The second Port Lands Implementation Strategy Public Forum was held on March 3, 2005. The stated goal was to 'provide an update and seek public feeback on the Toronto Waterfront Revitilization Corporation's Port Lands Implementation Strategy'. Residents who came expecting an open forum soon found there were boundaries on what areas of the Port Lands they could comment on and limits on the questions they could answer.

The first part of the meeting, the update, included of a presentation on the work done to date entitled "Establishing the Givens"(Click to download the presentation(PDF-16.7mb). It was an interesting choice of title. The 'Givens' included the following: the Toronto Port Authority Facillities, the Rochester Ferry Terminal, the film Studio Plan, the Concrete Campus(a a planned consolidation of cement factories), the Portlands Energy Center(a proposed natural gas burning power plant), Storage facilities(for piles of things like road salt). About these there was to be no feedback. These were described as the context around which the revitalization of the Portlands would take place. At the begining of the meeting the presenter tried to impress on the crowd the size of the Port Lands with comparisons to other areas such as 3.9 times as large as the financial district. However once all the the 'Givens' were taken off the map only about 1/5th of the area was available for revitilization. The 'Givens' were also described as the context. Even those things which do not exist yet such as the concrete campus and things that have not yet received final approval, such as the Portlands Energy Project. To describe future industrial uses as context was an interesting technique to convince residents that they were a fait accompli. Even more interesting was that current users and uses were not described as context. They are the cyclists, inline skaters and pedestrians who use the Martin Goodman Trail, the users of the sailing facilities, the people who go to Cherry Beach. Neither were the future residents of the area seen as context. They were something that would have to co-exist with the context and presumably live with the 'givens'. To be fair the two major parks planned for the area, Lake Ontario Park and the Commissioners park were also described as context but they were not the privileged context. Debate was still permitted as to how these would take shape.

Once the boundaries had been prescibed the questions were posed. There were 4 questions that the facillitators wanted answered. As stated in the work book passed out to the attendees of the meeting they were:

• Is there anything major missing from the analysis to date?
• Character: We know the Port Lands is a unique place. How could/should the character of the development in the Port Lands reflect that uniqueness?
• Density: Sustainable development needs transit-supportive residential densities. If we had to decide where to put tall buildings (i.e. 20+ storeys) in the Portlands, where would be a good place for them to go? Not to go?
• Public Space: There are major green spaces in the Port Lands already planned, including the waterfront promenade. There will also be other smaller parks. What activities do you envision taking place in these parks? What thoughts do you have regarding the size and number of these parks?

At all of the meetings on the Waterfront Revitilization residents have said over and over again they don't want another Harbourfront style row of towers. Initial designs produced as part of the Waterfront Design Initiative showed low rise developments starting at 4 to 8 storyes and going to a maximum height of 20 storeys and these being away from the lake's edge. Now at this stage of the consultation process the only question asked of residents on built form was where should the 20+ (would that be 25, 30 and 40 storey) buildings go if we had to have them. The question is posed in such a way as to convey that this is something that we would have to do. There would be no choice. It would become another 'Given'. The proper answer to this question is "NO". This does not have to be a given. In fact lets go back and look at the other 'Givens'.

One good thing that came out of the meeting was a sense of frustration among many of the participants with the consultation process thus far and a common desire for a better forum for residents of Toronto concerned about the future of the Port Lands to express their wishes. A coalition has been proposed by community members and is starting to take shape. A meeting has been tentatively planned for Thursday, March 31 , 7 - 9 pm at the Ralph Thornton Centre at 765 Queen St. E. All the details have not be finalized. When they are I will post a followup. If you want to get on a mailing list for this group you can contact Dennis Findlay dennisfindlay(a)sympatico.ca(replace (a) with @ in your e-mail program).

There is also still opportunity for residents to have input into the TWRC's consultation process. The workbook used at the meeting is available on the web Public Forum #2 Workbook. You can down load that, print it fill it in and send it in. This feedback has to be in by March 17, 2005. You could also just send in an e-mail stating your views on the Port Lands. The contact info is below.

Tanya Hardy
Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation
207 Queens Quay West, Suite 822,
Toronto, Ontario M5J 1A7
Phone: 416-214-1344
Fax: 416-214-4591
Email: thardy(a)towaterfront.ca(replace (a) with @ in e-mail program)
Web: www.towaterfront.ca

The TWRC will hold more meetings on the Port Lands. Those dates have not been set. You can watch the TWRC website www.towaterfront.ca for updates. Information on the Port Lands can be found on the following page. Port Lands.
Martin Koob
tcc-rep@tbn.ca