Pave paradise and put up a parking lot
JOHN LORINC
Special to The Globe and Mail
Around Parkdale these days, the locals have taken to calling their strip of the waterfront "the Wild West."
Heading into a summer when tens of thousands are expected to flock to a brand-new watercourse for the world championship dragon boat races, neighbourhood residents are bracing for huge crowds. The western beaches are about to roar back to life. But for reasons that mystify area residents, city officials are simultaneously preparing to hive off portions of scarce waterfront land for a 120-space parking lot and a pair of fenced-off boat storage areas proposed for one of the area's few remaining natural beaches.
Those moves have outraged Parkdale residents who frequent the area and are demanding to know why the local councillor, Sylvia Watson, seems to have signed off on what they call a creeping privatization of the lakeshore.
"The last place we'd want more parking is on the waterfront," says Roger Brook, co-chair of the Parkdale Residents Association's development committee. Residents are concerned about the environmental impact and the loss of accessible green space at the water's edge. "I feel defensive about this land," says David Greig, a 39-year-old designer who walks and boats in the area. "Not an inch should be given up."
Unlike other areas of the waterfront, the Toronto Transit Commission doesn't provide transit to improve public access. Nor have city officials developed a long-term vision for the area, which includes boating and sports clubs, the Palais Royale, the Sunnyside Beach pavilion, the Martin Goodman Trail, a boardwalk and concessions.
"There's no overreaching plan," Mr. Greig says, "so everyone wants to get their stakes in the ground while it's up for grabs."
"It's all about balancing the needs of the various users of the waterfront," Ms. Watson (Parkdale-High Park) responds. "You need to look at the whole picture."
This spring, a big part of that whole picture is the much-anticipated restoration of the Palais Royale. A year ago, Shoreline Entertainment, which runs other historic eateries in Toronto, signed a 15-year lease for the storied property, and it is spending $3-million to revive it as an upscale banquet hall with a capacity of 1,000. The venue is due to reopen in June, and city officials are hoping it will become a major new attraction along this stretch of the lakeshore.
To deal with traffic, Shoreline and parks staff cut a deal to build a 120-space parking lot within a grove of century-old willow trees that sit on a swath of land sandwiched between the Palais Royale and the Boulevard Club.
Shoreline president Terry Tsianos intends to spend $120,000 on the lot and will pay the city $25,000 a year for use of the land. He admits that 120 spaces isn't enough even for a mid-sized wedding (he originally requested space for 450 cars), and so Palais Royale will also provide a valet service, shuttling the overflow to free municipal lots farther down Sunnyside Beach.
While the company says it intends to work around the trees, using environmentally friendly paving materials, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority has told the city that it is "very concerned" about the lot. City officials haven't responded to residents' expressed concern, but deputy mayor Joe Pantalone, Toronto's tree advocate, says he "was extremely nervous about this proposal," which he describes as a "work in progress."
Meanwhile, just a bit to the east, on a secluded stretch known around Parkdale as Yankee Beach, for its role in the War of 1812, Mr. Brook of the PRA says the parks department is considering a pair of requests to fence off stretches of about a hundred metres of waterfront land (about 30 per cent of the waterfront in question) on either end of the beach, to be used by the Boulevard Club and the Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club for private sailboat launches and boat storage.
Brenda Librecz, general manager of parks, forestry and economic development, says the city has yet to make a decision, and Ms. Watson says there's a need for more places where residents can launch small boats but insists she hasn't made up her mind on the issue.
Yet Parkdalers feel strongly that the city is prepared to sacrifice these areas for the sake of additional revenue and to appease commercial interests. They accuse the parks department of contributing to the lack of usage by failing to build waterfront pedestrian connections or cleaning up the beach. Nor has the city provided basic amenities, such as picnic tables and benches.
As he strolled through the secluded area one damp afternoon last week, Mr. Greig pondered the alternatives to parking lots and chain-link fences. "Wouldn't it be great if the boardwalk came through here?"
Submitted by Administrator on Mon, 05/01/2006 - 00:51 under Special to The Globe and Mail
Around Parkdale these days, the locals have taken to calling their strip of the waterfront "the Wild West."
Heading into a summer when tens of thousands are expected to flock to a brand-new watercourse for the world championship dragon boat races, neighbourhood residents are bracing for huge crowds. The western beaches are about to roar back to life. But for reasons that mystify area residents, city officials are simultaneously preparing to hive off portions of scarce waterfront land for a 120-space parking lot and a pair of fenced-off boat storage areas proposed for one of the area's few remaining natural beaches.
Those moves have outraged Parkdale residents who frequent the area and are demanding to know why the local councillor, Sylvia Watson, seems to have signed off on what they call a creeping privatization of the lakeshore.
"The last place we'd want more parking is on the waterfront," says Roger Brook, co-chair of the Parkdale Residents Association's development committee. Residents are concerned about the environmental impact and the loss of accessible green space at the water's edge. "I feel defensive about this land," says David Greig, a 39-year-old designer who walks and boats in the area. "Not an inch should be given up."
Unlike other areas of the waterfront, the Toronto Transit Commission doesn't provide transit to improve public access. Nor have city officials developed a long-term vision for the area, which includes boating and sports clubs, the Palais Royale, the Sunnyside Beach pavilion, the Martin Goodman Trail, a boardwalk and concessions.
"There's no overreaching plan," Mr. Greig says, "so everyone wants to get their stakes in the ground while it's up for grabs."
"It's all about balancing the needs of the various users of the waterfront," Ms. Watson (Parkdale-High Park) responds. "You need to look at the whole picture."
This spring, a big part of that whole picture is the much-anticipated restoration of the Palais Royale. A year ago, Shoreline Entertainment, which runs other historic eateries in Toronto, signed a 15-year lease for the storied property, and it is spending $3-million to revive it as an upscale banquet hall with a capacity of 1,000. The venue is due to reopen in June, and city officials are hoping it will become a major new attraction along this stretch of the lakeshore.
To deal with traffic, Shoreline and parks staff cut a deal to build a 120-space parking lot within a grove of century-old willow trees that sit on a swath of land sandwiched between the Palais Royale and the Boulevard Club.
Shoreline president Terry Tsianos intends to spend $120,000 on the lot and will pay the city $25,000 a year for use of the land. He admits that 120 spaces isn't enough even for a mid-sized wedding (he originally requested space for 450 cars), and so Palais Royale will also provide a valet service, shuttling the overflow to free municipal lots farther down Sunnyside Beach.
While the company says it intends to work around the trees, using environmentally friendly paving materials, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority has told the city that it is "very concerned" about the lot. City officials haven't responded to residents' expressed concern, but deputy mayor Joe Pantalone, Toronto's tree advocate, says he "was extremely nervous about this proposal," which he describes as a "work in progress."
Meanwhile, just a bit to the east, on a secluded stretch known around Parkdale as Yankee Beach, for its role in the War of 1812, Mr. Brook of the PRA says the parks department is considering a pair of requests to fence off stretches of about a hundred metres of waterfront land (about 30 per cent of the waterfront in question) on either end of the beach, to be used by the Boulevard Club and the Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club for private sailboat launches and boat storage.
Brenda Librecz, general manager of parks, forestry and economic development, says the city has yet to make a decision, and Ms. Watson says there's a need for more places where residents can launch small boats but insists she hasn't made up her mind on the issue.
Yet Parkdalers feel strongly that the city is prepared to sacrifice these areas for the sake of additional revenue and to appease commercial interests. They accuse the parks department of contributing to the lack of usage by failing to build waterfront pedestrian connections or cleaning up the beach. Nor has the city provided basic amenities, such as picnic tables and benches.
As he strolled through the secluded area one damp afternoon last week, Mr. Greig pondered the alternatives to parking lots and chain-link fences. "Wouldn't it be great if the boardwalk came through here?"