Grimace
Active Member
Park Lake should not have happened, but now that it looks like development is going to continue down here there needs to be a plan. In fact there is one, the Western Waterfront Master Plan, approved by counsel in 2009 and it would seem for the most part shelved since then. The western waterfront is heavily used, mostly with pass-through cyclists and joggers, and really should be a better maintained park. Sunnyside has a nice little cafe but the building as a whole is in terrible shape. There have been some incremental improvements such as the boardwalk but nothing significant.
I actually think that building on the north side of Lakeshore could really improve the area if done properly. Obviously Park Lake does not meet that criteria. The Western Waterfront plan changed the alignment of Lakeshore to remove the large and unused median, creating more park space, and moved the parking lots to the north side (northwest corner of Lakeshore/Windermere -- now being marketed by Build Toronto; and southeast corner of Lakeshore/Ellis). In my view midrise condos/hotels with ground level cafe/patios and wide sidewalks would buffer the park more from the Gardiner, and the developers could be required to provide public parking to make up the parking requirement for the park. I think there is sufficient land area to do this for the full portion south of High Park as well, and the money from land sales and other s. 37 funds could theoretically be used to finance other elements of the Western Waterfront plan. I also think the Lakeshore West LRT should be a part of this, but given that's pretty unlikely I still think the rest of the plan could go through. Unlike some I think the waterfront around Marine Parade is very nice with the condos in behind (though should have more restaurants), and this could be similar but with a much larger park area (albeit much busier road).
I actually think that building on the north side of Lakeshore could really improve the area if done properly. Obviously Park Lake does not meet that criteria. The Western Waterfront plan changed the alignment of Lakeshore to remove the large and unused median, creating more park space, and moved the parking lots to the north side (northwest corner of Lakeshore/Windermere -- now being marketed by Build Toronto; and southeast corner of Lakeshore/Ellis). In my view midrise condos/hotels with ground level cafe/patios and wide sidewalks would buffer the park more from the Gardiner, and the developers could be required to provide public parking to make up the parking requirement for the park. I think there is sufficient land area to do this for the full portion south of High Park as well, and the money from land sales and other s. 37 funds could theoretically be used to finance other elements of the Western Waterfront plan. I also think the Lakeshore West LRT should be a part of this, but given that's pretty unlikely I still think the rest of the plan could go through. Unlike some I think the waterfront around Marine Parade is very nice with the condos in behind (though should have more restaurants), and this could be similar but with a much larger park area (albeit much busier road).