I attended the first public consultation meeting regarding the new Toronto Central Waterfront Plan "Making Waves". It was well attended with about 100 people in attendance at the Sir Wilfred Laurier Collegiate Institute Auditorium in Scarborough. The first hour was an open house with maps from the plan posted around the lobby. There were many City staff around to answer questions. At 8:00 the formal part of the meeting started with City Councillor Betty Disero (Ward 17 Davenport) welcoming the participants and introducing the speaker for the evening Paul Bedford, Toronto's chief planner. Mr. Bedford gave a one hour presentation first covering the history of work on the waterfront and then outlining three recent planning documents that have lead to this new plan for the central waterfront.

He characterized this plan as a 'Principles Plan' one that outlines the vision for the area in broad strokes. The stated purpose of these consultations was to discuss the principles not delve in to the details. The details, he assured the participants, are something that will be dealt with in future consultations. He outlined the 4 core principles: A. Removing Barriers/Making Connections, B. Building a Network of Spectacular Waterfront Parks and Public Spaces, C. Promoting a Clean and Green Environment, and D. Creating Dynamic and Diverse New Communities. He then illustrated these principles using examples from other waterfronts in other cities such as Chicago, Sydney, Vancouver and others. He then elaborated on some of the 23 "Big Moves" projects planed for the central waterfront area.

At 9:00 the floor was opened for questions. Many of the participants were from groups who were interested in preserving and enhancing the green environment along the waterfront. They all praised the principles and direction of the Plan but also shared their concerns. One of those was the South Riverdale Portlands Partnership. Quoting from their pamphlet they are "a group of local residents, business associations, social agencies and environmental organizations concerned about the redevelopment fo the Port Lands. Their demand is for inclusion for residents of the city in the decision making process in the development of the portlands. This is also a concern of the Toronto Cycling Committee. If you want to get more information about this organization and have your name added to the mailing list you can contact Terry Lee or Paul Young. Another group presenting there was the Outer Harbour Sailing Federation. They are an association of 9 sailing and windsurfing clubs that are on the outer harbour just east of Cherry Beach. Their goal is to maintain the recreational use of the Outer Harbour area. They have a page to gather information about developments in the Outer Harbour area. There were also comments from several residents of Scarborough regarding the stretch of waterfront from Port Union Road to Rouge Beach. There are plans to have a revitalization project there which among other things continue the Waterfront Trail south of the railway tracks from the foot of Port Union Road toward Rouge Beach. The said that although the approvals and environmental assessments have been done the work on this will not be done for several years. They wanted this project to get the go ahead now. They pointed out that a tunnel under the railway tracks has been constructed at the foot of Port Union Road but it is closed waiting for the rest of the project to be completed.

I made comments on behalf of TBN and cyclists pointing out that cyclists are one of the largest user groups of the portlands as the Martin Goodman Trail runs along the waterfront there. My concern is that the portlands are often portrayed as empty, derelict, polluted and unused. That may be true in some areas but cyclists know that along the water from Cherry Beach to Leslie it is an urban oasis. We have to make sure the good things in the portlands are preserved and not destroyed for the sake of development. There are many good things in the plan for cyclists. One of the Maps includes a the cycling transportation network for the area. We will have to be involved in the future consultations regarding the waterfront to ensure that those plans are implemented. In addition we have to lobby for other cycling infrastructure to be in place such as bike parking facilities and bike commuting facilities. I echoed the concerns of the speaker from the South Riverdale Portlands Partnership. We as cyclists want to be involved in the process as stake holders, be at the table when decisions are being made rather that at the microphones responding to the decisions. (I wish that was how I said it, I don't think it came out that succinct.)

There are three more consultation meetings planned in the three other districts of the city.

2. Tuesday, November 13, 2001 - North District
Place: North York Civic Centre

Council Chambers
Time: 7:00-9:30 p.m*

3. Thursday, November 15, 2001 - West District
Place: Etobicoke Civic Centre
Council Chambers
Time: 7:00-9:30 p.m.*

4. Saturday, November 17, 2001 - South District
Place: DuMaurier Theatre
Harbourfront
231 Queens Quay West
Time: 2:00-4:30 p.m*

* The first hour of each meeting will be an Open House.

You can attend these meetings and make your views known or you can respond in other ways. The Waterfront Project has a 24 hour comment line 416-338-5750(voice) or 416-397-0831(tty). You can fax to 416-392-2974 or email to waterfront@city.toronto.on.ca. You can also send a letter to:

Toronto Waterfront Revitalization
55 John Street
18th Floor
Toronto, ON M5V 3C6

The comments at the meeting were mostly positive. The plan really has alot to offer. We just have to watch to ensure that the implementation follows the core principles that were laid out at the meeting.

Martin Koob
tcc-rep@tbn.ca