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The Best of Times City-building is exhilarating, if sometimes messy, but those connected closely with Fort York have seldom had ten days packed as full of constructive dialogue about projects on the fort’s perimeter as they experienced during the last half of June. On June 17 the Urban Design Section of the City’s Planning Division held a public meeting where a presentation was 183, Toronto, M5A 1N1 The Fife and Drum / Website: www.fortyork.ca
made to show eight different ways to separate road and railway traffic at the level-crossing on Strachan Avenue south of Wellington. Each option had its pros and cons, and all involved some road closings. But it was an inspired piece of work on the City’s part to prepare for an Environmental Assessment (EA) study by GO Transit to expand the rail corridor, provide better commuter service to Georgetown/ Milton, and create a rail link to the airport. The next day, June 18, brought a glimpse of a less-inspired idea when the TTC Commissioners adopted a report recommending a streetcar line to serve the Western Waterfront be built under the Gardiner Expressway where it crosses the Fort York site, cutting it in half. This report drew our immediate attention. Not only would the line breach the integrity of the National Historic Site, a place of provincial archaeological significance, and city-mandated heritage conservation district (whew!), but also it would make a mockery of several existing Council resolutions requesting UNESCO recognition of Fort York and fostering plans for a Visitor Centre. The report was silent on how much harder it will be to take down the Gardiner, when that time comes, if there’s a streetcar line running underneath it. Still, the Friends of Fort York remain committed to the Transit City concept and to working with the TTC to find an as-yet unexplored solution to a century-old problem: how to improve traffic circulation in an area where the street grid is pinched and discontinuous. Earlier this year we supported a TTC proposal for a streetcar along Fort York Blvd. west of Bathurst so long as it stayed within the street allowance. The Commission’s frustration with service delays arising from road traffic and signal lights is very real, but the solution doesn’t lie in lacerating Fort York. Then back to some good news: at its meeting on June 23-24 Council approved an increased budget for an EA study on the pedestrian bridge proposed to link Fort York with the Stanley Park north of the rail corridor. Shortly the City expects to sign a contract for the study with Stantec and Montgomery & Sisam.
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