Dupont St.’s Gentrification: Ha!

There was a story in Saturday’s Globe & Mail about how Dupont St. is slowly being gentrified between Davenport and Spadina. It cites the opening of a new LCBO, a chocolate shop and a French bakery as signs that Dupont will shuck its role as a travel routeto become a quasi-retail strip. As much as I’d like to see it happen, Dupont is what it is - a busy route for people trying to get across mid-town. Still, there’s lot of potential. The land where the 24-hour IGA on Dupont & Shaw has huge potential for residential/retail redevelopment. It would also be nice to see a Firkin-like pub open on the Dupont where you could have a beer and taken the kids for dinner.

Island Airport: It’s Alive, It’s Alive

You have to give Robert Deluce credit for his persistance in trying to start an airline from Toronto’s Island Airport. His latest move is an agreement to buy 10 turboprop plans from Bombardier. Clearly, a bigger aiport is not part of Toronto’s waterfront revitalization efforts but guys like Deluce are allowed to create havoc because there’s too many parties at the table (city, province, Ottawa) and the lack of a single entity that can create a cohensive plans and make decisions.

This is not Tokyo

I had to laugh at the TTC’s decision not to adopt a policy whereby they would cram people like sardines into subways to create more capacity - a practice used in Tokyo. What it does do is put the spotlight on the TTC’s lack of money to grow the system at a time when ridership appears to be on the rise. For all Toronto’s talk about becoming a “world-class” city, the fact our public transporation system is begging for money is troubling. If the city is going to grow by 1 million people over the next 20 years - a policy that seems unviable from a standard of living point of view - the city, province and Ottawa are going to have to bite the bullet and build at least one or two new subways lines.

Torys to Hand Over Toronto Port Authority?

As the Torys make a play to break the Liberals’ stronghold in Toronto, Stephen Harper is starting play nice with the city, which is concerned he doesn’t have a pro-urban agenda. Mr. Harper’s latest attempt to woo Torontonians is a suggestion the Tories could hand over control of the evil Toronto Port Authority to the city. This compares with the Liberals’ policy of maintaining the status quo to keep its supporters happy.

Will the Soccer Stadium Deal Live?

If the PCs somehow win a majority government next week, do you think they will continue to support the spending of $27-million on a soccer stadium in downtown Toronto? For a party that espouses efficient government and the role of the private sector, how can they possibly support $27-million on a stadium when there are so man other press infrastructre projects in Toronto - water, roads, public transit - that are in dire need of capital? Frankly, it would be a good deal if the stadium deal evaporates because it would mean Toronto would be off the hook in contributing $10-million. This commitment is just another example of how the city has its priorities totally wrong. In an ideal world, Toronto should be spending $10-million to build several community centres to provide young and old people with places to play, learn and entertain. I’m not suggesting well-financed community centres can solve the problems of Jane & Finch, for example, but the can play an important and constructive role in the lives of many people.

More Ferry Tales

The Globe & Mail’s John Barber has a column in Saturday’s paper that just makes you shake your ahead yet again about the shenanigans of the Toronto Port Authority. With the ferry to Rochester out of the business, the TPA is apparently moving forward with a $15-million project to start a ferry service from its $11-million white elephant terminal at Cherry Beach to the Toronto Island Airport. Barber points out the $15-million would be well-received by Toronto’s money-making island ferries, which are in dire need of repair if not replacement. But the TPA has its own warped mandate to play havoc with Toronto’s waterfront even if means pursuing dumb ideas. I mean, what kind of demand is there going to be ferrying people from Cherry Beach to the airport? It’s all about politics. It seems bizarre the TPA is still active or, at the very least, hasn’t been emasculated yet. But that’s not going to happen with the Liberals in power because all of their supporters have a vested interested in the TPA one way or the other. Perhaps the PCs will finally kill the TPA.

Liberals Fumbling Toronto’s Waterfront Redevelopment

The Globe & Mail puts the spotlight (finally!) on how the Liberals have fumbled the ball when it comes to revitalizing Toronto’s waterfront. This includes 10 contracts that were awarded even though required publics bid weren’t solicited. Many of the companies that secured contracts are - surprise, surprise - large donors to the Liberal Party. And you wonder why the waterfront is still a political, economic and development mess. Given how incompetent the city, province and federal governments in actually creating a vision for the waterfront, it’s actually a good thing nothing’s been done because at least they haven’t screwd it up…yet.

My 2006 Toronto Wish List

With 2005 in the books, it’s time to look ahead to 2006. Here’s what I’d like to see in Toronto.
1. A crackdown on gun-related violence. Not just the Liberals’ promise of a ban of guns but a multi-level program to address the roots and symptoms of the problem - everything from well-funded community centres, and low cost or no cost recreational programs to mandatory 10-year sentences for anyone using a gun during a crime.
2. Signs of life on the waterfront, although nothing is better than some of the stupid ideas (high-rise condos, a small sliver of recreational space on the waterfront) that have been proposed. Toronto needs to implement a cohensive development plan rather than the project-by-project work being currently done.
3. Cleaner streets. I’m tired of walking around town and seeing trash everywhere. It’s a classic example of the broken window theory. If you let trash lie around, people think it’s okay to drop more trash. What ever happened to Toronto the Clean? If the city implement a limit of how many garbage bags you’re allowed to toss, do not be surprised to see bags dumped on street corners and in parks and ravines.
4. Smarter developer now that the Ontario Municipal Board appears to be getting defanged. A city can’t be planned properly if developers rule the roost and rely on the OMB to overturn every city planning decision that doesn’t go their way.

HOV Lanes On the 404

It will be interesting to see if the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on the 404 actually work by encouraging people to carpool. Frankly, I think it will only benefit soccer moms, construction crews, GO buses, etc. who will get a 10 to 15 minute break when they hit the 14-kilometer stretch of the 404 when traffic is congested in the other lanes. Without proper public transportation, there is very little or no incentive for all those suburbanites to get out of their cars. The sad part is it’s probably too late to implement a proper public transporation system in the GTA. This should have been done 20 or 30 years ago when Toronto began to grow. At that point, a regional planning authority should have micro-managed development by stipulating where new communities could be built while securing funding from government and developers to build public transportation to move people around. I mean, every time I drive up the 400, for example, I’m stumped why there isn’t a LRT running down one side to efficiently and quickly transport people to and from the ‘burbs. Then again, you probably need more people to make that kind of system work, which goes back to the planning process. I’m all for densification within the GTA but it’s got to happen outside the downtown core. Suburbia can’t be an exclusive domicile for the single family home with the 40-foot wide lot. Anyway, good luck HOV even though I doubt it will get used much.

OMB Gets De-Fanged

It looks like the provincial government is poised to introduce new legislation that will clamp down on the powers of the Ontario Municipal Board. For those unfamiliar for the OMB, it’s a star chamber-like entity that decides what real estate developments will be rejected or approval. It has powers that enable it to easily over-ride municipal official plans. If a developer want to put a 50-story tower beside a residential neighbourhood, it gets approved as long as the developer can demonstrate the project’s value. One of the OMB’s many flaws is the make-up of its decision-making board. Rather than being elected and held accountable for their rulings, the board seats are appointed by the provincial government. Many of the current board members were named during the Mike Harris pro-development regime so it’s no surprise they’ve never met a real estate developer they didn’t like. In many cases, board members have approved developments when they have no knowledge of the affected communities. Hopefully, the provincial government will change the system so the OMB becomes more transparent and accountable. That said, there needs to be checks and balances. Toronto’s city council embarrassed itself earlier this year when it rejected a development near Square One in Mississauga that city staff had approved. The project would have put several towers at a site ripe for development but somehow councilors were convinced by local residents it would increase traffic. Fortunately, the OMB reversed the decision. What the provincial government needs to create a brand new body that somewhat balances the needs of developers and municipalites. This is a huge challenge but the OMB clearly can’t continue to operate as it currently does. I mean, why have official municipal plans if all you need to do is appeal to the OMB to do what you want?

 

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