Will Liberty Village get its much-needed new street?

[nfitz]

But how does it provide a link for Liberty Village. Is Liberty Village not situated around Front St and north.

No. Front Street doesn't extend any further west than Bathurst, where it dead ends. Liberty Village is west of Strachan and east of Dufferin, between the CN Lakeshore West tracks and King (and the CN Georgetown/CP Milton tracks).

There's some good mapping apps you might consider looking at. Such as Google Maps or Bing Maps

 

[car4041]

But how does it provide a link for Liberty Village. Is Liberty Village not situated around Front St and north.

Front St. doesn't exist that far west, but Liberty Village is immediately north of the rail corridor, and the recommended route of the WWLRT was immediately south of the rail corridor. Access would be via the GO underpass at Atlantic Ave. (And I guess also at Dufferin and Strachan for the edges of Liberty Village.)

 

[Automation Gallery]

Bursting at the Seams: Liberty Village bracing for 8,000 new residents

It’s rush hour in Liberty Village, and as always, cars and buses are lined up in a miserably long bottleneck of traffic trying to turn left on Strachan from East Liberty Street. There are far too many sardines trying to make their way out of the small can that is this neighbourhood. Factor in the new condos and townhouses that are currently under development, and in the next few years there will be an extra 8,000 people living in the area, estimates City Planner Jeff Markowiak. That’s a lot of sardines.

Surrounded by bridges, highways and rail tracks, the city has to get creative in dealing with that influx. In the last ten years it’s gone from a tucked-away, crumbling industrial pocket to a hub for new media and other startup businesses, dotted with retail and restaurants along the main drag of Liberty and East Liberty Streets. Most of the other roads are lined, or soon will be, with condos and townhouses. It stretches from Dufferin Street to Strachan Avenue, south of King Street with a few winding roads of new development above King that are grouped in with the neighbourhood.

There are few through-streets and limited access for pedestrians, cyclists and public transit. Anyone trying to get up to the King streetcar or bike to downtown or walk up to Queen West has train tracks between them and their destination.

The city has a couple projects in development to open up the space. The more ambitious and farther-off of them is the construction of an entirely new street, temporarily called Liberty New Street, along the south end of the neighbourhood. Running between Dufferin and Strachan, it would alleviate congestion and add to the neighbourhood vibe. If it happens, that is.

The City has been talking about the new street since the 1990’s. “We have been asking for it forever,” says Lynn Clay, Executive Director of the Liberty Village Business Improvement Area. “We’d like to see street-level retail, patios, bike lanes, you could sit and watch the fireworks over the lake.”

More..............http://toronto.openfile.ca/toronto/text/bursting-seams-liberty-village-bracing-8000-new-residents

 

[drum118]

Watch for Public meetings this year for a new road that will cost $68-$75 million. Its to be put into the 10 year budget that will see the road run from Dufferin St to Strachan Ave only.

The current plan calls for the road to be built in phases starting from Dufferin Street to Fraser Avenue ($15 M to $17 M). Phase B Fraser Avenue to Atlantic Avenue ($18 M to $20 M) Phase C Atlantic Avenue to Pirandello Street Extension ($32 M to $35 M) Phase D Pirandello Street Extension to Strachan Avenue ($3 M). Everything is subject to various things at this time.

 

[DSC]

Watch for Public meetings this year for a new road that will cost $68-$75 million. Its to be put into the 10 year budget that will see the road run from Dufferin St to Strachan Ave only.

The current plan calls for the road to be built in phases starting from Dufferin Street to Fraser Avenue ($15 M to $17 M). Phase B Fraser Avenue to Atlantic Avenue ($18 M to $20 M) Phase C Atlantic Avenue to Pirandello Street Extension ($32 M to $35 M) Phase D Pirandello Street Extension to Strachan Avenue ($3 M). Everything is subject to various things at this time.

Drum omitted to say that the full information on this is coming to Public Works next week. See: http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2016.PW12.12

 

[smuncky]

And this is the page for the project with maps and other info.

http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=82a88d0195ce1410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

I'm going to take a guess that this won't be done anytime before 2020. With staff only coming back with a financial strategy in June 2017, then onto council for approval, then drawings and construction will easily take at 2.5 years

 

[christiesplits]

Crazy how long this debate has been going on for. I remember getting a newsletter from then-councillor Jack Layton mentioning his opposition to the Front Street Extension.

 

[TOareaFan]

Crazy how long this debate has been going on for. I remember getting a newsletter from then-councillor Jack Layton mentioning his opposition to the Front Street Extension.

and i recall a Mayor, a Premier and a Prime Minister holding a press conference at Front and Bathurst jointly announcing and jointly fully funding the extension of Front Street and promising it would be open prior to the opening ceremonies of the 2008 summer Olympics "whether Toronto wins the bid or not".

 

[salsa]

Crazy how long this debate has been going on for. I remember getting a newsletter from then-councillor Jack Layton mentioning his opposition to the Front Street Extension.

The city has been approving condo after condo in Liberty Village, collecting development charges and property taxes, and yet they still haven't made some of the most bare minimum infrastructure investments that this place desperately needs. I used to consider it to be the worst planned neighbourhood in Toronto, but now there's Humber Bay.

 

[nfitz]

It does seem sad that the development charges don't seem to cover the cost of the necessary infrastructure. Perhaps an indication that Toronto development charges for housing need to be much higner.

 

[ponyboy]

This road is needed, but the Front street extension all the way to Dufferin makes the most sense. Is this still on the table at all? I'm relatively new to Toronto, so I don't understand why it didn't happen. The density allowed in Liberty village isn't justified without something like the Front St extension to connect it to the core.

https://localwiki.org/toronto/Front_Street_Extension/_files/front-street-extension.jpg/_info/

 

[salsa]

It does seem sad that the development charges don't seem to cover the cost of the necessary infrastructure. Perhaps an indication that Toronto development charges for housing need to be much higner.

The city made more than enough money through property taxes. It's time that the residents get something in return.

 

[TOareaFan]

^killed I believe. aimed 1 post up

Mostly (if I am not mistaken) because at the west end it linked to the Gardiner and was perceived to be a way of moving people through LV and that it would turn into a "freeway" rather than a local road that served the community.

If I recall correctly, it was a bit of death by 1,000 knives sorta thing....where the opponents rather than kill it just kept coming out with ever more expensive options to solve their problems and, in the end, the budget the 3 levels of government had set aside for it ended up being "not enough" to complete the project and the new municipal government was not going to contribute more money (because I think the new mayor was actually opposed to it) and it died.

That is my recollection....no intent on spin.....others may recall it differently.

 

[Towered]

At some future point this new road really should be extended east of Strachan to link up with Front Street at Bathurst.

 

[Amare]

The city has been approving condo after condo in Liberty Village, collecting development charges and property taxes, and yet they still haven't made some of the most bare minimum infrastructure investments that this place desperately needs. I used to consider it to be the worst planned neighbourhood in Toronto, but now there's Humber Bay.

Couldnt agree more with this statement, this is the exact same thing i've been saying for the past few years now. The city complains that the OMB has caused major issues with regards to providing proper infrastructure but when push comes to shove, it's not like the city has done anything to help with the issue.

No one told the city to come up with 2 horrifically planned neighborhoods and allow condo after condo to be built. At the very least they should protect for an alignment for a future road, but knowing how things operate in this city they'll probably end up selling a whole plot of land and allowing a future developer to do whatever they want with it.