Maybe last week’s insane heat really did affect my head, but in a small way I found myself looking forward to winter. While summer will always be the time we celebrate freedom and outdoor activities, there’s a serene beauty in winter that only those of us who are forced to live through it can find.
I suspect one of the reasons we fear winter so much is because suddenly our public spaces become inhospitable and unfriendly; they’re places to avoid rather than hang out. One of the last places we think to go during the winter is the waterfront – not only is it cold, it’s windy and wet.
One of the reasons I liked PORT’s runner-up submission to the Central Waterfront Design Competition was it paid a lot of attention to the reality of our winter: it proposed a long skating rink into the lake, dozens of huts clustered at the bottom of Jarvis with fire pits in them, and of course those tall weather masts that changed colour with the temperature. While the winning West 8 design does have some winter ideas (see the above photo), I think they spent less time than PORT did on making the area friendly year-round.
Obviously most of us would rather be on a beach in August than January, but I’m curious to know if Spacing readers have any opinions on ways the waterfront can be enjoyed as an exciting place even in the dead of winter. These can be ideas you’ve seen in other winter cities or just something you’ve always thought might work. Please feel free to drop your comments here, and enjoy the summer while it lasts…
3 comments
I was wondering about the rink concept since Toronto winters generally dont freeze water anymore; I know this as an avid skater who finds it harder and harder to find frozen ponds. sd
I was thinking the exact same thing. It’s not often that anywhere in the Harbour freezes over enough to be skated on. It’s not often that Grenadier pond is frozen over enough to be skated on.
I agree the waterfront must take winter into consideration but skating anywhere in the harbour shouldn’t be in any plan, it’s just not reliable.
Aww, you crushed a hope.
There’s a pond behind my high school and since the winters are not cold enough. We’re not allowed to go on the ice anymore. The pond is pretty disgusting too because of the smell of sewage anytime else that isn’t winter.
Ice fishing is pretty cool too, but as you guys mentioned above, the ice can’t be thick enough.
I do like the ideas that are coming up for the Waterfront, though.