Toronto Society of Architects present:
City Transit – Transit City: How will the growth of our transit system affect the streetscape development of urban space?
Discussion will focus on Toronto’s new Transit City plan and how the extension of light rail transit across the city will affect the design of our streetscape’s, future patterns of urban development and the growth of the city.
DATE | Tuesday 6 May, 6:30 to 8:30 pm
LOCATION | Arts and Letters Club — 14 Elm St, 3rd floor studio
MODERATOR | Matthew Blackett — Publisher + Creative Director, Spacing magazine
GUESTS | Adam Giambrone — City Councillor + TTC Chair, City of Toronto | Alex Speigel — President, One Development Corporation | Roger du Toit — Principal, DTAH
7 comments
There’s a conflict with the Rocket Riders meeting at that exact same time.
Mind you these transit folks aren’t enthusiastic boosters of every single project just because it’s transit.
One example for me is the WWLRT, undercut in its very own EA from 1993 as not being effective in one of its two goals (bringing folks in from Etobicoke in a quick and direct way) and with the route modification of avoiding Ontario Place, it’s now less effective in the other goal. And that EA said it wasn’t cost effective unless done with a more direct alignment into the core, but we won’t really think of any comparatives in such a thing as a true corridor study – that’s money, and there’s Transit To Build! Now, before they wake up and ask what’s this $650M bill.
hamish>
I remember being at the transit meeting regarding this project.Understand that there will not be a solution to that route considering the principals involved.We both know that an east west subway is the best solution to the growing demands for fast transit.But it will take all three levels of government to implement.We are wasting time and precious recourses.Remember the waterfront LRT route is being planned to serve the new hotel/convention centre being built at exhibition place.
good luck and thank you for your commitment,this city needs more activists like yourself.
At the risk of dragging everyone’s gaze from the western waterfront, most of Transit City lies on suburban streets where there will be a major change in street design.
This comes about partly through the provision of the LRT right-of-way complete with simplified pedestrian crossings (ie refuge in the middle of the street), plantings and other features to make streets somewhat less “arterial” in their feel.
The other major change comes from the goals of the Official Plan to encourage a change in built form over the coming decades.
Together, these should (one hopes) lead to a more pedestrian-friendly and walkable environment.
That is the kind of issue for tonight’s meeting (which I cannot attend due to other commitments), not a debate on the specifics of the WWLRT or the FSE or any related projects.
An ROW for refuge would have been great when the 102 people on the Jane & Finch Jane’s Walk tried to cross Finch mid-block.
There are lots of reasons to like the mid-rise “Avenue” built form in the Official Plan, but there are challenges too. It won’t work if — like so many new buildings south of Bloor — 80% of the ground floor space gets leased to TD, RBC, Quizno’s, or Shoppers Drug Mart. Behind the sea of parking, the malls of Jane and Finch hold a huge variety of small, unique, and presumably family-owned businesses. Any new built form must be designed so that the retail component works for these businesses and not just the ubiquitous chains.
this would be a meet i would love to have come to but i have an evening class during the same time unfortuently.
Matt L> A merging of the urban chaos and excitement of suburban stripmalls with the more substantial “well built” urban form would be a great mash up. Bay Street best demonstrates what you describe — such a boring strip.
Please toss around the idea of LRT ROW’s with surfaces other than concrete. Houston runs their LRT through a fountain (http://snurl.com/27gb5), Kinosha, Wisconsin uses our own never-should-have-sold-them PCC’s on grass in places, (http://snurl.com/27gbe) and many cities use cobblestones or pavers (http://snurl.com/27gbz).
Obviously much of the ROW in the suburbs can be concrete or even open railway bed, but at key points there is no reason not to enhance the streetscape with some of these features. Toronto needs to stop being so cheap and bare-bones about … everything.