moved to Toronto supports the plan.

"I think it would be a great idea," the woman said. "It would be great to get some good bike lanes in."

Other residents said they feared a new wall of condominiums would go up in the Gardiner's place.

With reports from CTV Toronto's Naomi Parness and Austin Delaney