Proposal from YQNA’s Planning and Development Committee
A NORTH-SOUTH ALL-WEATHER WALKWAY AND
AN UNDERPASS UNDER LAKE SHORE Blvd.
FROM
UNION STATION TO THE WATERFRONT Timing is Everything and it is NOW! Toronto must not miss this opportunity!!
- Union Station Redevelopment is proposing a southern pedestrian entry/ exit with access into Bremner Blvd, which intersects with York Street south of Union Station.
- Four empty building sites on either side of the York Street/ Bremner Blvd. intersection are at the planning stage, starting with Maple Leaf Square by Lantera Development for mixed-use (commercial and condominiums) about 54 stories in height.
- The Air Canada Centre is also expanding on its built capacity.
- New Condos are springing up all around the area between Front Street and Queens Quay changing the demographic situation.
- All this new development is going to generate substantially increased vehicular traffic and further congestion and danger, especially to pedestrians at the Lakeshore/ York Street intersections (8 lanes of fast-moving traffic and an inadequate light-controlled system already exist).
- The two heaviest concentrations of summer pedestrian traffic to the waterfront are around the HarbourFront Centre and the Ferry Docks to the Islands at Bay. Families with young children and strollers, can be seen balancing precariously on the central Street Car reservation on Queens Quay to take a two-stop ride back to Union Station - - a very inefficient use of public transit.
The PATH system which has been a source of pride for Toronto in the past, has no plan yet that creates a wide, safe, short, and direct, North-South connection between the key nodes of activity in this prime area of the waterfront and Union Station, GO trains and Metro. This is an opportune moment to make the connection.The three levels of government: Federal, Provincial and Municipal are about to invest substantial sums of money to rehabilitate the waterfront through the TWRC. It is now necessary to consolidate and democratize use of the Revitalized Waterfront through this effort by improving access by multi-modal public transit for all city residents and visitors alike.An opportunity presents itself as the City of Toronto also owns the land enclosed by the down-ramp of the Gardiner Expressway at York Street. This is an ideal space for locating the main Walkway Meeting Point and the access/discharge point at Queens Quay.There is now an opportunity for the city to plan, finance and implement a coordinated and integrated plan integrating the innovative approach of the PATH system in the financial downtown with the Waterfront, and for the efficient utilisation of public transit facilities. This presentation has been shown to a number of stakeholders and so far the response has been overwhelming positive. THE MOST URGENT STEP IS FOR THE CITY OF TORONTO TO RESERVE THE RIGHTS OF WAY AND TAKE OTHER NECESSARY ACTION FOR IMPLEMENTING A DIRECT NORTH-SOUTH CONNECTION FROM UNION STATION TO THE WATERFRONT
.Map of Area between Union Station and Queens Quay showing location of HarbourFront Centre on west side and Ferry Docks on east side at Bay Street.
Source: Connecting People/Ulla Colgrass & Braz Menezes (YQNA Planning and Development)
