Toronto The Bentway (was Under Gardiner) | ?m | ?s | Waterfront Toronto

What should be the permanent name for the park under the Gardiner?

  • The Artery

    Votes: 12 6.6%
  • The Bentway

    Votes: 76 41.8%
  • Under Gardiner

    Votes: 52 28.6%
  • None of the above

    Votes: 42 23.1%

  • Total voters
    182
Interesting tidbit from Cressy's latest newsletter:

Create a fenced space for off-leash dogs
We immediately started work on plans to add a small fenced off-leash area to Canoe Landing Park, in order to help reduce the conflicts between dogs and others in the park. It was a tight squeeze to find suitable space in the park that would not conflict with the ice rink, splash pad, public art, artificial turf playing field, or future school play areas! Designed to be installed quickly without complex construction or underground foundations that could add more delay, the short-term off-leash area for dogs was opened in the spring of 2017.
As a second phase of this work in cooperation with The Bentway, it will be possible to build a large destination off-leash dog run by extending Canoe Landing Park south into the open space sheltered by the Gardiner Expressway, which is covered with rocks today. Conceptual design work has been completed by City staff to confirm the feasibility of the project. With this additional space, we will be able to provide more amenities for dogs and their owners, as well as a larger area for running and the opportunity to provide a protected space just for small dogs. A similar high quality facility has been built in New York City as part of the East River Esplanade, which is also under an elevated highway in Manhattan.
Planning work is underway to coordinate the design and construction of the destination off-leash dog run with rehabilitation work planned for the Gardiner elevated structure and the easterly extension of The Bentway.

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DOLA_concept.png
 
Sorry I missed that… and wondering why it was only booked there for such a short time. Ephemerality plays a role in attracting attention of course, but could they not have given us even a full waxing and waning?

42
 
The bridge is dead - per the Oct WT Board Meeting CEO Report:

The other Priority Projects are reported on in the meeting materials for the FARM and IREQ Committees - and material aspects are included in the reports of these two Committees to the Board. Note that one such project, the Bentway Phase 2 Pedestrian and Cycling Bridge, which was approved by the Board in October 2018, will not be proceeding. As reported to the FARM Committee on September 25, 2019, the City has elected not to proceed with this project. Other improvements to the Bentway site currently are under discussion and updates, if any, will be reported to the FARM Committee (p. 15 of PDF)


AoD
 
This is great news. That bridge didn't really make sense and was going to cost millions of dollars that could be better spent on other improvements/expansions to the bentway. I wonder how much money was spent on all the planning and design work.
 
This is great news. That bridge didn't really make sense and was going to cost millions of dollars that could be better spent on other improvements/expansions to the bentway. I wonder how much money was spent on all the planning and design work.

Is a revised Phase 2 plan public, or does this reset everything in to the planning phase again?
 
Somewhat related, segments under the Gardiner North/South streets along downtown will be redeveloped to be made more “people friendly”.

Rees Street will be the first.

I don’t have access beyond the Globe’s paywall but here’s the link for those who do:


In the David Miller era, the city proposed beautifying the Gardiner as one of the alternatives to removing it. I wasn’t too keen on the idea because I wanted it removed.

With The expressway being hemmed in by developments on both sides, this option is starting to look more attractive. The elevated expressway is hidden from most vantage points except for the passages under which people have to cross. Brightening them up and adding some decorative finishes will help.

I’m glad to see Public Work, the firm responsible for The Bentway, tapped to design this.
 
Somewhat related, segments under the Gardiner North/South streets along downtown will be redeveloped to be made more “people friendly”.

Rees Street will be the first.

I don’t have access beyond the Globe’s paywall but here’s the link for those who do:


In the David Miller era, the city proposed beautifying the Gardiner as one of the alternatives to removing it. I wasn’t too keen on the idea because I wanted it removed.

With The expressway being hemmed in by developments on both sides, this option is starting to look more attractive. The elevated expressway is hidden from most vantage points except for the passages under which people have to cross. Brightening them up and adding some decorative finishes will help.

I’m glad to see Public Work, the firm responsible for The Bentway, tapped to design this.

Behind the paywall, it's explained that for now the improvements are only to Rees and entail only paint on the bents (same colour as the Bentway, but with quotes), and that the BIA is considering adding lighting.
 
Behind the paywall, it's explained that for now the improvements are only to Rees and entail only paint on the bents (same colour as the Bentway, but with quotes), and that the BIA is considering adding lighting.

I really do dislike the fact that basic things like these are treated like landing on the moon hard in this city.

AoD
 
Thanks to Nuit Blanche landing "near" the moon was possible ;-)

Let's face it - this crumbling dina(sour) is here for another 20-30 years. Other options in the past 2 or 3 decades were ignored like a pre-Cityplace cut and cover. This monster is here to stay. I don't know the painful projected maintenance numbers (or commuter interruptions) to keep it standing.

But Nuit Blanche showed some band-aid solutions more than worthy of longer term consideration (for non-drivers). Bentway skate-path was a nice idea.

I think a cut of the maintenance budget should go directly to "under" projects.

Don't think we need a billion dollar canopy or other defining masterpiece on top of the traffic. That's really only for for highrise views. So let's make as much as we can to growing "under" the Gardiner.
 

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