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52 Division Parking

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typezed

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Since spring the police at 52 Division at Dundas near University have been using the paved area in front of their building as a parking lot. The space is blocked from the sidewalk with temporary crowd control barriers. Does anyone know why this has been permitted? Would formal approval from council be required to create a new parking lot in this area? There's an underground parking garage behind the building. It doesn't appear to be closed due to construction or anything of that nature. I first noticed this reuse as parking lot the week after there was a display in the lobby of City Hall in which OCAD students explored ways of improving this small square as public space.

Also on the topic of police stations and parking: considering all the money that Waterfront Toronto is spending building parks and decks to improve the look and accessibility of the waterfront, should Marine Division cops at Harbourfront be allowed their chain-link fortress around the space where they park their personal vehicles?
 
typezed said:
Since spring the police at 52 Division at Dundas near University have been using the paved area in front of their building as a parking lot. The space is blocked from the sidewalk with temporary crowd control barriers. Does anyone know why this has been permitted? Would formal approval from council be required to create a new parking lot in this area? There's an underground parking garage behind the building. It doesn't appear to be closed due to construction or anything of that nature. I first noticed this reuse as parking lot the week after there was a display in the lobby of City Hall in which OCAD students explored ways of improving this small square as public space.

Also on the topic of police stations and parking: considering all the money that Waterfront Toronto is spending building parks and decks to improve the look and accessibility of the waterfront, should Marine Division cops at Harbourfront be allowed their chain-link fortress around the space where they park their personal vehicles?
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I agree this is an eyesore but the City has plans for that section of Dundas - see http://www.toronto.ca/involved/projects/dundasw/
 
For those who don't know, the reason the plaza exists and 52 division is set so far back is because Dundas was to be widened to accommodate four lanes in each direction from University to Spadina where it would then feed the Spadina Expressway.
 
Jonny5 said:
For those who don't know, the reason the plaza exists and 52 division is set so far back is because Dundas was to be widened to accommodate four lanes in each direction from University to Spadina where it would then feed the Spadina Expressway.
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Though I've heard an inverse argument: that it was planned thusly to provide an oblique "boulevard" approach to the AGO. (After all, for it to be widened so much on the south side would have involved a pretty marked jog at McCaul--even granting how the AGO was set further back pre-Parkin.)
 
adma said:
Though I've heard an inverse argument: that it was planned thusly to provide an oblique "boulevard" approach to the AGO. (After all, for it to be widened so much on the south side would have involved a pretty marked jog at McCaul--even granting how the AGO was set further back pre-Parkin.)
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I wonder if we're both right. The original plan was made and when opposition arose, it was re-branded to be an enhancement to the AGO.
 
I'm willing to cut the cops a bit of slack on this, while the underground garage is being repaired. But the City should make a commitment that, once the garage is back in use, something serious will be done about this wasted opportunity. Perhaps revisit the proposals from the OCAD students, or throw it open to a competition for landscape artists.
 
What I don't understand is why they feel the need to put up crowd control barriers for a parking lot? Can't they just park the cars there without putting up dozens of yellow waste high eyesores?
 
I agree with Hume here too. This is one stupid place to park a car. The sad thing is, it could be a great public square and improve that area a lot.
 
Yeah, I think it's more in the spirit of urban sloth than "Fortress Toronto"...
 
JasonParis said:
There's no sign of any construction whatsoever though.
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I don't know my self what is happening with the parking at this division, but I know for sure the police would not want to park outside unless they had to, for safety reasons.
 
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