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Head of Slips (Waterfront Toronto, West 8/DTAH)

^ Wasn't that Canada Square? It's a federal project, however, it was announced by the Martin Government so I wouldn't be surprised if it was shelved when Harper came to gov.

Regarding the Portland bridge, something like the Humber bridge is likely, if only by virtue of the engineering necessary.
The span that needs to be passed over is quite large and because it is privately owned, pillars can't be put in midway to support the bridge. Because of that, you'll probably see a curved structure, supported by wires.
 
Continuing on the Portland bridge, it is virtually guaranteed that this will be a cable supported bridge due to the wide pillar free expanse.

You won't be seeing anything like this

Bridge_looking_east.jpg


or like this

Galer_sidewalkview.jpg


You'll probably see something like this

Pedestrian%20bridge%20over%20Rhine.JPG


or like this

800px-Humber_Bay_Arch_Bridge2.JPG


or even like this
sunDialBridge.jpg


Construction of this bridge will likely only follow the development of those West CityPlace lands so don't hold your breath.

On the other hand, I believe that the Portland head of slip is to begin next spring after the Spadina wavy boardwalk is complete.

Rees and York will follow.
 
CORRECTION: I meant Rees and Simcoe, but I spoke with a contact today about this and she told me that the order of construction is actually Spadina, Rees, Portland and Simcoe slip. This order makes a lot more sense since Spadina and Rees are arguably the slips in most need of these improvements. The slips at these locations narrow the sidewalk substantially, something that these new wavy boardwalks will solve.
Furthermore, the stretch of Queens Quay from Spadina to Rees is the primary candidate for the beginning of the narrowing of Queens Quay to one lane once this plan gets underway (Fall 2008).

Finally, my contact told me about rumblings at WATERFRONToronto regarding my favorite waterfront topic: The Gardiner. It is being said that both John Campbell and David Miller have reached a consensus on the future of the expressway. Because community consultations, and studies upon studies are still ongoing and because of the political sensitivity of this subject, nobody's taking any official stance... but, I can tell you this here without naming names....

The almost certain solution is to dismantle the Gardiner from Rees St to Jarvis. This would be a very realistic and executable solution since the project would involve beginning lowering the Gardiner to street level from Spadina to Rees, merging it into Lakeshore Blvd. and then returning it to an expressway at Jarvis which already has the necessary ramps. Little modification would be required at this Eastern end.

The Spadina, York and Yonge ramps could be dismantled freeing up precious real estate whose sale or development can arguably fund portions of this project.

I don't know when we would see this happening, but implementation can happen almost immediately because the cost is low and the necessary EA's are being done anyway to determine the best solution.

This brings us to WEST8's proposal to build a path from the foot of the CN Tower, past the Roundhouse (damn Lyon's!), across a newly traffic calmed Lakeshore Blvd. and towards the waterfront, yet another corridor linking the city to the water.
 
Don't be surprised if the slip doesn't end up looking exactly like the plan. Just by looking at it you can tell it would never pass code. I'm sure what is built will capture the spirit of the proposal but just as in every waterfront landscaping project the detailing at the water's edge is always changed.
 
Actually, I have seen the final architectural drawings and indeed the final design is very faithful to the original vision. Little has changed other than the rails at the water's edge which in the original design allowed for people to board kayaks and the like. The new version has higher rails which double as seating.
 
TrickyRicky said:
Don't be surprised if the slip doesn't end up looking exactly like the plan. Just by looking at it you can tell it would never pass code. I'm sure what is built will capture the spirit of the proposal but just as in every waterfront landscaping project the detailing at the water's edge is always changed.
Click to expand...

Someone will slip in

hoveround.jpg
 
WATERFRONToronto Delivers

WATERFRONToronto Delivers

When people think of the Toronto Waterfront, they forget it stretches beyond just the Queen’s Quay neighbourhood but out to Etobicoke and Scarborough as well.

Significant new development is already taking place and have already been mentioned.

Other notable work include:

The massive new Mimico Waterfront Linear Park scheduled to open in 2007.

The West Don Lands Bridge Extension and Bala Underpass.

Port Lands Sports Fields.

A great photo tour of all the recently completed projects can be found here:

http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/dbdocs//4703a8ea7e764.pdf

Spadina Head of Slip and Bridge

Design work is completed and approved for the Spadina Head of Slip. An in depth presentation was given at the AGM. The audience was assured that the design was approved and took into account accessibility and safety concerns.

This slip is being used as a test pilot before work proceeds on the other slips at Peter, Rees, Simcoe scheduled for 2009. The same thought process will be applied when the Spadina Bridge is also built next year.

The Spadina slip is officially under construction and I’m confident that when it opens in June 2008 it will appear as the presented in the final renderings.

Canada Square

Allabootmatt, I inquired about Canada Square during the question and answer period of WATERFRONToronto’s AGM in October. The request for proposals process began in March 2007 and a feasibility study is currently underway.

This plan will transform a large and unsightly surface parking lot into an attractive series of new public spaces and buildings overtop of an underground parking facility with approximately 700 parking stalls. The development project will reconnect the east and west sections of the Harbourfront Centre site in a dramatic fashion and will tie in nicely with the planned Queen’s Quay transformation.

From my understanding, the $25 million of funding from the Federal Government will only cover the cost of the new underground garage and not any of the new cultural and retail buildings that are now being proposed. The report will present creative financing plans to fund the new building.

As pointed out in the presentation slides, Canada Square is scheduled to be completed by 2010.

HTO Park North

At the AGM I also inquired about the parking lot north of HTO Park on the north side of Queen’s Quay. I was told that this piece of land is owned and controlled by the city of Toronto and will be turned into a park when there is funding in the city’s budget.

In my opinion, the city of Toronto is unlikely have any available funds to build this park in the foreseeable future. Control and responsibility would be better suited with WATERFRONToronto and a development plan for the park incorporated into the long term strategic plan.

Louroz
 
Yeah, I was there yesterday. People were curious, peeking behind the hoarding and reading the posters.

All the boring stuff will be happening over the winter such as the piledrivers doing their thing, underwater work, etc. I think we'll only see the decking part go up around the spring with completion at the beginning of the summer.
 
Brrr....I wouldn't want to be one of the guys (or gals) doing the underwater work over the winter.

FM: Thanks for finding out all that stuff. I hope they stick to the timeline for Canada Square.
 
From the Star, by Hume:

Rustlings of redesign reaching waterfront

Dec 03, 2007 04:30 AM
Christopher Hume

All may seem quiet on the Toronto waterfront, but looks can be deceiving.

Last Friday, a group of shivering Torontonians, including Mayor David Miller, gathered at the foot of Spadina Ave. to mark the start of the rebuilding of the central waterfront.

In case you've forgotten, that's the stretch between Bathurst and Parliament Sts. Several years ago, the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp. held an international design competition for this important precinct. The winner, West 8 of Rotterdam, proposed a beautiful and ambitious scheme that will see Queens Quay reduced from four lanes to two, and rows of trees and an 18-metre-wide boardwalk created along the entire five-kilometre length of the central waterfront. The plan also includes new wooden pedestrian bridges that will cross the slip heads, the first of which will be constructed at Spadina.

"We are now detailing the design for the Spadina slip head," explains West 8's Adriaan Geuze. "We're looking at exactly how it will be built. Parallel to that, we're working on the master plan for the central waterfront; we need to be precise about what our ambitions are. We're dealing with the daily uses of the area, which is home to a diverse population. Life isn't like what it was in the days of Napoleon; you can't decree how things will be."

For example, West 8 is now preparing prototypes of the street furniture that will be installed on the waterfront – benches, lamp fixtures and the like.

"We want a mock-up to see how the furniture works in real life and real time," Geuze says.

John Campbell, president of the waterfront corporation, is equally excited about what's happening.

"It's the start of the vision," he says. "We always felt that the Central Waterfront Plan would be Toronto's signature. So it's important to get started."

In fact, hoardings are up and equipment is in place. If all goes well, the new Spadina slip head will be complete by next June. After that, there are slip heads and bridges to be built at Simcoe, Rees and Peter Sts.

The big task will be narrowing Queens Quay. So far, the scheme has gone through a traffic feasibility study and is now the subject of an environmental assessment. These can literally take years, but Campbell expects the project will start in 2009 and be complete by the following year.

"It will become the Ramblas of Toronto," he enthuses, referring the famous pedestrian route that runs through Barcelona from the harbour. "That's why it's important for us to show people that we're starting. We want to create momentum and get Torontonians engaged."

In the meantime, the waterfront corporation has also launched a new design competition to recreate the public space at the foot of Jarvis St. Sadly, much of this site has already been designated to accommodate the new headquarters of Corus Entertainment. Among the four finalists is West 8, along with DTAH of Toronto; the others are leading landscape architects Janet Rosenberg and Claude Cormier, and Daoust Lestage of Montreal.

Though little has been built so far, some of the most respected landscape architects in the world (Michael Van Valkenburgh of Field Operations in New York, as well as West 8) have been hired to work on Toronto's waterfront. If they are able to realize their projects, this city may finally manage to join the 21st century.

Some major opportunities have been lost – most notably at the foot of Yonge St., which is set to become – what else? – a condo site, but 2008 should be the year the waterfront finally starts to take shape.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Several years ago, the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp. held an international design competition for this important precinct. The winner, West 8 of Rotterdam, proposed a beautiful and ambitious scheme that will see Queens Quay reduced from four lanes to two, and rows of trees and
Click to expand...


has it really been that long?

i thought it was just done a year ago?
 
I think it is absolutely ridiculous that there needs to be an EA to narrow Queen's Quay. A traffic study and a final design consultation should be the only things required for something like this.

EAs should be reserved for new projects or significant expansions of existing infrastructure. Queen's Quay should have been exempt.
 
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