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As of today, it is officially summer, and the perfect time of year to get out and enjoy our city and its walkable streets. Whether to intentionally welcome the summer solstice, or simply by fortunate coincidence, work on the newly revitalized Market Street has been completed as a pedestrian-friendly promenade, or ‘woonerf’. Developer Woodcliffe Properties has restored several historic properties along the west side of Market Street, which along with new brick street paving, beautifully complements St. Lawrence Market on the east side. In an unusual agreement, Woodcliffe Properties paid for the repaving on the west side of the street while the City of Toronto paid for the east side.
While the pictures from yesterday still show fences, as of today the street is walkable again. Still to come is an official re-opening as Woodcliffe readies new restaurants and associated patios. A new Taylor Smyth Architects- designed structure where Market meets The Esplanade anchors the site with a contemporary take on its historic surroundings, while at the north end the recently re-opened LCBO bookends the new work at Front Street. The St. Lawrence Market has never had more love from its surroundings!
As Downtown continues to push towards increased density and its associated traffic-related headaches, the newly revitalized and pedestrian-friendly Market Street strikes us as an inevitable success, and we hold out hope that it will entice developers and planners to consider bringing more woonerfs to Toronto’s quieter streets.
For additional information and renderings, visit our dataBase listing, posted below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the related forum thread or voice your opinion in the comments section provided below.
