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There is going to be a new bridge in town, and Toronto has a rare opportunity to build something great because the Bathurst Street Bridge is about to undergo a major renovation and extension. The familiar truss bridge (the steel-girder section in the above photo) is a listed historical structure so it will remain, but the less dramatic southern half is to be completely replaced with a new design that will accommodate a TTC right of way down Bathurst. Construction is slated to begin in early 2009 with development of the design about to get underway, so it’s urgent the right decisions are made now. City Council has already named the bridge after Sir Isaac Brock and it will be opened within a year or two of the 200th anniversary of his death defending Canada at Queenston Heights<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is an important project for two reasons.<\/strong><\/p>\n First<\/strong>, Toronto has the chance to build a real landmark. In the past, Toronto has built great pieces of public infrastructure in a manner this city deserves. Think of the RC Harris Filtration Plant<\/a> in the Beach, or the Prince Edward Viaduct<\/a> leaping across the Don Valley. These are iconic bits of city building that have come to define Toronto in our imaginations but have also become part of our lives, as familiar as our own living rooms. More recently, the pedestrian and cycling bridge<\/a> over the mouth of the Humber River has achieved this status — Spacing<\/em> even uses a photo of it on our promotional postcards. It is almost impossible to imagine Toronto without any of these structures now.<\/p>\n Great cities will often use bridge building as an excuse to construct something that reflects their collective civic pride — leaps of faith in themselves. Ten years ago London built a pedestrian bridge from the Tate Modern across the Thames to St. Paul’s Cathedral. The “Millennium Bridge<\/a>,” with its bold and unique design by famed architect Sir Norman Foster (same fellow who did the Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building<\/a> at University and College), has become as familiar and beloved a London landmark as the historic Tower Bridge<\/a> just down the river.<\/p>\n For Toronto, Bathurst is an ideal location to engage in this kind of heroic city building. The current workaday bridge passes by and over Fort York, the birthplace of the city and one of our most sacred of civic spaces. As I wrote in<\/a> The Toronto Star<\/em> back in September, the land underneath the bridge is also the location of the original mouth of Garrison Creek and contains multiple layers of archeological heritage (read the article<\/a> for more history of the bridge). This location deserves a striking landmark — one that would not only mark and respect this important area, but also create a welcoming and important new link to the waterfront, something Torontonians often express a desire for. Build this bridge well, and suddently Toronto has a grand avenue leading to the lake the likes of which few cities could match.<\/p>\n The second<\/strong> reason the design of this bridge is important is much more practical. The area directly around Fort York and the railway lands is one of Toronto’s newest neighbourhoods and will soon be home to well over 10,000 people. The bridge will be the major element of this new Toronto landscape, visible from both sides and underneath, not just an experienced for those crossing on top of it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Between Bathurst and Spadina, below the Cityplace condo towers that are quickly going up, a park<\/a> designed in part by Canadian author Douglas Coupland will soon be under construction. Immediately east of Bathurst, planned Toronto Community Housing Corporation buildings will have the new bridge as their principal view (see below). On the west side, Toronto’s premier historic site, Fort York, has been busy cleaning up and grooming the area underneath the Gardiner and will be installing a new public art piece<\/a> later this year. Another park, this one named after Toronto activist and secular saint June Callwood<\/a>, will be built on the site of the recently demolished Molson’s site by the new condo towers that are already supplying the area with life and activity. These areas will be used by the residents that live here, but also by Torontonians from other neighbourhoods either visiting or passing though.<\/p>\n What the bridge looks like from below is equally important. Because the TTC wants to run streetcars along Fort York Blvd and make 90 degree turns at Bathurst, they need the intersection to be level. This could require the lowering of the south end of the bridge, reducing the clearance underneath to just under three meters if the bridge cannot be built thinner with advanced engineering techniques or the ground lowered enough without destroying the invaluable archaeological resources below. On top of this, the bridge will be widened from 20m to 30m to accommodate a dedicated streetcar right of way, increasing the amount of land “underneath” the bridge.<\/p>\n If this happens, the contiguous and lush public spaces on either side of Bathurst will be cut off from each other because the space under the bridge will be rendered an unwelcoming environment. Low concrete tunnels are great for urban explorers and the occasional clandestine dance party, but for the general public they tend to become no-go zones, dark and full of perceived dangers. Keep the space under the bridge high and cathedral-like, as it is now, and the space remains open, sunlit and glorious, one that Torontonians can use for pleasure or for commuting by foot or by bike. For the city of the future, these off-road links through parks and public spaces, downtown and beyond, will become major thoroughfares, supporting the high density Toronto desires. But we have to plan for that now.<\/p>\n The good news is that transit plans, a landmark bridge and a structure that accomodates different modes of of transportation above and below is easily possible with inspired leadership and creative design. Most amazing is that the bridge, combined with the other public space enhancements in the area, has the potential to erase our concerns over what the Gardiner and railways do to our relationship with the waterfront. We’ll be watching progress on this closely over the coming months. Scroll down to see more renderings of area in question.<\/p>\n The above three photos illustrate the “cathedral” height of the current bridge. Though not landscaped and often covered with debris and rubbish, the area under the bridge is wide and open and a surprisingly pleasant place to visit (again, see Star article for more description of this experience).<\/p>\n New buildings will be mixed use, with a library and daycare. The middle photo above shows the Bathurst corridor surrounded by new the community.<\/p>\n Toronto Community House Corporation buildings will rise close to the Bathurst and Front intersection. Note the small patch of parkland in the above photo to the right of the bridge is also part of the Fort York Historic Site, but is currently scrub land adjacent to the railway tracks. This land will be reunited with the Fort.<\/p>\n Thanks to Stephen Otto for his assistance in putting this piece together. For further background on the bridge rebuild please check his article in the S<\/a>eptember 2006 edition of Fife and Drum<\/a> (pdf), the regular publication of the Friends of Fort York<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n All photos courtesey of TCHC<\/a> , prepared by the Centre for Landscape Research<\/a> at the University of Toronto & du Toit Allsopp Hillier<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![](\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3018\/2367560415_9e2f3a74cf.jpg?v=0\")
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