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Neighborhood News
Harbourfront, Toronto, Ontario
November, 2008
Big Plans = Big Money
Financial market woes are sending shudders through the development industry. That could have implications for the Waterfront, which is the fastest developing area of Toronto. Not only are we expecting several new condo towers, but improvements of streets, public transportation and the numerous Waterfront Revitalization plans that are also in the pipeline. So far, we have heard of no slowdown of public projects. In fact, the York Street Promenade transformation will begin this month.
YQNA has worked for years with Waterfront Toronto (WT), which is in charge of revitalizing our neighbourhood. We sincerely hope their ambitious dreams will come true. Among them are several highly arched wooden bridges that will connect the piers on the Central Waterfront. We got a peak at the first one, which was presented recently by the West 8 architects to the Design Review Panel at WT.
Here are some of WT’s beautiful images. The Wave Decks at Simcoe and Rees Streets will be completed first.
Proposed Wave Deck atSimcoe Slip
Proposed Wave Deck at Rees Slip
 
A Series of Wooden Bridges Connect the Outer Piers
Planning Changes
Al Rezoski, our popular city planner, has been promoted to district planner for the burgeoning downtown area south of Bloor Street and east of York Street. We are waiting for the announcement of our new area planner, but will continue to benefit from Al’s inspiring leadership.
When we met Al recently, he talked about a short environmental assessment on the effects of taking down the circular ramp at York St. and Queens Quay and the ramp feeding into Harbour Street. In a year or two – which lightening speed in planning – he expects the work can proceed. YQNA asked that the green area inside the circular ramp be developed at the same time into a beautiful Waterfront park.
Best Use of Parks?
YQNA has met with city councillor Pam McConnell and residents from the Islands to discuss the detrimental effects of having 3-day rock concerts, like the Virgin Fest last August, on the Islands. Sailors measured 120 decibels at the island yacht club, which is far beyond a health hazard. Many residents along the Waterfront were also bothered by the noise. We are waiting to hear about the advisability of using public parks for commercial events that close off the parks to the public for weeks on end and often result in the parkland being trampled by huge crowds.
Olivia Stays as MP
Our Member of Parliament, Olivia Chow, won her seat with a 2000-vote lead over the nearest contender at the recent election. Ms. Chow has attended many YQNA meetings and is a solid support for us on all Federal issues.
Special Guest: Adam Vaughan
City councillor Adam Vaughan will be our special guest at YQNA’s next meeting, Tuesday November 11 at 7 p.m. in the Radisson Hotel. He will talk about downtown issues and how he is supporting us at City Hall. Councillor Vaughan has a good track record as a defender of citizens’ rights vis-à-vis serious noise problems around the Island Airport and the Club District. We hope he will extend that interest to the Waterfront. All are welcome.
On November 5, councillor Vaughan and his planning expert Eti Greenberg will present the Community Mapping exercise carried out by Ryerson Planning Students. It’s a resource that identifies buildings and land ownership in the entire Ward 20, available at http://www.adamvaughan.ca/districts.php
YQNA contributed $500 to this excellent project. All are welcome to the presentation on Wednesday November 5th, 6:30 – 8:30 pm in the
Harbourfront Community Centre, 627 Queens Quay West at the foot of Bathurst.
Ulla Colgrass
Chair, YQNA
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