The National Post’s Chris Selley takes a look at the eastern part of Toronto’s Waterfront, which is way better than most people realize:
The next leading contender for Mr. Miller’s primary legacy is probably that Holy Grail of municipal improvement — waterfront redevelopment. It wasn’t Mr. Miller’s baby like Transit City was, but it did start to pick up steam in his second term. I don’t think many people have really noticed. I didn’t really notice myself until a waterfront-themed debate during the mayoral campaign, when George Smitherman suggested things were looking pretty darn good on the urban shore of Lake Ontario. I took a skeptical walk in the rain and ended up both wet and rather impressed.
The work being done by Waterfront Toronto really is impressive. The proposed underpass park for the West Don Lands, set to begin construction soon, is the kind of big-sort-of-crazy thinking we could use more of in this city. Even through this period of budgetary challenges, we have to keep building this city.
Rob Ford has continuously voted against waterfront development. At a Waterfront debate held last year, his only concrete idea for the area was the removal of the Queen’s Quay streetcar, to be replaced with buses. Also more parking.
Tags: city building, waterfront, west don lands