#EastHarbour Public Consultation to begin 2nd Quarter 2017

By Michael Holloway
Ward 30 Bikes,
First Gulf Public Consultation participant,
Port Lands Acceleration Initiative S.A.C.

Ward 30 Bikes has been involved in First Gulf's more than two years long Unilever lands (now branded EastHarbour) stakeholder consultation process. 

Looking west of Booth to the Core - Image: FirstGulf/EastHarbour - http://firstgulf.com/portfolio/east-harbour/

This is the beginning of a development arc that will begin to change the southern environs of Ward 30 markedly - starting perhaps next year and continuing for the next thirty years (and beyond that in the east Port Lands near Leslie Street). 

Ward 30 Bikes has advocated for high quality separated cycling connections north-south and east-west as well as inside the precinct.

First Gulf sees Public Transit as key to the success of the development, as a road network can't possibly support the intensity visioned. Like the downtown core most people will arrive here (and get around here) mainly by public transit, bike or walk.

Toronto City Council approved the recommendations passed in the Feb 23, 2017 video below at their meeting about a month later. (Toronto City Council - March 28, 2017 - PG18.6 | http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2017.PG18.6).

In the video below First Gulf presents it's vision for the 60 acre parcel of land east of the Don River mouth at Lake Shore Boulevard - to the Planning and Growth Management Committee of Toronto City Council.

Toronto City Council Planning and Growth Management Committee,
February 23, 2017 Item PG18.6 - Unilever Precinct Planning Study - Status Update - 21 Don Valley Parkway and 30 Booth Avenue - Zoning Amendment and Subdivision Applications - Preliminary Report.

(Video is coded to start at the item in question)


Residential construction north of East Harbour (StreetCar's massive Queen/Broadview development) and south (in the Port Lands - first at 'Villiers Island') will create a live-work City Centre that is sustainable and will (hopefully) be a model of modern City Building - with separated cycling infrastructure and with state-of-the-art intersection treatments (Complete Intersections¹).

Unfortunately due to City Councils backward decision to rebuild the Gardiner Expressway (with subsequently revealed prodding from FirstGulf) there will likely be Gardiner Expressway to Don Valley Parkway ramps blighting westerly views from the site. Not to mention all the challenges which they will create for east-west people movement as well as the spoiling of the Lower Don Valley lands there for another generation.

The still unsolved flooding issues north of the Rail Berm (and around the back and into the East Harbour precinct via the Eastern Avenue underpass and a new Broadview underpass) is an opportunity to advocate to get the Don River out of the canal walls that it's in from Gerrard south to the rail berm.

Perhaps a naturalized flood plain (along with the planned widened Rail Bridge and a Naturalized Don River Mouth) could handle the 100+ year storm crest there?

Perhaps put the DVP on pontoons - float the highway?! ;)

Or ... narrow it to the width of Bayview?

---

¹ Complete Intersection Video:
Protected Intersections For Bicyclists

Protected Intersections For Bicyclists from Nick Falbo on Vimeo.



mh

East Harbour (Unilever site) Update - what @Ward30Bikes is advocating for in this project

By Michael Holloway

via Toronto Star, via FirstGulf - East Harbour's Broadview extension south through a proposed Transit Hub on the rail berm - with (typical of last-century city building) missing Active Transportation visioning

East Harbour is developer FirstGulf's new brand name for the UniLever Site at Lake Shore Boulevard and Don Roadway (the Don River). With progress being made on the numerous different elements integral to this massive city centre development south of Eastern and Broadview, East Harbour has been in the news quite a bit of late.

Here's a good overview with lots of pictures:

Urban Toronto - November 2, 2016
Preliminary Plans Reveal Scope of Unilever Redevelopment
by Stefan Novakovic
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2016/11/preliminary-plans-reveal-scope-unilever-redevelopment

I'm on the working group representing Ward 30 Bikes.

Not included in these overviews is all the active transportation infrastructure we've been talking about at ~2 years of working group meetings.

We're advocating for a way to extend the Eastern Avenue Bike Lanes west from Logan across the valley through this project.

We're advocating for an east-west corridor for bicycles from Eastern at the rail bridge along the south side of the berm (integrated into the massive Transit Hub somehow) and across the valley to connect to the Lower Don River Trail and to Corktown Common and beyond (Richmond/Adelaide Bicycle corridor).

Early designs also include a north-south route along the west side of the property and then a connection to the bridge across the valley via said transit hub (which extends from the west side of the valley to the rail underpass at Eastern).

We also want to extend the Eastern Avenue Bike Lanes west of the rail underpass to Broadview - and somehow north from there to the Viaduct near Danforth/Broadview.

Broadview is to be extended south of Eastern through the site and into the Port Lands. We see this section of Broadview as a street with high quality separated bike infrastructure on it (as does the Port Lands Acceleration Initiative report).


Image via: East Harbour: Where Toronto will go to work and play | https://www.thestar.com/life/homes/2016/05/09/east-harbour-where-toronto-will-go-to-work-and-play.html | via @torontostar



mh

Complete Intersections in the context of the StudioCentre proposed development at 629 Eastern

by Michael Holloway
Lead - W30B Eastern Avenue working group


I created this image that attempts a close-to-scale drawing corrected to 180 degrees of the StudioCentre proposed Eastern-Caroline intersection.  The new street south is the same width as Eastern Avenue.

Copy it and paste it into a mark-up program (like MS Paint) and add your Complete Intersection treatment ideas - and post at the Google Doc we have up for discussion and writing of a report concerning the StudioCentre transportation context.

Google Doc - StudioCentre: Active Transportation Context | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PvD4PFR1Cx-S0S_4oapq12YwpDE4QvEArOYuEsm1dPg/edit?usp=sharing

EMAIL Ward30Bikes and request editing permission.


The latest proposal includes bike lanes on new lower Caroline as a two-way roadway; existing Caroline remains one-way southbound with a Contraflow Bicycle Lane northbound. At the public meeting in June 2015, in a presentation by the BA Group Transportation specialist, several treatments were proposed for the north side of the intersection intended to prevent southbound Caroline motor vehicle traffic from proceeding south through the intersection (bikes excepted). The intersection is to be a signaled intersection with left turn lanes on westbound Eastern and on northbound Caroline.

Treatments of nearby intersections (Pape, Winnifred, Larchmount, Berkshire, Rushbrooke) to create connections north-south; and to better allow exits and entrances to the Eastern Avenue roadway are also a part of this process (thought we should start at the key, central intersection of the development proposal).


Michael Holloway
July 27, 2015

Eastern Avenue Don River to Queen-Kingston - Proposed Developments Context

By Michael Holloway
Ward 30 Bikes member


In order to frame the issue more clearly, I made a Eastern Avenue Context Map.

(Full Size: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbsjljpX0MnwjORGjf89JDSdjnA43WcvOyqRyRo2lAMJDCx1RQmgMLEQzHcs6uR4zVko6b4NFpQj5emPkrgcTIEjWNqm803P0HaUSs0UYnWipOY6QQiCys-tZ_t_2Xui7855u3gDn5LcHa/s1600/Eastern+Avenue+Don+River+to+Queen-Kingston+Rd+-+Proposed+Developments+Context.jpg)

Together these development proposals along (so far) 3/4's of the length of Eastern Ave offer a huge opportunity for us to create a Spine Complete Street and at the same time remediate a major barrier to access to the waterfront along the bottom of our City, and our neighbourhood.

When considering the potential remember, when we talk about a roadway we must consider how it acts both as a connector and as a barrier. Right now Eastern acts as a barrier to east-west cycle traffic because it is not connected west and east, and it also is designed such that getting onto it and off of it, is extremely hazardous. Eastern acts a barrier north-south because is is a 'built-for-speed', 'move-cars-fast' designed street.

Induced traffic via the FirstGulf's Project21 and StudioCentre's developments; plus much higher residential density at the 3 now-in-process condo developments on Eastern (and several nearby on Queen St) means if left as is, Eastern will become a greater barrier, a greater hazard, than it is now.

Not to mention the fine-filtering that increased volumes will induce on the local neighbourhood streets that run off of it (also a barrier for cyclist traffic).

The TTC Russell Yards bottle-neck at Connaught to Minto is a problem and an opportunity. It could be a dangerous pinch point, or it could be the Nut of a beginning of a process of calming Eastern east of Leslie; and the beginning of a vision to create Bike Lanes east of Leslie.

Woodfield Rd is an excellent connector from the top of East York at the Cosburn Bike Lanes, and travels almost straight down to the LDRT on quiet residential streets. As such Woodfield is an opportunity to calm Eastern just west of the high-speed chicane there leading to the new pinch point at Connaught that the TTC is constructing right now.

Michael Holloway
July 4, 2015


mh

W30B Jane's Walk: Connecting Riverdale to the Lake - A Quick Start Proposal

Join Us! Sunday, May 3rd at 10:00 am - Leslie Grove Park (corner of Queen and Jones).

Ward 30 Bikes members Michael Holloway and Don Merriam will lead a walking description and discussion of Ryerson University, School of Urban & Regional Planning, Advanced Planning Studio Fall 2014 Class Report, "Connecting Greater Riverdale to the Lake".

In the report the 4th year Ryerson Planning students identified Leslie Street as a possible Quick Start option - and the only viable connection point from the neighbourhood across Lake Shore Boulevard and the Port Lands to the Waterfront.

Image: Ward 30 Bikes' 2015 Jane's Walk page:

Click: W30B Jane's Walk: Connecting Riverdale to the Lake - A Quick Start Proposal |
http://janeswalk.org/canada/toronto/connecting-riverdale-lake-quick-start-proposal/

(See a write up about a public presentation we held at SRCHC in February of this year: Metro - February 8, 2015 | Toronto cycling group pushing for Riverdale bike lanes | http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/1282831/toronto-cycling-group-pushing-for-riverdale-bike-lanes/)

See the full report here in an "Issuu" interface: http://issuu.com/brandonquigley/docs/connecting_greater_riverdale_to_the

Or - Download the .pdf from Ward 30 Bikes' DropBox: https://www.dropbox.com/s/md354m5wm9yekag/Connecting%20Greater%20Riverdale%20to%20the%20Lake_Final%20Report.pdf?dl=0

This Jane's Walk will travel the southern portion of the Quick Start route that the Student team chose.

The walk will begin at Queen St E and Jones Avenue - the point at which the Jones Ave Bike Lanes ends - and then we'll take Rushbrooke down to Eastern Avenue. At this point the route includes a proposed Pedestrian/Cyclist refuge island at the bottom of Rushbrooke between the westerly and the easterly traffic lanes on Eastern Ave - and green painted crossing points connecting it from Rushbrooke to Mosley.

From Mosley down to the south side of the Plaza intersection 'Super Sharrows' is visioned. South of the Plaza Intersection the proposal visions narrowing the existing traffic lanes and turn lanes, and installing 1.5m wide Bike Lane - northbound and southbound.

It's complicated. But it appears to be the best solution so far that doesn't remove traffic lanes or parking.

The walk should take about 1 hour.



W30B Jane's Walk: Connecting Riverdale to the Lake - A Quick Start Proposal |
http://janeswalk.org/canada/toronto/connecting-riverdale-lake-quick-start-proposal/



mh

'Idea Mapping' the Shipping Channel Charrette

[The Map is still updating - last update: Monday, July 28, 2014, 10:26pm]

Mapping the ideas is the best way to combine this web of stuff.

Like the man said, it's a web of ideas, a cloud. I immediately envisioned the map of the internet.

Approach the mash-up board of ideas in words and images from any spacial vector,following from one chit to the next, and you end up telling a different story every time.

All the stories are the 'little cart' of ideas. Here's a map that shows some of those ideas that relate to connecting the city to the lake - the urban culture to the water - for the short term (1-2 years), the medium term (5 years) and the long term (30 years).

Idea Map for the The Shipping Channel Charrette, Pinewood Studios Toronto, July 23 & 24, 2014

View Idea Map for the The Shipping Channel Charrette, Pinewood Studios Toronto, July 23 & 24, 2014 in a larger map

Transportation Archipelago
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 7.86 km
A Transportation Archipelago was identified to create short term connectivity solutions - existing points where the water touched the existing transportation infrastructure, like at Commisioners and the Shipping Channel, water taxis were envisioned that - right now (next summer for the PanAm Games?) could bridge the gap across the channel, and the gap in north-south connections between Leslie Street and the Don Roadway - to possible landing points on the south side of the channel that could connect to Unwin Avenue - like at the proposed spillway green space (on the north side of the channel) just to the west of the Don Roadway.

Water Taxi
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Connect Chery Beach and the Island - connects Bathurst and Carlaw via the archipelago.

Water Taxi from Carlaw to the Dragon Boat Club
Last Updated by Michael Holloway 15 minutes ago
Total distance: 690.38 m
Connect Carlaw to the south side of the Turning Basin landing to the east of the Gas Plant (Provincial Property?).

Don Roadway - Swing Bridge
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 531.03 m
Floating or structural steel that sits at near the water - moves for ship traffic. Landing on the south side meeting an existing roadway on the West extent of the Salt Storage Yard.

Canal - Cherry Beach to the Shipping Channel
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 598.28 m

Canal - South Riverdale to the Shipping Channel
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 1.08 km
Canal to the north extent of the Regulatory Flood Plain

Naturalized Don River Mouth
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Approved Plan

Canal - Presupposes an extention of the spillway of the Don River
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 725.52 m
A visual extension of part of the Naturalization of the Done River Mouth - the approved Don River Extreme Storm spillway. (canal would be a separate hydrology).

Canal The Hearn to the Outer Harbour
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 459.99 m

Canal Cooling Channel to the Shipping Channel
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 349.05 m

Extend TTC Service to Unwin
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 694.74 m
Short term (now) by the PanAm Games (July 2015).

Toronto Bike Share Station
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Short Term (now). Before the PanAm Games (July 2015).

Create a Water Front Tram Service
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 2.75 km
Short Term (now) Before PanAm Games (July 2015).
A rail vehicle would shunt between TTC stops at Cherry St and an extended-to-Unwin Jones Bus(?) Stop at the Entrance to Tommy Thompson Park - on existing rails.

Planned Park - Leslie Slip to Leslie Street
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Medium Term (5 years).
Park will front the water at the end of the Shipping Channel's 'Leslie Slip' - an extension off the east end of the Turning Basin that comes within about 200 metres of Leslie Street. The east extent of the Park will front Leslie Street. The area is bisected by a rarely used rail line owned by the Toronto Port Authority and used occasionally by the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant.

Canal - Leslie Slip to Baselands Wetlands
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 170.14 m
Medium/Long Term.
Likely more of a 'bio-swail' than a canal - an extension of the lowland wetlands on the south side of Unwin Ave along this area.

South Shipping Channel Wall Green Set-back
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 2.25 km
Short Term.
A wide as possible green setback along the south Shipping Channel Wall.
This Trail may be closed from time-to-time to allow industrial activities associated with Shipping (like aggregate off-loading for example).

North Shipping Channel Wall Green Setback
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 2.28 km
Short Term.
A wide-as-possible Green setback along the north Shipping Channel Wall.
This Trail may be closed from time-to-time to allow industrial activities associated with Shipping.

Steps Into The Water
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Short Term.
A stepped observation/seating area that steps right into the water and also provides a high visual barrier/look-out at the top of it, overlooking the cement production facilities to the East.

Canal - Winnifred & Eastern Avenue to the Turning Basin
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 635.93 m
Medium Term.
All these Canals are firstly about draining the Regulatory Flood Plain to upgrade the land for development - but they also act as a way to connect the neighbourhood to the water front by at once bringing the water into the neighbourhood, and by providing possible innovative transportation corridors to the water front proper.

Lower Carlaw Separated Bike Lanes
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 255.52 m
Short Term (now).
A Cycle Track perhaps, on the eastern side of the roadway.

Commisioners St Separated Bike Lane
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 2.41 km
Short Term (now).
Perhaps a Cycle Track on the North side of the Street.
Connects the Martin Goodman Trail at Leslie to the Lower Don Recreational Trail at Lower Don Roadway and the Waterfront Trail at Cherry Street.

Existing Drainage Basin?
Last Updated by Michael Holloway < 1 minute ago
Total distance: 282.16 m
On a walkabout of the Smart Studios site on July 28, 2014, I noted three patches of swamp grass growing in the lot along a low-lying trough, that seem to continue north under Eastern Ave and up Caroline heading Northwest.
See a Video playlist of the walkabout: Natural Basin on North edge of Delta possible Canal Route - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTpRV6DI_Sr3LT8LYhEGXukxsWt5fMgGd

Update: Map of  the area from 1902 shows a creek at Winnifred and Eastern - exactly one block west of where I noted evidence of it on my walk (perhaps the old map is incorrect?). Here's an Zoomed-In image of the area from a University of Toronto historical map:

Map Title: Plan of the City of Toronto Villiers Sankey 1902 University of Toronto Libraries Call Number G3524.T61 20 1902

(Original: http://maps.library.utoronto.ca/dvhmp/maps.html)



mh

A Walkabout on the Port Lands - The Shipping Channel, North side

On Friday, July 18th I began a series of walks further south on the Port Lands than my last¹ walkabout (December 2013). The timing of these new walks is related to City of Toronto Planning's Design Charrette - coming up this Wednesday and Thursday.

The Charrette

The 2-day, mini Charrette, co-hosted by Waterfront Toronto and TRCA is much shorter than recommended² - so I'm going to try and engage with the community during the two days, via Twitter and this Blog.

A "Charrette" is a design-based collaborative community planning method that the school of New Urbanism has developed. A way of wrangling a massive number of elements in an intensive series of feedback loops over a few days involving the people of the area and stakeholders relevant the study area plus a team of planners, architects and other specialists that creates a feasible plan at the end of the exercise.

To quote from Planning's Shipping Channel Charrette PDF (released to the Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) and the Landowner and User Advisory Committee (LUAC):

"The two-day charrette being hosted by the City of Toronto City Planning Division, with Waterfront Toronto and the TRCA, will occur on July 23rd and 24th, 2014. The charrette will focus on defining and establishing a cohesive vision and priorities for the Ship Channel and its surrounds, and for improving public access for the South Ship Channel lands."

We will meet first to formulate a broad outline of the constraints and possibilities talking into account everything - the land, the history of the place, the existing archeology, the economic and political elements and so on. Next we will walk (and boat!) the site - and then formulate a second understanding of a future morphing out of the present. The team of specialists will then create plans on all kinds of scales, that talk to the first round of feedback - within the constraints and the goals. Then back out in groups to tackle select issues - and then back to the team to feed all our ideas back to the whole group. Then the planners, architects and communication specialists will craft some more - ideas, plans, drawings, media.

After the two days of intensive work the Planners will then present a overview of the outcomes in a 2 hour meeting on the evening of the second day.

Social Tools Engagement

At certain points in the process key ideas will come into conflict and (hopefully) be resolved, compromises will happen (hopefully) and in the end we will have a do-able plan that everyone can like - and is do-able in the physical, economic and political world.

At these crisis points in the process I will out reach to get your informed opinion and try to feed your ideas into the process. This use of the social tools is new to the Charrette process - we'll see how it goes.

The Pre Charrette Walks

The specific intention of this set of pre-walks is to trace a walking path around the Shipping Channel - and to discover what use the land around it is presently being put to; and what potential future uses can be gleaned from a process of actually touching the place, documenting the act, and writing about it. This with-in my bias for development that creates Complete Streets and Liveable Cities.

Shipping Channel Panorama - North-side below Don Roadway looking south at City of Toronto Transportation Services salt storage facility.

Below is a map with several video and images at the placemarks - a synopsis of my walkabout so far.

Shipping Channel Walkabout - pre-Charrette discovery

View Shipping Channel Walkabout - pre-Charrette discovery in a larger map

References:

¹ Ward 30 Bikes - Tuesday, February 4, 2014 | Queen St., Logan, Port Lands, South of Eastern, Dundas/Carlaw Corridor - a walk-about to discover North-South Cycling Opportunities - Learning through reading, walk-abouts and writing: Bouchette Street, Logan Avenue & Carlaw Avenue --- Commissioners to Dundas | http://ward30bikes.blogspot.ca/2014/02/queen-st-logan-port-lands-south-of.html

² Youtube - Congress4NewUrbanism | CNU 20 - Charrettes and the Next Generation of Public Involvement | http://youtu.be/RNzKI9n-i58

CNU 20 - Charrettes and the Next Generation of Public Involvement


Under the Video:

Published on May 29, 2012

Are the days of the seven-day charrette behind us? Shrinking budgets, social media, tea party obstruction... it's time to take another look at charrettes and public involvement.

Limited project budgets are challenging everyone. The web has also made it possible for the public, as well as consultants, to participate from a distance. This technology can save money, but what are the costs to shared learning and the building of relationships? How can these high-tech tools be leveraged to increase the number and diversity of people that are engaged in planning projects while still maintaining the advantages of face-to-face meetings?

This session will present the latest tools, techniques and the trade-offs of social media and web-based participation tools within the context of the face-to-face public design charrette format.

Hazel Borys, Managing Principal, PlaceMakers
Ben Brown, Consultant, PlaceMakers LLC
Andrés Duany, Principal, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company
Bill Lennertz, Executive Director, National Charrette Institute
Gianni Longo, Principal, ACP Visioning & Planning

Resources:

Port Lands Acceleration Initiative: Home | http://www.portlandsconsultation.ca/

Port Lands Planning Framework: Land Use Direction | http://portlandsconsultation.ca/sites/all/themes/portlands/files/PLPFLand%20UseDirection_Jun5(sm).pdf

National Charrette Institute (NCI) | http://www.charretteinstitute.org/about-nci.html

Top Port Lands Map Image via: Port Lands Acceleration Initiative: Home | Port Lands Planning Framework | http://www.portlandsconsultation.ca/node/17



mh

South of Eastern Strategic Direction Public Consultation Meeting talks about High Rises at Lever, Big box at Revival and Eastern Avenue as a Calmed Neighbourhood Street

[2014-05-29 - Edited to better reflect the ongoing discussions on this issue with-in the Ward 30 Bikes group]

Ward 30 Bikes attended the South of Eastern Strategic Direction Planning Public Consultation meeting at Ralph Thornton Centre, Tuesday, May 27, 2014.

About 60 people participated including 3 members of Ward 30 Bikes. This meeting came right on the heels of our Active Transportation Stakeholder meeting with the Study Team last Thursday - where we went into fine detail about our concerns with regard to building connecting Greenways north-south & east-west through the South of Eastern Study area, Broadview - Eastern - Coxwell - Lake Shore Boulevard.

Lots of talk at the Public Consultation Meeting about Eastern Avenue.

With proposed and projected developments in the area, we are at a stage where we will either lose the Eastern Avenue Bike Lane - or expand it so it goes the distance and also connects neighbourhoods.

One table at the Public Consultation Tuesday evening came up with a brilliant idea: Creating Filtered-Accesses at Queen/Kingston and at Eastern/Broadview - to prevent the roadway from being used as an commute alternate to the Lake Shore Boulevard (LSB). In other words - making Easter Ave a Neighbourhood Street rather than a Scarborough/Downtown suburban commute choice.

Also much talk about the Great Gulf plan for the old Lever site which proposes a new downtown core there - with 3 million square foot of office tower floor space.

(Which this Ward 30 Bikes member believes would be the beginning of the end of the residential character of the South Riverdale, Riverside and Leslieville neighbourhoods - and would very likely lead to high-rise development in the Port Lands as well ... a place for the 'Big Pool of Money' to expand that high-rise Lake Front development that they have going on in the West-Lake-Front-Core - now possibly expanding East.)

As well we talked about the character of the other proposed development in the study area - the StudioCentre with it's retention of the Film Studios - but also adding 1,100-2,400 parking spaces stack in three stories above glass facades that will serve a 10 story Hotel as well as a Big Box Store sized square footage of "Flex Space" --- which some interpret as a, 'WalMart by any other name').

In this "Liveable Cities" advocate's opinion, the idea of Filtering Access to Eastern Avenue is a great idea. Eastern could become a "Green Buffer" between the employment district and the neighbourhoods to the north of it.

We image lots of connections through the study area north-south to the new Port Lands neighbourhoods - and a 'Calmed' Eastern Avenue --- with Mass Transit, Green Spaces, Wider sidewalks, Narrower traffic lanes, Bump Outs at many corners, Pedestrian Crossings (especially at the chicanes at Rushbrooke and Woodfield), and Separated Bike Lanes from Queen/Kingston to Broadview ...

.. And then, east-west up and over the Don Valley Parkway and the Don River - either by a radical reconfiguration of the Eastern Avenue Bridge (re: Highway Overpass 'Death-Ramp') or via a Pedestrian/Cyclist Fly-Over Bridge at Sunlight Park Rd that uses the existing unused Bridge over the river as a landing point for a two-arc fly-over that will connect South Riverdale to the new Corktown Common Park - and the Lower Don Trail connection there (through the new tunnel under the rail right-of-way at the eastern mid-point of the Park ... The Corktown Common Park is gorgeous by the way - check it out!).



mh

South of Eastern Strategic Direction: Active Transportation Stakeholder's Consultation

South of Eastern Strategic Direction: Active Transportation Stakeholder's Consultation
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Ralph Thornton Centre (765 Queen St. East)
Basement Room
6pm - 8pm

@Ward30Bikes had a short conversation on Twitter with the planningAlliance last Fall -

@Ward30Bikes There's also the South of Eastern Strategic Direction that will look at land uses & the public realm. Public mtgs. in New Year.
— Paul Kulig (@PaulKulig_TO) December 9, 2013

Since then the South of Eastern Strategic Direction planning team (and the planningAlliance team members) have been working to find time to create a meeting where Cyclists on the East Side could sit down with Planners and expand our concerns and visions for the future of our neighbourhoods.

Tomorrow the Planning Team will hold a Cyclists and Walkers Stakeholders event where they will present their narrative so far - and ask for our feedback and new ideas.

The planningAlliance has already studied our Problems Opportunities Mapping Project - and included some of our ideas into the draft report. Tomorrow they're looking for your personal observations - that aren't on the map - or - perhaps included in the report but not fully representative of what you meant to say in your map submission.

Have you thought further about possible new development proposals in the study area that weren't on your radar 6 months ago?

Like:

• A better fleshed out StudioCentre plan?
• The Weston Bakery proposal?
• First Gulf Corp's 'Second City Centre' proposal?
• What a Second City Centre might mean for the future of the Port Lands?

mh

Active Transportation/Livable Cities - Stakeholder Workshop

South of Eastern Strategic Direction - Resource List and Discussion Primer:

Resource List

Official Documents

City of Toronto | City Planning | Community Planning | Toronto and East York District | South of Eastern Strategic Direction | https://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=8f6692540e1c4410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=4b4452cc66061410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

Links listed at the 'South of Eastern Strategic Direction' link.

Active Development Applications

Here is a list of active development applications in the South of Eastern Area

629, 633 & 675 Eastern Avenue

(at the "629, 633 & 675 Eastern Avenue" link)

Supporting Documentation
Plans and Drawings                                     Jan 21, 2014    Download
Planning Rationale                                     Jan 21, 2014    Download
Environmental Impact Study                             Mar 12, 2014    Download
Transportation Impact Study                            Jan 21, 2014    Download
Arborist/Tree Preservation Report and/or Declaration   Jan 25, 2014    Download

A Community Consultation Meeting was held for this application on January 27, 2014.

629, 633 & 675 Eastern Avenue Preliminary Report
629, 633 & 675 Eastern Avenue Community Consultation Presentation
629, 633 & 675 Eastern Avenue Community Consultation Meeting Notes


459 Eastern Avenue (Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment)

A Community Consultation Meeting date has not been scheduled for this application.
462 Eastern Avenue (Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment)

A Community Consultation Meeting date has not been scheduled for this application.

More Generally...

Port Lands Acceleration Initiative (all the links to all the Study Documents) | http://www.portlandsconsultation.ca/
 

Ward 30 Bikes Outreach

Google Maps | CycleTO Ward 30 Bikes: Problems/Opportunities | http://goo.gl/maps/C7h9v 

Ward 30 Bikes label: "South of Eastern Strategic Direction" | http://ward30bikes.blogspot.ca/search/label/South%20of%20Eastern%20Strategic%20Direction

A Discussion Primer:

How do the major Avenues in the South of Eastern Study Area; LSB, Eastern, Carlaw, Leslie and Coxwell relate to each other and to the neighbourhoods of Ward 30 and Ward 32?

A vision of their functioning - an article (the essence of which was outlined at Ward 30 Bikes monthly meeting on May 6th):

Ward 30 Bikes | The Amazing Shift - Eastern Avenue draws commute traffic into Riverside, Leslieville, South Riverdale - via Leslie and Carlaw from Lake Shore Boulevard | http://ward30bikes.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-amazing-shift-eastern-avenue-draws.html

Connect the City to the Lake

Vision 1

One vision presented at the May 6 meeting was of creating many, many crossing points south across the LSB. This is reflected in the Port Lands Transportation Plan. The crossing points being considered are one of the four streets just west of Leslie (Rushbrooke, Berkshire, Larchmount, Caroline); plus Carlaw, Logan and a new street, an extension of Broadview down to Bouchette Ave (west side of McCleary Park) and the Don Roadway. The idea is this would bridge the Lake Shore Boulevard and create north-south connectivity through well designed intersections across it.


Vision 2

I have  problem with the vision above. I don't think it will solve the barrier problem.

Signal phasing will enable the high speeds that the Lake Shore Boulevard is built for (built for 100km/h speeds - signed at 60km/h - but does 80-100km/h most of the day). Unless we reduce the Boulevard to a regular Avenue - it will remain a barrier of speed and noise and width - and attract the business models we see at Leslie and LSB - and planned at 629 Eastern (creating a new Caroline south of Eastern and a new intersection at LSB).

These business models create a traffic "nexus" at the intersections where they are located. The entire intersection area becomes a barrier to active transportation and eventually (via the motor vehicle congestion it also creates) a barrier for all modes. (see Leslie and LSB; see Carlaw and LSB).

The political will to reduce the LSB to an Avenue is not on the horizon.


Instead of focusing on what the Grand Boulevard is doing, this vision focuses on Eastern Avenue. Calm Eastern in order to help create a buffer between the Employment zone (which is likely going to be all about cars) and the neighbourhood by making Eastern Avenue a Complete Street. This calming of Eastern will stop pulling traffic up from LSB onto an avenue/expressway (Front/Eastern/Kingston Rd ---> Scarborough. This will calm the north-south Streets that intersect with LSB, and allow us to create Greenway Routes accoss the Great Barrier to the Waterfront.

To Complete Eastern Avenue - narrow the traffic lanes add buffered bike lanes; create the widest possible sidewalks all along it. Add better setbacks where possible (as suggested at the 629 Public Consultation meeting on January 27, 2014 - about the 'Back Lot' concept - several suggested that the 'Back Lot' be moved out from amidst the buildings where it would be a policing issue, and bring it out to face the neighbourhood along Eastern Avenue).

Thus, a calmed Eastern becomes a collector from Broadveiw all the way over to Kingston Rd for Greenway links to it north-south: at Broadview Logan, Rushbrooke/Berkshire, Knox, Woodfield and at Jonathan Ashbridges Park and the system of Parks there - and points East and Northeast via On-street Connections and Informal Routes though Woodbine Heights to Scarborough.

By making Eastern a Complete Street we thus lessen the pull on traffic up from Lake Shore via north-south neighbourhood streets up to Eastern Avenue as an high speed avenue/expressway to Scarborough

This will lessen the pull at a proposed new Lower Caroline, as well. Thus the proposed separated bikeway through the planned StudioCentre (just to the East of new lower Caroline) works as part of the Greenway network also.

This vision allows businesses to cross the Lineal Park (the LDRT runs along it) as a trade off for the over-all good that it accomplishes.

What's YOUR vision?

Please add another vision in comments.



mh

The Amazing Shift - Eastern Avenue draws commute traffic into Riverside, Leslieville, South Riverdale - via Leslie and Carlaw from Lake Shore Boulevard

The PM Peak.

In the pm peak the traffic through Ward 30 takes Eastern Avenue from Front St in the office tower release, to Eastern Avenue to Kingston Rd to Scarborough.

Traffic from the core also takes the Gardiner to the Lake Shore Boulevard to Carlaw and up to Eastern to Kingston Rd to Scarborough.

The Leslie Street closure has made this apparent.

Now that Leslie is closed or clogged, all that Scarborough traffic flows up Carlaw to Eastern to get to Kingston Rd to get to Scarborough.

The congestion on Carlaw is a foreshadow of what is to come as doubling of density proceeds. When Leslie opens again in the spring of 2015, the pressure on Carlaw will end, Carlaw will become a less used street and become again, more like a neighbourhood street that it was a year ago.

But this will be illusion.

Increasing density of population along the Avenue Queen Street and Avenue Carlaw will - is - creating more traffic volume on all the area streets - the continuation of growth in the city of Toronto in general is leading to higher volumes of traffic generally - congestion is getting worse.

Within this understanding is the idea that the capacity of roadways actually increases congestion over time.

The capacity of the 6-lane Lake Shore Boulevard is actually creating more traffic volume on the Lake Shore Boulevard than it can handle - that overburden volume is then funneling up Leslie and Carlaw - the only two egress point north through this area that escape to a fast Avenue - up to Eastern Avenue, to Kingston Rd, to Scarborough.

How do we stop this?

I say we make Eastern a Complete Street. 'Calm' Eastern from Power street to Queen.

Please Comment.


View No More Gardiner Expressway East in a larger map


The complex Eastern Avenue bridge over the DVP presents a special problem within this idea - please ask about it in comments in order to evolve this discussion.




mh

"Nothing short of everything" - i hate my life; I hate this thing

I've been through planning.

What I saw is democracy filtered out reality.

Here's the thing:

The Tragically Hip: "Now For Plan A"

Sounds like Eno. Bigger.
If we plan to plan out of hell - will the hell we live in be the opal we see out through?

Nothing short of everything.


Pablo Neruda (1904–1973) http://memory.ucsf.edu/blog/june-poems-of-the-month-683/


OK

I fogot there's good too. And a lot of it.

Lets just see what tomorrow brings.

Wheat Kings


Bobcaygeon


The Tragically Hip - 'It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken'




mh

Queen St., Logan, Port Lands, South of Eastern, Dundas/Carlaw Corridor - a walk-about to discover North-South Cycling Opportunities

Learning through reading, walk-abouts and writing: Bouchette Street, Logan Avenue & Carlaw Avenue --- Commissioners to Dundas

I did a walk-about of the 'South of Eastern Employment Area' in a corridor which includes Carlaw Ave, Logan Ave - and south of Lake Shore, a possible connection from Broadview - Bouchette Street. My walk-about started at Queen Street and Logan, down to McCleary Park and then Bouchette Street to Commissioners. I returned to the neighbourhood via Carlaw from Lake Shore up to the Dundas Bike Lanes.

The map below shows the southerly route in green, and the return trip in red. The purple line is: 'Jeez! I wish that on the way back I had continued east on Commissioners for one block over to Carlaw and the Turning Basin!'  (click on place marks and lines for more route data and short narratives).


View Walking the Port Lands Planning Precincts in a larger map

I was looking for a way to create a North-South Cycling Corridor - as many have suggested a need for this in our Problem/Opportunities outreach to the East Side Community (see CycleTO, Ward 30 Bikes - Problems/Opportunities Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Musw4).

Here' my walk about route Friday December 13, 2013 - on an image of the Port Lands Master Plan pedestrian/cycling map. My walk-about route down is in Green - back up is in Yellow (extending up to Dundas St East).

City of Toronto Planning - Transportation and Servicing Master Plan - Page 5 of 9 - Pedestrian/Cycling Network Map (top of the map is about half way to Queen St.)

(Note how I tried to cross Lake Shore Blvd. at rush hour - bad idea - getting to the median at 5pm was easy, but then I couldn't get across the eastbound lanes no matter how long I waited it seemed. Eventually I decided I had to walk on the median east from Logan to the lights at Carlaw - but saw a walking opportunity, and crossed through grid-locked traffic, about a football field's length from the lights.)

These connectivity issues are being addressed by City of Toronto Planing in their "Transportation and Servicing Master Plan" study - a part of the "Port Lands Acceleration Initiative" - an over-all planning process for the Port Lands and the South of Eastern Avenue area which extends from the Don River over to about Coxwell and down to Unwin Avenue.

To connect the Port Lands and the Waterfront to the city, I'm also exploring north of Eastern by walking it, and reading the Dundas/Carlaw Corridor Study Documents (see link below) - and then also I intend to walk up to Riverdale Ave (just below Withrow Park) - above which the cycling / pedestrian conditions become much better. (There are issues - but those for another post.)

There's a lot to digest in these five Port Lands studies - so I'm making my way through the Transportation and Servicing Master Plan documents first - and at the same time walking the connection routes through the study areas - and - writing up my learning and understandings gleaned from the process as I go.

___________________

Below is an image I produced from City of Toronto Planning, Transportation and Servicing Master Plan, page 5 of 9 - zoomed to 800% - showing part of their proposed Pedestrian/Cycling Network that this article focuses on: Contra-flow Bike Lanes on Carlaw and Logan - intended to connect the existing neighbourhoods to the new Port Lands and to the Waterfront.

City of Toronto Planning  - Transportation and Servicing Master Plan - Page 5 of 9 Zoom -  Pedestrian/Cycling Network - Contra-flow Bike Lanes on Carlaw and Logan below Eastern

On Logan Avenue the Master Plan suggests a One-way with a Contra-flow Lane and On-street Parking.I'm not particularly fond of Contra-flows as we have designed them so far, they are not intuitive (plus one feels like car drivers don't understand it - don't expect you there. Perhaps paint on the street is a fix). So when I did my walk I was imagining either painted on Bike Lanes or a separated Cycle Track along one side.

I started my walk at Queen Street East and Logan Avenue at about 4:30pm (rush hour is just beginning to peak into grid lock). The street seems quite narrow (is it? - tape measure next time), so to add a North-South Bike Route to the street it was either make Logan Ave a One-Way and put in a Contra-flow Bike Lane - or maintain the two-way street, narrow the lanes and add a separated Cycle Track on one side, and keep On-Street parking on the other.

I'll leave out South of Lake Shore for this post - it's a whole different thing. At this time I'm more concerned with how we are going to connect to it, rather than how we may wish to develop it - except to say -  visioning 30% active transportation - aka Complete Streets.

Coming back up I took Carlaw. Carlaw is one of five "Gateway" to the Port Lands - since it already goes across Lake Shore Boulevard. Plans in 2010 and 2012 have always included this and a possible extension with a bridge south of the turning basin. So Lake Shore to Eastern I imagined Carlaw with wider sidewalks; narrower lanes and a Cycle Track along the West side - with on-street parking on the East side. Or - Bike Lanes on both sides - which means no on-street parking (lots of push-back there).

Same goes for Carlaw Ave below Eastern. It seems very uncomfotable walking there - especially on the west side sidewalk at Lake Shore. On the East side sidewalk planners have already installed a Complete Streets deep corner that feels a whole lot safer.

Continuing up Carlaw the sidewalks are really narrow and the buildings seem to almost brush your shoulder as you're walking.

I was thinking wider sidewalks two car lanes and a cycle track on the West side - perhaps On-Street parking on the East side if there's room - but I doubt it.


Above Eastern Carlaw Ave seems to open up a little - I imagine a Cycle Track along the West side of the street - two lanes for cars and On-street parking on the East side of the street.

Placing the Cycle Track on the West side of Carlaw works nicely with Morse Street Public School - kids (and their parents) should enjoy (be relieved) having the cycle track take them right to their schools' front door.

Bike Parking Amenity and Car Parking at Morse Street Jr. Public School - looking South from the middle of Carlaw - just South of Queen

Morse Street Jr. Public has a 30-car Parking Lot just South of the building. Just to the North of the car park beside the driveway for the parking lot is an aging, rusted bike rack of bad design (not useful if you want to lock your back wheel). The contraption sits tilting slightly, amidst weeds growing through the cement on the border of a collapsing textured area near the rear doors of the school.

Image - City of Toronto Transportation Services, Bicycle
Infrastructure Unit - Queen Street West Bicycle
Parking Study Slide Deck (page 15 of 20)

As part of my visioning here I see losing one-third of the car parking and installing a canopied bike parking amenity on the parking lot area closest to the school - narrowing the driveway to the lot so cars cannot use it and make that the entrance-way for bikes. The car park entrance can come from the alleyway to the South.

From here walking North you come to Queen Street and the beginning of the Dundas/Carlaw Corridor Study Area. Again it looks like the same Cycle Track on the West side. The sidewalk on the North-west corner has been widened to accomodate the Bus stop - this area feels good.

I believe Planners at the T&EY-CC Planning Workshop have imagined wider sidewalks up this side of Carlaw here. (Phase One of the Dundas/Carlaw Corridor Study is completing now - another Public Workshop is scheduled in January 2014 - Documents at Councillor Paula Fletcher's website: http://paulafletcher.ca/discover-ward-30/community-planning/#carlaw ) 

The building under construction just above Colegate Ave on the West side has created a raised fronting that will allow sitting there. This structure looks to allow the sidewalk to widen to the comparable width to that of the Bus Stop area at the corner to the South at Queen. The Dundas/Carlaw Corridor Study also suggests Colegate gets a Complete Streets treatment - narrowing the roadway and expanding the sidewalks as an pedestrian friendly corridor West over to Jimmy Simpson Park.

The East side of Carlaw through here feels like a wall. The sidewalks need to be widened here. I suggest losing a lane and adding trees and seating amenities.

There is a break between the two long street fronts (between 239 & 345 Carlaw) that could add to the illusion that the wall of existing built form is broken up; for example a big tree pushing out into the street-view looking South would do it. Also the hydro lines running along the street on the east side add to the lineal 'wall effect' and could be buried when the street is reconstructed.

The Canyon Effect on the East Side of Carlaw looking South from in front of 245 Carlaw - arrow shows alleyway between 235 & 245 Carlaw - break sight lines by burying wires; shaped steel lattice-work between buildings with ivy; large sculpture; colour ...

___________________

That's  it for now.

I'll scout Logan and Carlaw below Lake Shore Boulevard next. My walk along the south side of Lake Shore Boulevard and down Bouchette Street and a little West on Commisioners on Friday the 13th was Really interesting! But I'll save that for a South of Lake Shore Boulevard Connections Opportunities post - next time.

After I've thoughly scouted this corridor south - I plan to walk Boothe Avenue - which looks really interesting on the map.

What's that massive CineSpace Film Studios building doing there? Is there a route through the property? What are the Planners thinking about that? Is that company going to move south into the Film Studio Precinct someday?

Is Bouchette Street a possibility for a North-South crossing of the Grand Boulevard after the Eastern Gardiner Study recommends flattening that structure that ends there?  What about the extension of Broadview down below Eastern? What of a Bike Trail by the Don River there?

Then I take Logan up to Riverdale Ave - and then scout down the Pape-Riverdale-Carlaw corridor and back down to Dundas at Carlaw again.

___________________

Links, References

Port Lands Acceleration Initiative (all the links to all the Study Documents) | http://www.portlandsconsultation.ca/


Ward 30 Bikes | Bike Infrastructure BIG Talking Point at Public Consultation for Dundas/Carlaw Corridor Planning Study | ward30bikes.blogspot.ca/2013/10/bike-infrastructure-big-talking-point.html

City of Toronto Transportation Services, Bicycle Infrastructure Unit - Queen Street West Bicycle Parking Study | http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=60400995bbbc1410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=4655970aa08c1410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

City of Toronto Transportation Services, Bicycle Infrastructure Unit - Queen Street West Bicycle Parking Study Slide Deck | http://www1.toronto.ca/staticfiles/city_of_toronto/transportation_services/cycling/files/pdf/draft3_bike_parking_study_oct8.pdf

My Workbook submission as per the Port Lands and South of Eastern Study

Below is a cut-and-paste of the online "Participant Workbook", a digital version of a hard copy version provided to participants at "Port Lands and South of Eastern" Public Meeting #1:

Port Lands and South of Eastern
November 28, 2013 Public Meeting
Riverdale Collegate 1094 Gerrard Street East

City of Toronto Planning - WaterFront Toronto - Toronto and Region Conservation

 Below the the cut-and-paste are my submissions which were originally written in under each numbered Question in the online Workbook.

Online Participant Workbook: http://cityoftoronto.fluidsurveys.com/s/Port-Lands-and-South-of-Eastern/

Hardcopies are available via Ward 30: Toronto-Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher's web site here: http://paulafletcher.ca/discover-ward-30/community-planning/#portlands

_______________________

toronto.ca | Official website for the City of Toronto

100%

Participant Workbook

Port Lands and South of Eastern

This is your opportunity to provide feedback and suggestions on the new studies being initiated for the Port Lands and South of Eastern area. Your responses may be as brief or as detailed as you like and you may choose to skip some questions.

Participant Workbooks must be completed by December 12, 2013.

OVERVIEW OF INITIATIVES

Port lands Planning Framework At 356 hectares, the Port Lands are a tremendous redevelopment opportunity for the City. Waterfront Toronto and the City of Toronto are developing a planning framework for the Port Lands that builds on the momentum from the Port Lands Acceleration Initiative adopted by City Council in 2012. The planning framework will guide revitalization efforts in the Port Lands and will provide the foundations for affirming and refining the vision for the Port Lands in the Central Waterfront Secondary Plan.    Precinct Planning Precinct planning is being undertaken by Waterfront Toronto and the City of Toronto for Cousins Quay and the Film Studio District.  Precinct Plans outline development principles and guidelines at a more detailed level and illustrate how lands can be developed to meet the policies of the Central Waterfront Secondary Plan. Precinct planning forms the bridge that allows the City to move from Secondary Plan policies to Zoning By-law provisions.

South of Eastern Strategic Direction The City of Toronto is undertaking the South of Eastern Strategic Direction that will build upon the South of Eastern Planning Study completed in 2008, which resulted in proposed amendments to the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw.  The Strategic Direction will focus on economic development, urban design and transportation.

Port Lands and South of Eastern Transportation and Servicing Master Plan EA The City of Toronto is undertaking a Transportation and Servicing Master Plan (TSMP) for sections of the Port Lands and South of Eastern area in accordance with the requirements of the Municipal Class EA.  The TSMP will identify the necessary infrastructure (streets, transit, watermains and sewers) to support revitalization in the Port Lands and continued economic growth in the South of Eastern area.

Please indicate which of these initiatives are of interest to you?

• X Port Lands Planning Framework
• Cousins Quay Precinct Plan
• Film Studio Precinct Plan
• X South of Eastern Strategic Direction
• X Port Lands and South of Eastern Transportation and Servicing Master Plan EA

PORT LANDS PLANNING FRAMEWORK QUESTIONS

1. What do you see as the two or three key issues and/or opportunities that need to be addressed in the Port Lands Planning Framework?

2. What types of land uses and/or character would you like the different areas in the Port Lands to have?
 

      PORT LANDS DRAFT OBJECTIVES

Six draft objectives to assist in the evaluation of options/alternatives and to inform the vision for the Port Lands have been developed and are provided below.

CREATING AN INTERESTING AND DYNAMIC URBAN MIX
The revitalized Port Lands is a dynamic and vibrant area of the city. A number of new, inclusive, sustainable, urban-scaled, compact, mixed-use communities and employment areas will be created. Each new urban area will have a unique local identity and character. Water permeates and influences all facets of the revitalized Port Lands given its proximity to the waterfront, new river valley and continued port activity. A number of new destinations and special places are developed which promote walking and taking transit, provide opportunities for social interaction and contribute to an interesting urban life.

CONNECTING THE PORT LANDS TO THE CITY
Enhanced physical, social and visual connections are created in the Port Lands, connecting the Port Lands to the city. These connections include new public streets, higher-order transit, new bridges, enhanced pedestrian and cycling connections and the renaturalized Don River. New public street connections provide permeability into, out of and within the Port Lands. The public streets promote synergies between the South of Eastern area and the Port Lands by stitching these two areas together, and better connect the Port Lands with the rest of the city. The Port Lands’ unparalleled views, including those of the city's skyline, are protected, framed by development and celebrated. New views to the water's edge, river valley and iconic structures are created.

LEVERAGING THE PORT LANDS ASSETS
The Port Lands are an important remnant of the city's industrial past and portions have since evolved into wonderfully diverse natural areas. There are a number of important and iconic heritage resources that are conserved, repurposed and appropriately leveraged to contribute to placemaking and to celebrate the Port Lands' industrial heritage. The new Lake Ontario Park, which includes Tommy Thompson Park, the Base Lands and Leslie Street Spit, is a key asset that distinguishes the Port Lands as a unique destination for people and provides habitat for wildlife.

DEVELOPING A HIGH-QUALITY PUBLIC REALM
A comprehensive network of public parks and open spaces are developed that capitalizes on the Port Lands’ waterfront setting, the new river valley and Lake Ontario Park.  High-quality streetscapes, outstanding parks, new natural linkages and design excellence for public facilities are secured to ensure that complete communities created in the Port Lands are great places to live, work and visit.

CONTRIBUTING TO THE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE OF THE CITY
A dynamic mix of uses developed in a walkable urban form, the creation of new employment opportunities and continued port activity are the cornerstones of the Port Lands' and City's sustainable future. Equally important is ensuring that all aspects of redevelopment contribute to a healthy and sustainable environment. Leading-edge and innovative approaches are utilized that showcase the revitalized Port Lands as a leader of sustainable development on the world’s stage. Reducing resource consumption, providing low-carbon developments, minimizing dependency on the private automobile and fostering new technologies are just some of the principles that are employed to optimize the sustainability of the revitalized Port Lands.

PROVIDING FLEXIBILITY AND CERTAINTY IN THE PLAN'S IMPLEMENTATION
The Port Lands, at 356 hectares, will incrementally redevelop over an extended period of time. The planning framework for the Port Lands must allow for a high degree of flexibility to accommodate changes over time. Notwithstanding this flexibility, it must also be specific enough to ensure that public and private investments contribute to the long-term vision for the Port Lands and have lasting value.

3. Do the draft objectives reflect how you see the Port Lands developing?  Provide us with your ideas and suggestions on how to improve these objectives.

SOUTH OF EASTERN QUESTIONS

4. Are there specific improvements that you would like to see in the South of Eastern area? Are there areas that you think need special attention?

5. What types of businesses and economic activity would you like the City to promote in the South of Eastern area?

   PORT LANDS AND SOUTH OF EASTERN TRANSPORTATION AND SERVICING MASTER PLAN

 
Based on a review of existing conditions and objectives to revitalize the Port Lands and ensure continued economic growth in South of Eastern, problems and opportunities to be addressed in the Environmental Assessment process have been developed.   

PROBLEMS

• Existing infrastructure is insufficient or is non-existent.
• Major infrastructure like the Gardiner Expressway, Lake Shore Boulevard and rail corridors are impediments for better connections.
• Street networks are limited.
• The areas lack defined streetscapes and pedestrian amenity.
• There is no higher-order transit service and introducing higher-order transit on Commissioners Street requires resolving the hydro transmission towers located within the right-of-way east of the Don Roadway.
• Existing connections across the Ship Channel are insufficient or are in disrepair.
• New streets and servicing requires resolving soil contamination issues.  Moreover, the area has a high water table.
• The long-term revitalization of the lands necessitates developing strategies to ensure compatibility between existing industrial traffic and revitalized city environments.

 OPPORTUNITIES

• Located within close proximity to the City’s downtown.
• Opportunities to improve existing infrastructure comprehensively as the Port Lands and South of Eastern undergo redevelopment, including:
  • introducing and extending higher order transit routes;
  • improving existing streets and establishing new streets;
  • providing complete streets;
  • capitalizing on the Ship Channel and Turning Basin for water-based transportation opportunities;
  • managing transportation impacts of growth on established, stable residential neighbourhoods;
  • providing innovative, state-of-the-art stormwater facilities; and
  • providing the needed capacity for other municipal servicing.

6. Do you think these problems and opportunities reflect the issues that need to be addressed in the Port Lands and South of Eastern area from a transportation and servicing perspective? Are there other problems and opportunities that should be considered?

OPTIONAL: Please PRINT name, address, and email:

• X I consent to the disclosure of this comment sheet containing my name, adderss and comments to teh respective Ward Councillor(s) for the purpose of communicating with me about this planning matter.
• X Please ensure that my name is on the City Clerk's Office mailing list for the initiatives I've idnetified as of interest to me.

Advisory committees / working groups are being established for the different initiatives. These are smaller groups of interested community members which would provide  input on the different initiatives at key stages in the process.

Please advise if you would like to participate on an advisory committee / working group for any of the initiatives identified below and provide your contact information above.

• X Port Lands Planning Framework
• Cousins Quay Precinct Plan
• Film Studio Precinct Plan
• X South of Eastern Strategic Direction
• X Port Lands and South of Eastern Transportation and Servicing Master Plan EA

The formal notice of any public meeting held by the City will be sent to:  property owners within 120m (400 feet) of the property; anyone submitting a written request to the City Clerk’s Office to be notified; and anyone entering their name on a Sign-in or Comments sheet provided at the Community Consultation Meeting.

The personal information on this form is collected under the authority of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, the Planning Act, and the City of Toronto Municipal Code.  The City collects this information to enable it to make an informed decision on the relevant issue(s).  Individuals who submit correspondence should be aware that any personal information in their communication will become part of the public record.  The City will make it available to the public, unless the individual expressly requests the City to remove the personal information.  Questions about the collection of this information may be directed to the Planner listed above.

_______________________

My Submissions

(typo's were corrected - street address redacted - email robot-protected)

1. What do you see as the two or three key issues and/or opportunities that need to be addressed in the Port Lands Planning Framework?

CONNECTING THE PORT LANDS TO THE CITY - Connecting neighbourhoods with sustainable transportation models.

Leslie has been cut off from the Waterfront by three Box Store developments that rely on car traffic as part of their business model. These create high volumes of car traffic on a narrow street that prevent separated cycling infrastructure where it is needed because of (ironically) the volume of traffic.

The TTC Leslie Barns project extends these peak hours congestion.

The new Cement Plant at the East end of the shipping channel also adds to automobile traffic congestion by adding dangerous noisy heavy trucks to the mix.

These barrier conditions call for new roadways across the Grand Boulevard at Pape, Carlaw and Logan. This three-street area should be considered a Complete Streets corridor - with separate for pedestrians / separate of cyclists, fly-over bridges across the Shipping Channel. The new streets should accommodate a mass public transit corridor as well.

A place that through Complete Streets in neighbourhoods West, North and East of it, will connect the city to the Great Lake Ontario; a corner stone towards creating a liveable city - that would become a show-case for the Complete Streets transportation visioning for the entire Greater Toronto-Hamilton Region - and the world.

2. What types of land uses and/or character would you like the different areas in the Port Lands to have?

Lower Don Lands:
Mix of residential and commercial - service industries and knowledge work. Park Lands along the existing dock to expand park area around a naturalized Don River. Suggestion: Design around recreational fishing as an existing form.


Film Studio District:
Design Towards Biggest Film Studio in North America - big indoor Spaces and Sound Stages and ancillary businesses. Surround with Art, Design and Information Technology Schools and Colleges.


East Port:
Mixed residential / commercial area with Complete Streets that connect neighbourhoods to the Lake. Suggestion: Use Community Gardens as an existing form fdesigh parameter.


South of the Ship Channel:
Mixed Residential/Commercial with an accent on connectivity to the Waterfront - especially recreational cycling.

Existing forms: Urban Wilderness, Tommy Thompson Park (TTP); the Yacht Club; various recreational cycling forms; Martin Goodman Trail. Community Gardens.

Tommy Thompson Park users are 50% cyclists now (2012 data - TRCA. Road cyclists are currently using the Urban Wilderness to train on during the week - towards this subcultures' long, weekend, Group Road Rides. (See "Beaches Cycling Club" ... and many other such road-cycling clubs - a vast much-unknown subcultural reality.)

Add a Separated Cycling Training Track now (as TRCA doesn't want road cyclists training on the Park due to the sensitive habitat and trail user conflicts). Visioning a circuit the length of the Port Lands, separated by layers in depth, of staggered hedges. :)

Use the reality of this road biking, training infrastructure as an existing form in later phases.

[N.B. - I am on the TTP-User Group as a Cycling Representative; and a Cycle Toronto Ward 30 Captain; a commute cyclist, not a group road cyclist - done much research and outreach on this issue.]

3. Do the draft objectives reflect how you see the Port Lands developing? Provide us with your ideas and suggestions on how to improve these objectives.

[see Answer 1. and  2.]

4. Are there specific improvements that you would like to see in the South of Eastern area? Are there areas that you think need special attention?

Coming up with employment business models that do not rely on the car transportation model is key to creating and maintaining good connections between the city and the waterfront.

5. What types of businesses and economic activity would you like the City to promote in the South of Eastern area?

Business models that do not rely on the car transportation model. See Answer 2. subheadings for each area.

6. Do you think these problems and opportunities reflect the issues that need to be addressed in the Port Lands and South of Eastern area from a transportation and servicing perspective? Are there other problems and opportunities that should be considered?

Perhaps canal transportation! (Venice, Rotterdam...) Extend the water channel North and South from the shipping channel! Fascinating. Could redefine the entire vision.

OPTIONAL: Please PRINT name, address, and email:

Michael Holloway
Jones Avenue,
Toronto Ontario M4M 2Z8

michaelholloway111(at)gmail(dot)com

Writing on this a lot, at Ward 30 Bikes BLOG: http://ward30bikes.blogspot.ca/


END


Submitted by Michael Holloway - December 12, 2013 at 1:33am



mh