1) Something that stood out to me re: opposition to 60 units of modular housing at 175 Cummer Avenue.
This is Willowdale and Cummer:
2) The left image outlines the site of the proposed modular housing, on the north side of the Willowdale Manor property. The right image shows the proposed plan overlaid on the aerial.
3) This is the single-issue Voices of Willowdale website, that was created just to voice opposition to the proposed modular housing project.
Dear @OntarioPlanners,
You may want to reacquaint yourself with the Statement of Values and Code of Practice that you require planners to study as part of earning accreditation.
Statement of Values:
To respect and integrate the needs of future generations.
Members recognize that their work has cumulative and long-term implications. When addressing short-term needs, members acknowledge the future needs of people, other species and their environments...
Professional Code of Practice: 1.0 The Planner's Responsibility to the Public Interest
Members have a primary responsibility to define and serve the interests of the public. This requires the use of theories and techniques of planning that inform and structure debate...
1) When @fordnation proposes an idea for Toronto’s waterfront, you can be he will use the phrase ‘world-class’. No surprise, it’s one of the first phrases you find at the top of the government page on the #OntarioPlace redevelopment.
Let’s talk about ‘world-class’.
2) I hope we can begin with the shared premise that Ontario Place should be something special. That it is uniquely endowed with legacy, location, landscape, built heritage, and public ownership. It should be a jewel on the waterfront. A calling card for Toronto.
3) And just to emphasize the context, we are talking about a waterfront site, near dense and rapidly growing communities, at the heart of a city of almost 3 million people, and a region of 7 million.
1. Last Friday was the 7th of May.
That was the one-year anniversary of Sidewalk Labs confirming, in a post from CEO Dan Doctoroff, that they would no longer be pursuing the Quayside Project.
2. Others, more knowledgeable than I on the subjects, wrote and spoke at length on concerns related to process, scope, financing, data governance, and privacy. I myself wrote about the need to achieve greater public return from such a unique public asset as the Port Lands.
3. I don’t want to relitigate any of those issues. I want to talk about another aspect of Sidewalk’s pitch that got under my skin from the outset.
I want to talk about ‘lands that for 100 years have been lying fallow’.
1. A process is currently underway to develop a vision and framework for 520 acres of land in Downsview, served by three subway stations and a GO station.
It’s big!
Time to play, ‘How Big Is It?’
2. The Downsview site, atop NYC, would take you from Tribeca to Downtown Brooklyn, encompassing the entire Brooklyn Bridge.
3. The Downsview site, atop Washington DC, would take you from GWU, past Lafayette Square, to the Washington Monument and National Mall.
Paris: 650 km of fast-tracked bikeways
Milan: 35 km of streets transformed for cyclists/pedestrians
NYC: 100 miles of open streets
Toronto? After weeks of foot-dragging, you may get a short stretch of curb lane closed off in front of a busy grocery or drug store.
2. And it’s not just places like Paris, New York and Milan. Cities around the world and across Canada have been well ahead of Toronto with respect to expanding space for active transportation and outdoor activities.