someMidTowner
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Great shots! You should post them here as well: https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/cne-air-show.17907/
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Humber Bay Shores
- Thread starter Filip
- Start date
Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
If you ever want to know how little attention Toronto City Planning department has given Humber Bay Shores in recent memory, the Secondary Plan for the area is still referred to as the "Motel Strip Secondary Plan". It calls for density FSI of 3.0 in mixed-use areas. Hah.
toaster29
Active Member
To each their own. It's a much more affordable option than Scaddabush and more independent-owned Italian restaurants. I enjoy their garden salad dressing.
Filip
Senior Member
It's quite funny - and why I think Keesmaat can go rot in hell for all I care. Her ~4 years in planning have been an even bigger train wreck than before regarding HBS.
Amare
Senior Member
Really you think Keesmaat is responsible for what happened in Humber Bay Shores? Things were in motion long before her time, you're better off blaming our past planners (Gary Wright and Ted Tyndorf), our previous mayors (Miller and Ford), and Mark Grimes. I would say blame the former OMB, but they simply came up with a plan for Toronto since the city was unable to come up with one themselves.
You're really pointing the blame at the wrong place. Do you think Liberty Village's failures are Keesmaat's fault as well?
Filip
Senior Member
Yup - I do, and so do my neighbours.
We were all out for blood and she was an easy target. At least the previous planners didn't directly affect the area - vs. Ms Keesmaat telling Metrolinx a GO station here would not be required by 2025 or in the forseeable future (while approving more towers over 200m)
Amare
Senior Member
Well you and your neighbors are misguided in your anger for why your neighborhood is the way it is.
The previous planners had a direct impact as to what has happened- in other words they failed to come up with a plan for the neighborhood after the motel strip was shutdown. The neighborhood lied dormant for years with the motels, and the city just sat on their hands and couldn't make up their minds in a clear fashion as to what they wanted to do with the lands. As a result, the OMB came up with a plan for them (and as you can clearly see it wasn't much of a plan).
David Miller was essentially pro-development around the same time and he was practically incentivizing development wherever it could happen, as it was a great way to bring funds into his piggy bank known as the Land Transfer tax. Development started to creep its way in once the SNC-Lavalin offices closed and the land was allowed to be re-zoned.
Grimes has been a councillor for the area since 2003 (long before a single residential tower was even proposed) and he has overseen every single pierce of change that has gone on in the neighborhood from the moment that the old motels were starting to be shut down. He could have pushed the city to come up with a plan for the neighborhood, but he didn't. He could have pushed Metrolinx (even before the agency was even formed) for a new GO station, but he didn't until after all the development started to take place. He could have pushed for more transit instead of dancing around with the issue initially with "improved 501 service" but he didn't.
By the time Keesmaat was inserted as chief planner in 2012, development was already in motion and the precedents were already in place. The OMB already wielded their sword and the city couldn't fight back by then since it was already too late. As for Keesmaat telling Metrolinx a GO station wouldn't be required, that point is ambiguous since Metrolinx already decided at the time (you can thank their Chief Planner Leslie Woo) that Humber Bay didn't need a station. Del Duca (the former Minister of Transportation) then began his political interference campaign which further put the Park Lawn GO station on the shelve indefinitely.
So as you can see there are way more factors at play than Jennifer Keesmaat telling Metrolinx the area wouldn't need a station until after 2025. And on another note, Keesmaat did not "approve" towers over 200 metres; as I said before the precedent was already set so even if the city refused the application for another tower, the OMB would have just overruled as they always did and you would have seen X more towers pop up anyways.
If you and your neighbors want an order to blame people this is what it should be (of course the order is interchangeable because many people are to blame):
1) Past Toronto City Planners (not naming Keesmaat)
2) Previous Toronto Mayors
3) Current City Councillor (Mark Grimes)
4) The OMB
5) The Provincial Government (McGuinty and Wynne) for their ineptitude in looking into the Places to Grow Act and the OMB
6) Keesmaat (even though she has very little to do with what has gone on in HBS)
Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
This made me lol hard. +1
I think Grimes should be blamed more so than any other party. He had near two decades to advocate for city planning to you know, plan the area.
Full Metal Junkie
Active Member
He also had nearly two decades to rebuild the strip of walk-up apartment buildings further west along Lake Shore between Legion and Royal York. He even came up with the Mimico 2020 plan and everything, but then proceeded to fight developers tooth and nail at OMB until he killed the entire revitalization plan. Those eye-sore apartment blocks are still there, crumbling away. Complete and utter incompetence.
Is there someone reasonable running in our ward (whatever it is at this point) this time around?
Amare
Senior Member
At this point it looks like we might as well write the man in:
Out of this list, it looks like Amber Morley would be the person most likely to give him a run for his money. Although it should be noted that Iain Davis is the son of Bruce Davis, a well respected former TDSB school trustee, if that means anything to anyone.
Oh there's no doubt, Grimes has had an extremely heavy hand with how Humber Bay developed into the way it has. He's one of the root causes of the whole mess.
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Full Metal Junkie
Active Member
Iain Davis' platform on his website looks like it consist entirely of copy-pasted cliches he got from "Politics for Dummies". Not a single ward-specific issue mentioned or addressed. If you don't know your ward, you should not be running. He doesn't look like he knows much of anything.
I like Amber Morley on paper. It is clear she is engaged with the community and is aware of the issues plaguing the ward. However, I watched a couple of videos with her and she does not strike me as someone who can competently and confidently get things done.
Just my two cents.
I like Amber Morley on paper. It is clear she is engaged with the community and is aware of the issues plaguing the ward. However, I watched a couple of videos with her and she does not strike me as someone who can competently and confidently get things done.
Just my two cents.
Namebutler
New Member
Do any of them talk about transit in their platform addressing specific issues like using the Go Line?
Full Metal Junkie
Active Member
Of the challengers, I only know of Amber Morley addressing this issue specifically. Enhanced TTC sevice and support for Park Lawn GO station. Mark Grimes supposedly puts transit as his number one priority, with support for a transit hub at Mr. Christie's site along with the new Park Lawn GO station while keeping Mimico GO. He sounds good on paper, but has delivered very little during his time in office.
Amare
Senior Member
Grimes has had 15 years to improve transit in the area, and the only visible "improvements" we have seen to date are:
1) 188 Kipling South Rocket (which is being studied by the TTC for it's feasibility and may be removed)
2) 176 Mimico GO Shuttle trial (which is useless except when traveling eastbound in the afternoon peak)
3) 145 Humber Bay Premium Express (which suffers from very low ridership and is under review by the TTC)
4) 66B Prince Edward (the only useful service instated during Grimes' 15 year tenure)
5) 315 Evans-Browns Line Blue Night (a needed service to cover the night bus grid gap in South Etobicoke so i'll give him credit here)
As you can see from the above list, Grimes has done very little despite his claims for being an advocate from improved transit service in South Etobicoke; 3 of the above services were introduced fairly recently (ie: 1-2 years ago). So in reality, that makes his 15 year record even worse.
1) 188 Kipling South Rocket (which is being studied by the TTC for it's feasibility and may be removed)
2) 176 Mimico GO Shuttle trial (which is useless except when traveling eastbound in the afternoon peak)
3) 145 Humber Bay Premium Express (which suffers from very low ridership and is under review by the TTC)
4) 66B Prince Edward (the only useful service instated during Grimes' 15 year tenure)
5) 315 Evans-Browns Line Blue Night (a needed service to cover the night bus grid gap in South Etobicoke so i'll give him credit here)
As you can see from the above list, Grimes has done very little despite his claims for being an advocate from improved transit service in South Etobicoke; 3 of the above services were introduced fairly recently (ie: 1-2 years ago). So in reality, that makes his 15 year record even worse.
