July 14, 2008
Dear Residents of Ward 20:
The vote on the proposal to take down elevated portions of the Gardiner is set to happen this week. I'd like to thank the many of you who have written in with comments regarding this significant project.
At this point, what is clear is that some components of the proposal present significant benefits for the people and neighbourhoods of our Ward. Rebuilding the York Street off ramp, and freeing up city land is a good thing. Reallocating the funding for Front Street and removing it as an immediate threat is a welcome relief. But as positive as these things might be, the Front Street Extension remains on the books as part of the city's official plan, and thus remains a long term threat to the viability of the southern half of the ward. Removing the York Street turning ramp will leave a wide open green space surrounded by major roads which creates orphaned, perhaps unusable, public space.
The most difficult questions to answer focus on the eastern part of the city where the Gardiner will come down and where the plan calls for a new wider road to be built. Most of the discussion will centre on the traffic impact from the perspective of motorists commuting. Access to the waterfront is often referenced - but the kind of access is not defined. A wider sidewalk alongside a wider road provides more access, but more tunnels with smaller streets and sidewalks would also increase access.
Esthetically, traveling under a raised roadway is ugly, noisy and characterized by poor air quality. Removing the overhead expressway and creating at least double the number of at-grade lanes of traffic is just as ugly in some ways, just as noisy, and difficult to cross quickly or comfortably.
We are told that a "University Avenue style boulevard" is the model for the street that is to be created. University Avenue has only 8 lanes of traffic; two of which are used for parking for most of the day and on weekends. University is lined by buildings (on both sides) which are serviced by a network of side streets, all of which connect to the main street at signalized intersections.
Importantly, University Avenue has wide broad sidewalks, which lead from building to building, connect subway to surface transportation. University Avenue carries one-third the number of cars (at a reduced speed) that the new and old Lakeshore/Gardiner corridor must serve at higher speeds. As a result the park-like meridian in the middle is a comfortable place for area office workers to eat lunch. The new road way and its traffic island will have to function differently.
So far, I have presented the challenges that a new road design would present. But the area under consideration is as much an opportunity for a new neighbourhood and a new park system. To design and build a new road requires that the two other components be put on hold. Approaches to how other land is used in the eastern waterfront will, and in fact can only, be figured out after a decision is made on the route and configuration of the new road. This means that current environmental and urban design issues are now on hold pending a study and new proposals for transportation infrastructure.
Other waterfront councillors and the mayor, together with some notable planers in the city, have endorsed this proposal to tear down a section of the Gardiner as a necessary exercise. Their view is that if a study is not undertaken through the Environmental Assessment (EA) process a chapter will be closed and the option will disappear through re-development. They believe that issues such as what constitutes "better access" for pedestrians and concerns such as the impact on plans to naturalize the Don, can be addressed during an EA.
As you can see, this is a complex question, with multiple answers and implications. If it is an issue which you have ideas, concerns or questions about please feel free to drop me an email outlining your thoughts. I know this is short notice, I will not have much (if any) time to respond, but I would like to hear from as many of you as possible.
Thank you in advance,
Adam Vaughan
416-392-4044
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