March 31st, 2009
This is getting ridiculous.
I walked down Queen Street West last week with a couple of colleagues from …
March 30th, 2009
In this post, I touch upon three different pieces of news in the local transit scene.
The biggest news so far this week in transit has been the announced takeover of GO Transit by Metrolinx, by …
March 30th, 2009
• What: Jane’s Walk 2009
• When: May 2 and 3, 2009
• Where: your neighbourhood, hopefully!
Bring Jane’s Walk to your neighbourhood this year by leading one. You can take part in Jane’s Walk …
March 30th, 2009
Each Monday, we bring you some of the popular posts from our sister blog, Spacing Montréal. We’ll keep an eye open for topics and discussions that are pertinent to …
March 30th, 2009
Regular readers may have noticed a decrease in the amount of posts here on Spacing Toronto in the last week or two. As we put to bed the latest issue of Spacing’s print magazine, the focus …
March 27th, 2009
UPDATE: There will be another opportunity for the public to comment and view the presentation materials tomorrow, Saturday, March 28 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at an Open House held at the Harbourfront Centre (Lakeside Terrace). The public will will have the opportunity for one-on-one discussions with planners and officials.
The presentation from the Wednesday, March 25 meeting is now up on Waterfront Toronto’s website. (PDF, 18 MB)
Waterfront Toronto presented their recommendations tonight at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel on how Queens Quay will be turned into a grand lakefront boulevard by placing streetcar lanes in the centre, traffic only on the north side and a pedestrian focused space on the south side. The study, which is for the section between Bathurst and Parliament Streets, is expected to be completed in the Fall of this year, and detailed design work to be complete in Spring 2010.
Highlights:
• There are two recommendations going forward. Both will restrict Queen’s Quay to two traffic lanes, on the north side of the streetcar tracks; one will see westbound one-way traffic, the other will have bi-directional traffic. The current centre streetcar reservation and bike lanes will be maintained west of Spadina Avenue.
• A four-metre wide Martin Goodman Trail, separated from the streetcar right-of-way with a row of trees, and will complete the missing link in this important recreational and commuter route.
• A six-metre wide sidewalk along most of the south side, with additional tree plantings and the potential room for street stalls.
• Wider, fully accessible streetcar platforms. Stop locations will be realigned in places, but stop spacing will remain about the same, approximately 350 metres apart.
• The first phase of the Waterfront East Streetcar will run through the existing Bay Street Tunnel, to Queen’s Quay and emerge onto Queen’s Quay East between Yonge and Freeland Streets. The potential for a decorative portal entrance by the West 8/du Toit Allsopp Hillier design team has been identified. In the short term, a loop at Parliament and Queen’s Quay will be the eastern terminus of this new transit line, until connections are made with the planned Cherry Street streetcar route from King Street.
• A two-way traffic pattern on Queen’s Quay may allow for a grass-covered transit right of way.
• There will be additional spots for bus loading and unloadings, as well as management of commercial deliveries to mitigate access and congestion issues for autos. There will also be limited on-street parking available. It is anticipated that the “level of service” for auto traffic on Queen’s Quay will be about the same, even with the obvious pedestrian, cyclist and transit priority measures.
More details and images can be found at the Waterfront Toronto website here.
The written press release is below. Let the discussion begin!
March 26th, 2009
Having grown up in the “city of lakes“, I find Toronto’s waterfront to be a welcoming refuge from the dry air and cement that characterizes the rest of the city. Of particular interest is The Toronto Music Garden, located on the south side of Queen’s Quay West, in between Lower Spadina Ave and Dan Leckie Way. During the summer it is a haven for butterflies and other insects, and is surprisingly quiet given its juxtaposition between the island airport and the Gardiner Expressway.
