Tewder
Senior Member
In some viewpoints of the rendering it looks like there are glass barriers at the end and lower sides of the slip/slurp ramp?
|
|
|
Head of Slips (Waterfront Toronto, West 8/DTAH)
- Thread starter interchange42
- Start date
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
No glass barriers. I think they're proposing seating/toe guards at the edge, like they do with the rest of the waterfront projects. The wood is also slated to have anti-slip treatments.
AoD
AoD
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
From the Post:
Waterfront revolution begins tomorrow
Posted: November 29, 2007, 11:55 PM by Rob Roberts
City
Ground will be broken tomorrow on a $28-million project that will culminate in a total reconstruction of nearly 3.5-kilometres of downtown waterfront between Bathurst and Parliament streets by 2011.
The Post's Zosia Bielski reports:
Tomorrow, work will begin on a slip at the head of Spadina Avenue. To be completed by June, the slip, carved out of timber and dipping toward the lake like a staircase, will be the first of seven along the waterfront. Next, construction crews will start building an uninterrupted Martin Goodman Trail through the neighbourhood and then revamp Queens Quay for pedestrian use between Spadina and York.
“Along the entire water’s edge we envision a fully connected promenade based on the quay wall where we would have a double row of maple trees, and then a timber boardwalk allowing you to make the full walk from Bathurst to the Parliament, uninterrupted,†said Marc Ryan, project leader of West 8.
The Rotterdam design and architecture firm, along with Toronto-based du Toit Allsopp Hiller, won a competition last year. Their plan is receiving funding as part of a larger $1.5-billion waterfront deal made between federal, provincial and municipal governments two years ago.
“The western part of the downtown waterfront was built in a way that the water’s edge isn’t for the people. It’s disconnected by the slips and this is the start of reconnecting the people of Toronto with their waterfront,†Mayor David Miller said today. “In the next two to four years, people should be able to walk from Ireland Park in the west, all the way along the water’s edge to the Don River in the east. That’s the goal.â€
Mr. Miller said the biggest challenge will be the ferry terminal, but was optimistic that this phase of construction on the central part of the waterfront would be completed within three years.
The entire concept is intended to draw people off Queens Quay Boulevard and encourage “closer contact with the lake,†said Mr. Ryan. The design’s highlight is a series of maple leaves floating on the surface of Lake Ontario. Surrounded by boardwalks, these are wetlands intended to process storm water running off from the city core.
Mr. Ryan says the wetlands are one example of turning the waterfront into a public destination “that’s not a shopping mall or an IMAX theatre but a public place, not just along the waterfront but out into the bay.â€
The plan also includes a series of curvy timber bridges rising from the boardwalk, as well as a series of pontoons, or finger piers, which will moor boats at perpendicular angles so as not to block views of the lake. The backbone of the reconstruction is Queen’s Quay Boulevard, which today, is five lanes bisected by crumbling streetcar tracks, a narrow, cracked sidewalk separating it from the slips.
The goal is to give more priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transit, Mr. Ryan said. Queens Quay’s eastbound lanes, the ones closest to the water’s edge, will eventually be shut to traffic and replaced by a public esplanade planted with native species of trees, not yet decided upon.
Mr. Ryan is re-imagining the humble boulevard by the water’s edge as Spain’s Las Ramblas. “Toronto is such a vertical city and it lacks the human scale, and also a strong image,†he said. “That’s the most shocking thing with the Toronto waterfront: you’re left with no impression. It feels very local. There’s an expectation that in such a fantastic city, the expression at the lakefront is underwhelming. Thereâ€s a lot of work to be done.â€
Image of Spadina slip courtesy Waterfront Toronto
AoD
Waterfront revolution begins tomorrow
Posted: November 29, 2007, 11:55 PM by Rob Roberts
City
Ground will be broken tomorrow on a $28-million project that will culminate in a total reconstruction of nearly 3.5-kilometres of downtown waterfront between Bathurst and Parliament streets by 2011.
The Post's Zosia Bielski reports:
Tomorrow, work will begin on a slip at the head of Spadina Avenue. To be completed by June, the slip, carved out of timber and dipping toward the lake like a staircase, will be the first of seven along the waterfront. Next, construction crews will start building an uninterrupted Martin Goodman Trail through the neighbourhood and then revamp Queens Quay for pedestrian use between Spadina and York.
“Along the entire water’s edge we envision a fully connected promenade based on the quay wall where we would have a double row of maple trees, and then a timber boardwalk allowing you to make the full walk from Bathurst to the Parliament, uninterrupted,†said Marc Ryan, project leader of West 8.
The Rotterdam design and architecture firm, along with Toronto-based du Toit Allsopp Hiller, won a competition last year. Their plan is receiving funding as part of a larger $1.5-billion waterfront deal made between federal, provincial and municipal governments two years ago.
“The western part of the downtown waterfront was built in a way that the water’s edge isn’t for the people. It’s disconnected by the slips and this is the start of reconnecting the people of Toronto with their waterfront,†Mayor David Miller said today. “In the next two to four years, people should be able to walk from Ireland Park in the west, all the way along the water’s edge to the Don River in the east. That’s the goal.â€
Mr. Miller said the biggest challenge will be the ferry terminal, but was optimistic that this phase of construction on the central part of the waterfront would be completed within three years.
The entire concept is intended to draw people off Queens Quay Boulevard and encourage “closer contact with the lake,†said Mr. Ryan. The design’s highlight is a series of maple leaves floating on the surface of Lake Ontario. Surrounded by boardwalks, these are wetlands intended to process storm water running off from the city core.
Mr. Ryan says the wetlands are one example of turning the waterfront into a public destination “that’s not a shopping mall or an IMAX theatre but a public place, not just along the waterfront but out into the bay.â€
The plan also includes a series of curvy timber bridges rising from the boardwalk, as well as a series of pontoons, or finger piers, which will moor boats at perpendicular angles so as not to block views of the lake. The backbone of the reconstruction is Queen’s Quay Boulevard, which today, is five lanes bisected by crumbling streetcar tracks, a narrow, cracked sidewalk separating it from the slips.
The goal is to give more priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transit, Mr. Ryan said. Queens Quay’s eastbound lanes, the ones closest to the water’s edge, will eventually be shut to traffic and replaced by a public esplanade planted with native species of trees, not yet decided upon.
Mr. Ryan is re-imagining the humble boulevard by the water’s edge as Spain’s Las Ramblas. “Toronto is such a vertical city and it lacks the human scale, and also a strong image,†he said. “That’s the most shocking thing with the Toronto waterfront: you’re left with no impression. It feels very local. There’s an expectation that in such a fantastic city, the expression at the lakefront is underwhelming. Thereâ€s a lot of work to be done.â€
Image of Spadina slip courtesy Waterfront Toronto
AoD
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
They were working at the Slurp Ramp site yesterday, when I dropped by to see Richard Fung's new split-screen film Jehad in Motion at York Quay Centre.
rp07
Active Member
This is great news! I thought the West8 development was dead or put on shelf since no news of any update was reported for quite awhile. Now it has finally begun. Can't wait!
MetroMan
Senior Member
^ It's always been slated to begin construction in the fall of 2007. Many of the projects that people think have been forgotten are simply in their "quiet phase" : environmental assessments, architectural and/or engineering planning, etc.
Quite a few of WATERFRONToronto's projects has been going on for some time. hTO park filled the big gap between the Music Garden and Harbourfront. Harbourfront itself was completely revamped with the new boardwalk and finger piers.
Now the smaller spots, the head of slips, are being filled in. Once they're all done, you'll have a pretty substantial stretch of a well groomed, beautiful waterfront from Bathurst to Yonge.
In the meantime, the city is working on improving access to the waterfront. North-South corridors are being opened up or improved. Simcoe St. will become a new waterfront accessible corridor and the Union Station Precinct plan as well as the Union Station redevelopment will improve the York and Bay St underpasses.
I would say that WATERFRONToronto is being quite successful in their pursuit of a beautiful, accessible Toronto Waterfront.
Quite a few of WATERFRONToronto's projects has been going on for some time. hTO park filled the big gap between the Music Garden and Harbourfront. Harbourfront itself was completely revamped with the new boardwalk and finger piers.
Now the smaller spots, the head of slips, are being filled in. Once they're all done, you'll have a pretty substantial stretch of a well groomed, beautiful waterfront from Bathurst to Yonge.
In the meantime, the city is working on improving access to the waterfront. North-South corridors are being opened up or improved. Simcoe St. will become a new waterfront accessible corridor and the Union Station Precinct plan as well as the Union Station redevelopment will improve the York and Bay St underpasses.
I would say that WATERFRONToronto is being quite successful in their pursuit of a beautiful, accessible Toronto Waterfront.
Blixtein
Active Member
I am retracting my previous comment. Great to see work starting on this important part of the waterfront.
MetroMan
Senior Member
To continue my train of thought regarding the North-South corridors, besides what the city is doing by opening up Simcoe St. and improving the York and Bay St. underpasses, the private sector is also doing their part in making the walk from downtown Toronto to the water quite seamless.
Telus and Maple Leafs Square will continue the street wall when one emerges on the south side of Bay St.
City Place is already having a huge densification effect on Spadina connecting it with lower Spadina and soon to the new Spadina head of slip which will itself be a destination and gathering spot.
City Place is also creating a new North South corridor to the waterfront by building the Portland bridge over the train tracks, giving people from the north side of the tracks an ease to walk down to the Music Garden and the future Toronto Museum @ the Malting Silos.
I'm very optimistic about WATERFRONToronto's work. It has been well worth the wait. Now, I better hurry up and buy myself some property around there as this is going to be Toronto's most desirable place to live in five to ten years.
Telus and Maple Leafs Square will continue the street wall when one emerges on the south side of Bay St.
City Place is already having a huge densification effect on Spadina connecting it with lower Spadina and soon to the new Spadina head of slip which will itself be a destination and gathering spot.
City Place is also creating a new North South corridor to the waterfront by building the Portland bridge over the train tracks, giving people from the north side of the tracks an ease to walk down to the Music Garden and the future Toronto Museum @ the Malting Silos.
I'm very optimistic about WATERFRONToronto's work. It has been well worth the wait. Now, I better hurry up and buy myself some property around there as this is going to be Toronto's most desirable place to live in five to ten years.
CanadianNational
Senior Member
It would be great to see the pedestrian experience on both sides of Spadina improved as it travels under the Gardiner now - a weak link in a massive improvement of the area.
The west side is uncomfortable to navigate while crossing Lakeshore Boulevard- and the east side is a grossly, inconveniently cut off from through access altogether. This should be remedied, and some aesthetic improvements applied to the very wide underside of the Gardiner here as well.
The west side is uncomfortable to navigate while crossing Lakeshore Boulevard- and the east side is a grossly, inconveniently cut off from through access altogether. This should be remedied, and some aesthetic improvements applied to the very wide underside of the Gardiner here as well.
ProjectEnd
Superstar
Can you confirm this? Or are you just going by rumors and that updated site plan that was updated a few days ago, or do you actually have confirmation of this?
MetroMan
Senior Member
I don't have confirmation, but I'm in the market for a loft so I've been speaking with several connected people who consistently tell me that the King + Portland loft community is going to have access to the waterfront via a pedestrian bridge along Portland.
I'm strongly inclined to buy a loft there. 2008 will be the year.
I'm strongly inclined to buy a loft there. 2008 will be the year.
ProjectEnd
Superstar
Fantastic, thats a lot more 'concrete' of an answer that I expected, Cheers!
I wonder if design will be taken into account. As in, if the rest of the project is running high on budget (perhaps someone is more familiar with the figures than I) would this be reduced to a pedestrian convenience, rather than a pedestrian experience?
There are breathtaking footbridges all around the world. Some are beautiful without even meaning to be. But please, oh please Concorde, put something even you will be proud of in 12 years.
Even in Toronto the Humber Bay Arch Bridge and Amsterdam Bridge at Harborfront stand as testaments to the fact that we can get more. These are beautiful structures which reflect the Toronto which planners and city officials say that were trying to be. - instead of the underwhelming and timid stuff we are usually presented with.
So will Cityplace step up to the challenge, or relegate this to a footnote and get their junior engineer to give er' a whirl'...only time will tell.
I wonder if design will be taken into account. As in, if the rest of the project is running high on budget (perhaps someone is more familiar with the figures than I) would this be reduced to a pedestrian convenience, rather than a pedestrian experience?
There are breathtaking footbridges all around the world. Some are beautiful without even meaning to be. But please, oh please Concorde, put something even you will be proud of in 12 years.
Even in Toronto the Humber Bay Arch Bridge and Amsterdam Bridge at Harborfront stand as testaments to the fact that we can get more. These are beautiful structures which reflect the Toronto which planners and city officials say that were trying to be. - instead of the underwhelming and timid stuff we are usually presented with.
So will Cityplace step up to the challenge, or relegate this to a footnote and get their junior engineer to give er' a whirl'...only time will tell.
drum118
Superstar
The EA for the West 8 design is just getting underway with the terms of reference being drawn up and will go to the public for input in Jan.
There is a lot to look at with a lot of data obtain so far to help EA get started.
Parking and where to put Tour Buses will be look at as well looking at TTC system as to leave it where it is or do some moving at various locations. All platforms will be longer and wider and this will have some impact on the exist road. .
Locations of new portal's has to be look at since the current tracks will have to connect to the Eastbay and Cherry St LRT lines.
The Cherry St phase I LRT EA is finish and to go to TTC as well Council in Dec for approval and then off to the government for final approval. Design and construction drawings will start in 2008 with the line being built in 2009. Phase II to go under the the railroad tracks and connect to the Portlands should start in 2008.
Eastbay EA is partly done and waiting for the West 8 EA so they can be match with the same design. Construction will start in 2010.
There are a number of other projects going through design competitions.
2010 and beyond will start to see some real changes for the WaterFront.
There is a lot to look at with a lot of data obtain so far to help EA get started.
Parking and where to put Tour Buses will be look at as well looking at TTC system as to leave it where it is or do some moving at various locations. All platforms will be longer and wider and this will have some impact on the exist road. .
Locations of new portal's has to be look at since the current tracks will have to connect to the Eastbay and Cherry St LRT lines.
The Cherry St phase I LRT EA is finish and to go to TTC as well Council in Dec for approval and then off to the government for final approval. Design and construction drawings will start in 2008 with the line being built in 2009. Phase II to go under the the railroad tracks and connect to the Portlands should start in 2008.
Eastbay EA is partly done and waiting for the West 8 EA so they can be match with the same design. Construction will start in 2010.
There are a number of other projects going through design competitions.
2010 and beyond will start to see some real changes for the WaterFront.
allabootmatt
Senior Member
But what, what, what the !*#$& is going on with the Harbourfront public square, to replace the parking lot? It's such an obvious improvement and was announced ages ago.
Jdot
Active Member
I'm OK with the parking lot at Harbourfront Centre staying as is right now while WATERFRONToronto focuses on other projects which are aimed at connecting the wide expanse of waterfront from Bathurst to Yonge. Yonge to the Don River is another matter.....