Don’t cut green space
It’s not as bad as Councillor Doug Ford’s bizarre Vegas North vision for Toronto’s Port Lands — but it’s far from good. The latest proposal by Waterfront Toronto to revise this prime area on the shoreline would hurry construction while sacrificing green space to development.
The councillor and his brother Mayor Rob Ford are no doubt rubbing their hands with glee. But this short-sighted and penny-pinching approach risks permanently undercutting the immense potential of the Port Lands. It should be opposed by all who want development done right, not just fast and cheap.
The updated proposal, officially revealed to the public on Saturday, is a second run at revising a far more desirable initial Waterfront Toronto plan, one that was the result of more than a decade of study and public consultation.
The latest rejig would eliminate about 40 football fields of green space meant for wetlands, parks and recreation under the original plan. Especially hard felt would be the loss of Promontory Park, which was to be built at the mouth of a redirected Don River.
In return the city would have more land to cover with buildings. And development could proceed faster, since the new proposal calls for a stripped down and simplified channelling of the river.
This latest scheme emerged after city council rebelled against the Fords’ ridiculous initial plan for a megamall, Ferris wheel and monorail — and handed them their first major policy defeat last fall. At the time, council asked Waterfront Toronto to look into speeding work in the Port Lands. Now we have the unfortunate result.
As is so often the case, haste would make waste. Everyone would like to see faster development, but it shouldn’t be done at the expense of sound city-building.
Recent expert analysis has shown that, given the current market for business real estate, it would take up to 88 years before Toronto would need all 3.1 million square feet of office space planned for the Port Lands. And the residential development that’s supposed to go there wouldn’t have to be built-out for another 16 years. So we have plenty of time to get it right.
After public consultation, this latest proposal goes to city council in July. Between now and then, Torontonians should let council know that they want more green space and less rushed development.