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The Gardiner Expressway is one of the more controversial pieces of infrastructure in Toronto. The highway is a vital connection between downtown and the suburbs, but also creates a vast concrete barrier that restricts access between the city and its waterfront. When The Bentway opened in 2018, it demonstrated that stitching the city back together across the Gardiner is possible, and even has enormous potential to create some unique and vibrant public spaces. The Bentway runs underneath the Gardiner from Strachan Avenue to Fort York Boulevard and has seen much success since its opening, offering a sliver of hope in the bleak gravel and concrete below the highway. Looking to build off this success, the Bentway Conservancy and the City of Toronto have started working on the Under Gardiner Public Realm Plan, a framework that imagines what the space underneath the Gardiner could look like along its entire elevated length from Dufferin Street in the west to the Don River in the east.
The public realm plan is being undertaken so that improvements to the spaces below the Gardiner deck can be completed in conjunction with the City's rehabilitation plan for the highway, work on which began in 2018 at the eastern end and which will continue in phases on different sections of the highway through 2030.
According to its proponents, "the creation of the Under Gardiner Public Realm Plan is an inclusive, multi-staged process (with a second round of public engagement to follow later this year) and a joint effort between The City of Toronto and The Bentway, leveraging subject matter expertise, perspectives, and public voices." Project consultants include PUBLIC WORK (conceptual corridor design lead), and Two Row Architects, Transsolar KlimaEngineering, and Third Party Public.
The principles and objectives of the public realm plan aim "to deliver the full potential of the Gardiner Expressway as a piece of civic infrastructure". They include transforming the Gardiner from obstacle to connector of the neighbourhoods along its length; prioritizing the public realm; harnessing the Gardiner's unique character; transitioning from just a highway to a piece of hybrid infrastructure; advocating for equitable and sustainable growth; and aiding the city's post-pandemic economic development by repurposing under-utilized infrastructure.
The experience beneath the Gardiner is not uniform along its entire length, and the planning team has already identified unique character areas. The primary study area is the stretch from Dufferin to Yonge Street, where the space beneath the highway is vacant or is adjacent to already existing public spaces or sidewalks. The secondary study area, defined as the eastern portion from Yonge to the Don Valley Parkway, is less accessible as Lake Shore Boulevard runs directly below the highway and the proximity of the parallel rail corridor inhibits adjacent active uses.
The project is currently going through the first round of public engagement, and is seeking input for suggestions on what should be included in the Under Gardiner Public Realm Plan. The project website features an interactive map where users can identify things they like and don't like about the Gardiner, add comments and suggestions, and pinpoint areas they feel should be focused on. The map is available for public input until June 30, but live engagement events are also being planned for the summer months. You can access the interactive map here, and can find more information about the Under Gardiner Public Realm Plan on the project website here.
We will keep you updated on all the various interventions planned below the Gardiner, but in the meantime, you can tell us what you think by checking out the associated Bentway Forum thread linked below, or by leaving a comment in the space provided on this page.
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