By Damian Holmes, on April 23rd, 2010
The plan to redesign Queens Quay, the backbone of Toronto’s waterfront revitalization plans, finally has the go-ahead.
The provincial government approved an environmental assessment yesterday for a pedestrian-friendly promenade. Construction of the first phase, an 800-metre section, should begin early next year.
The plan involves cutting the lanes of traffic from four [...]
By Damian Holmes, on March 13th, 2010
A derelict area beneath a series of overpasses in the West Don Lands is going to be transformed into the most extensive park to ever be built under an overpass in Canada, and the first in Toronto.
Located within the West Don Lands – home to the 2015 Pan American Games Athletes’ Village – [...]
By Damian Holmes, on February 25th, 2010
The City of Ottawa released the names of the 5 firms that have been short listed from the 21 submissions received to compete for the design of Lansdowne Park’s open space.
The short listed firms are
Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates – Cambridge, Massachusetts
Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg – Vancouver, British Columbia
The SWA Group – Sausalito, California
Partnered with: Corush Sunderland [...]
By Damian Holmes, on November 18th, 2009
Waterfront Toronto, together with the Governments of Canada and Ontario and the City of Toronto, officially broke ground recently on Canada’s Sugar Beach, a new park that is transforming a surface parking lot in a former industrial area into Toronto’s second urban beach at the water’s edge.
Located at the foot of Lower Jarvis Street adjacent [...]
By Damian Holmes, on November 12th, 2009
Spacing.ca a great magazine and blogs from Toronto and Montreal.
Recently on the latest episode of their radio show (Spacing Radio) went underground into Montreal’s sewer system and look at how Vancouver’s is allowing residents to garden green strips and traffic circles (Ed: sort of a controlled guerilla gardening) to think about public spaces differently.
Its an interesting listen [...]
By Damian Holmes, on November 3rd, 2009
The Globe and Mail reports
A private developer holds the key to a proposed rescue of the iconic grain silos at the western edge of Toronto’s central waterfront.
On Monday, at Mayor David Miller’s executive committee, city officials are expected to lay out a plan to restore the former Canadian Malting silos that, a mere two months [...]
By Damian Holmes, on October 5th, 2009
Toronto City Council has overwhelmingly approved Waterfront Toronto’s recommendation to transform Queens Quay into a grand lakefront boulevard by replacing two lanes of traffic on the south side of the street with a beautiful linear park.
Transforming Queens Quay by creating open public space along the south side of the street with a generous new pedestrian [...]
By Damian Holmes, on September 14th, 2009
A new park that has yet to be named runs north from Fort York Boulevard and sits about halfway between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst streets. “The …8-acre park is the result of five years of planning and construction and was built at a cost of about $8 million,” says Terry Hui, president and CEO [...]