Council votes in favour of pilot project

PHOTO BY BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS: Gleaner intern Geremy Bordonaro interviews eight-year-old Malina Fritz-Schwartz after her deputation at the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on April 25.

By Geremy Bordonaro

At long last, bike lanes are coming to Bloor Street.

On May 4, Toronto City Council voted 38 to 3 approving a pilot project to install separated bike lanes on Bloor Street from Avenue Road to Shaw Street.

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“Bike lanes on Bloor [Street] is a 40-year-long concept that is long overdue”—Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina)

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It was only the latest hurdle facing the pilot project, which was previously considered during six hours of hearings before the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on April 25. In the end, councillors on that committee passed the Bloor Street Design Feasibility Study and Bike Lane Pilot Project without recommendation.

“Bike lanes on Bloor [Street] is a 40-year-long concept that is long overdue,” said Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina), who has been helping to spearhead the pilot. “It’s overdue because bike lanes on Bloor [Street] will make it safer for cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers. It’s going to make it better for local businesses by bringing more customers into the area. Ultimately, it’s going to reduce congestion in our city by moving people out of cars and into more active modes of transportation.”

Although the bike lanes have been a long time coming, that lengthy wait may be instrumental to the pilot project’s success, noted Cressy, who said the community is ready to embrace the lanes.

“We have all six local residents’ associations who have endorsed this pilot project,” he said. “Ten to 20 years ago you would not have seen that type of support…. What we see here now is a real overwhelming movement in our city amongst our businesses and residents, cultural institutions and schools, of the benefits of bicycling infrastructure.”

It was an overwhelming movement reflected among the diversity of those who spoke to the committee in favour of the bike lanes.

“When there [are] bike lanes you’re not allowed to pass the lines. It’s [safer] for everyone and the kids can actually talk to their parents,” said Malina Fritz-Schwartz, perhaps one of the day’s youngest speakers, who gave a deputation alongside her mother. “Usually when you’re on a busy road when you’re riding your bike you have to put your head backwards if you want to talk to someone, because you have to be in a single file line. But if there were bike lanes, that gives you more space to talk, ride, and have more fun.”

While Fritz-Schwartz emphasized the boon to families the bike lanes would bring, Matthew Languay spoke of the potential boost to business.

“Walk-by traffic is really what drives our business. Bike lanes will not only help in terms of allowing more people to see the gym and be able to drive by the gym,” said Languay, who owns Basecamp, a rock climbing facility that is now open on the site of the old Metro Theatre. “But let’s say you’re driving by in a car and you notice a place and you’re interested, now all of a sudden you have to find a parking space, which outside of rush hour might be possible but anywhere between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. you’re going to have to try and circle around the blocks. It’s a large deterrent to looking into our climbing gym.”

Not all business owners are in support of the plan, however.

“I don’t see survival for my business on Bloor Street with bicycle lanes and one single lane of traffic,” said Michael Remenyi in his deputation to the committee. His music store has been in his family for generations, and he argued that the proposed removal of 135 parking spots to accommodate the plan would hurt his lifeblood.

“Being unapproachable and being perceived by the general populace as generally unreachable will change my entire business model.”

Cressy, however, maintains that the only true way to see the impact of the pilot project is to let it through.

“What’s critical in terms of how we’re approaching this, and what our professional transportation staff have recommended here, is to do it in a pilot so that we can measure everything,” he said. “I believe bike lanes on Bloor [Street] will be good for business, will be good for safety, will be good for alleviating congestion. Don’t just take my word for it. We’re going to measure and study it so that we can demonstrate the positive impact.”

READ MORE:

LETTERS: Annex cyclists already well served (April 2016)

NEWS: Once-seedy theatre renewed as climbing venue (March 2016) by Michael Chachura

Bike lane plan up for debate (January 2016) by Marielle Torrefranca

Bloor Street study launched (November 2015) by Summer Reid

A pilot bike lane for Bloor Street (May 2015) By Joe Cressy and Albert Koehl

U of T to present latest vision for St. George campus

By Marielle Torrefranca

The University of Toronto will hold a public open house on May 17 to discuss its latest development plans for its St. George campus.

These development plans are not new but rather an ongoing evaluation of the university’s needs and how they’re changing over time, said Pino Di Mascio of Urban Strategies, the firm U of T has contracted to lead its development planning, consultations, and applications.

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A specific area of change will be around King’s College Circle at the heart of the campus.

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Urban Strategies will be present at the open house to assist with explaining what the proposed developments are, its guidelines, and where growth is intended by executing mini presentations and holding public consultations.

Currently, the plan is in its early stages, and it will take shape through a vision and policy document called the University of Toronto Secondary Plan. According to Di Mascio, Urban Strategies has been working on the plan’s revisions for almost a year, fusing amendments of existing projects from 1997 and 1993 to craft guidelines that reflect expected changes in the next 20 to 25 years.

Some changes are predictable.

As some of U of T’s buildings are reaching their end of life, a specific area of change will be around King’s College Circle at the heart of the campus, said Di Mascio. New additions are likely to be renovations to existing buildings, and it’s expected that heritage buildings will keep their heritage core. The firm also has its eye on the area west of St. George Street and east of Spadina Avenue, an area that features 1960s modernist buildings, but lacks good public open spaces. According to Di Mascio, there’s an opportunity for growth there.

However, this growth does not extend to the student population. At a community briefing of the secondary plan in February, it was explained that student numbers are expected to stay static at 58,000 through to 2030. The expected shift is in ratios. The percentage of graduate students, who require different kinds of buildings and infrastructure, is expected to increase from 25 to 40 per cent.

“The university is in a puzzling position because it’s not taking on new students,” said Sue Dexter, the U of T Liaison at the Harbord Village Residents’ Association. “And yet they’re seeking to expand their build sites on campus, saying that they’re going toward graduate students [who] need more space.

“The problem is that if you start getting the kinds of densities — uncontrolled densities — or density that doesn’t have effective control, you change the nature of the campus and the neighbourhood,” said Dexter, who noted a possible loss of green space as one of her chief concerns.

Di Mascio said he hasn’t ignored these issues.

As Urban Strategies tries to cater to the needs of what he calls a “dynamic university” and “one of the most diverse, broad, and large universities in the world”, he said bridging the needs of the school and the community are on his to-do list.

“It’s all kind of a tricky balance,” said Dexter. “So when the university is going forward with their plans, we say, ‘What are you contributing to us other than your university?’ We’re all part of the same community. The relationship should be very tight.”

As for what exactly the new secondary plan entails, it’s still a watercolour sketch, said Dexter, who also noted the document is only “aspirational” at this point.

“We need more hard information about what their intentions are,” she said. “What we’re asking for is some precision.”

The public open house meeting will take place on May 17 in the University of Toronto’s Medical Sciences Building at 1 King’s College Circle from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

READ MORE:

U of T art museums unite under new name (February 2016) by Summer Reid

By Brian Burchell

Intensive construction work has resumed on the athletic field at Central Technical School and it appears that the new artificial turf, track, and seasonal dome will be completed on schedule.

The president of Razor Management Inc., which is rehabilitating the field and will operate the new facility under an agreement with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), said he hopes the work will be finished by August, even though the contract gives the company until September 1.

“However, we have advised the TDSB that we will not be entering into a shared-use agreement for the corner of Bathurst and Harbord streets, or make the improvements along Bathurst Street [the western flank of the field] given the tax issue,” said Razor’s president Mathew Raizenne.

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“We have advised the TDSB that we will not be entering into a shared-use agreement for the corner of Bathurst and Harbord streets”—Matthew Raizenne, president, Razor Management

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These improvements were part of the terms of the mediated settlement negotiated at the Ontario Municipal Board, a settlement that was contingent on the agreement of all the parties. Raizenne said he is disinclined to participate now that his company is subject to an annual tax charge of $25,000 on what he believes is in effect public land in 100 per cent public use.

This is but the latest development in a story that has gone on for over four years. Earlier this year, Razor halted construction upon receiving an unexpected property tax bill in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, relating to back taxes for the facility it operates at Monarch Park Collegiate Institute. The company had been told to expect similar tax rates for the Central Tech field once that facility was up and running, and Razor downed tools in protest.

Razor has since decided to proceed with construction while it appeals the commercial tax assessment at the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. Razor has also asked the TDSB to categorize the field as for public education use, which would exempt it from the MPAC assessment. To date, the TDSB has not done this, though the students will be using the facilities during school hours for TDSB programming.

READ MORE ABOUT CENTRAL TECH FIELD:

 LETTERS: HVRA still on board for CTS plan (March 2016)

EDITORIAL: Ship to wreck (February 2016)

Construction halted at Central Tech: Student athletes launch online petition by Marielle Torrefranca (February 2016)

Agreement reached for Central Tech field (April 2015) by Annemarie Brissenden

To dome or not to dome, that is the question (February 2015) by Terri Chu

Editorial: Mobs don’t rule, nor do pawns (February 2015)

Dome plan inches closer (February 2015) by Brian Burchell

School board appeals ruling and loses, again (October 2014) by Brian Burchell

Editorial: A strategy run amok (September 2014)

Dome plan quashed by courts (September 2014) by Brian Burchell

Raucous meeting on CTS field (April 2014) by Annemarie Brissenden

READ MORE ABOUT CENTRAL TECH:

Central Tech alumni return to mark school’s centennial (November 2015) by Annemarie Brissenden

Central Tech celebrates 100 years (July 2015) by Annemarie Brissenden

Aircraft program grounded in 2004 (July 2015) by Annemarie Brissenden

There were five separate reports of robberies between April 14 and April 30.

By Geremy Bordonaro

The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is looking for two suspects in a series of armed robberies which have taken place between Harbord and Queen streets, and between Spadina Avenue and Markham Street.

There were five separate reports of robberies between April 14 and April 30. In all cases, one of the two men brandished a firearm, taking a number of items and cash from the victim at gunpoint. All the incidents took place between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. and police are urging caution in this area between these times. Both suspects are described to be black males between the ages of 20 to 25 wearing dark clothing, with the first being lighter complexion and 5 feet 11 inches tall, and the second being 5 feet 8 inches.

Those with information on the crimes are being asked to contact the TPS at 416-808-1400 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477.

READ MORE:

NEWS: Crime down overall in 14 Division (March 2016) By Brian Burchell

PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO: Anne Rowbotham, shown above with her daughter Laurel, celebrated her 104th birthday at the Annex Retirement Residence. Rowbotham, who may be the oldest member of the community, grew up in Markham and joined the residence two years ago.

By Geremy Bordonaro

Residents and staff of the Annex Retirement Residence on Spadina Road gathered for a special celebration on April 2: Anne Rowbotham’s 104th birthday.

Rowbotham, who moved into the Annex retirement home two years ago, is officially the oldest member of the home.

Rowbotham’s daughter Laurel showed a slide presentation featuring pictures taken throughout her life. Pictures from her travels, home life, and many celebrations graced the screen and showed the extent of Rowbotham’s achievements. Cake and refreshments were served, and a certificate from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulating her on this momentous occasion took pride of place.

Rowbotham was born on a farm outside Markham where she spent most of her childhood helping out on the farm. She worked as a teacher in a small one-room schoolhouse for three years before getting married and raising two children. She has six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Minister of Transport questioned on diverting dangerous goods

By Annemarie Brissenden

If residents at the well-attended town hall on rail safety were looking for the federal government to commit to diverting railway tracks out of dense urban neighbourhoods, they came away disappointed.

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“We are not actively looking at relocating rail outside of Toronto”—Marc Garneau,      Minister of Transport

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“We are not actively looking at relocating rail outside of Toronto,” said Marc Garneau, the federal Minister of Transport, at the Walmer Road Baptist Church on April 27. “Railways go through all major urban centres. Moving railways must be done in such a way that there is no cost to the railways…[we are dealing with] a very complex reality.”

Organized by Carolyn Bennett (MP, Toronto-St. Paul’s) and Chrystia Freeland (MP, University-Rosedale), the meeting coincided with Rail Safety Week and was moderated by Josh Matlow (Ward 22, St. Paul’s). It drew a veritable who’s who of local politicians including Mayor John Tory, Arif Virani (MP, Parkdale-High Park), Mike Layton (Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina), and Adam Vaughan (MP, Spadina-Fort York), along with Kate Young (MP, London West).

With rail lines running along Dupont Street, also the northern edge of University-Rosedale, rail safety — always top of mind for residents in the riding — came under greater scrutiny after the devastating rail accident in Lac-Mégantic. Both Bennett and Freeland campaigned on pushing rail safety during the election, and hosting the Minister of Transport at a community meeting appears to be a crucial first step in keeping this promise.

Speakers at the town hall wasted no time in putting the minister on the hot seat, questioning him on everything from speed, the type of materials transported, the type of rail cars used, communication with first responders, security considerations, and the potential for controlling rogue trains remotely.

In all of his answers, Garneau emphasized that “rail safety is just about my number one priority”.

But for representatives of Rail Safety First, the best way to guarantee a community’s safety is to stop transporting dangerous goods by rail.

“Visions of Lac-Mégantic are very clearly in our mind,” said one, noting that the train that instigated the Quebec disaster travelled through midtown Toronto before its untimely end. “One kilometre of devastation [in the Annex] would mean 100,000 lives lost.”

In response, Garneau emphasized that Lac-Mégantic was the result of “a perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances that led to a major catastrophe”. He explained that research is being done into the classification of dangerous products to gain a better understanding of the volatility of certain materials, and that the rail industry is on schedule for replacing old tanker cars that were not designed to carry shale oil.

“There are over 40,000 kilometres of rail in this country,” said Garneau, noting that the materials that are transported are used in our daily lives and include chlorine, propane, and sulfuric acid, as well as grain, lumber, and potash.

The rail tracks that the materials travel along are another cause of concern.

One questioner suggested that “a lot of the railroad is poorly maintained” as “indicated by noise from the trains and rails”. He added that some of the structures and bridges were built over a century ago.

It’s Transport Canada’s responsibility to inspect the tracks, said Garneau, pointing out that the government has increased the number of inspectors since Lac-Mégantic as well as the number of inspectors for dangerous goods. There are clear requirements for structure maintenance, and “we do inspect [the railways], and they must conform to certain standards regarding safety.

“I can assure you that we ensure that [the railway companies] must satisfy that requirement.”

Communication between first responders and the railway companies was another issue raised at the meeting. Emergency services and community leaders, under current regulations, are not given advance warning if dangerous goods are going to be transported through a neighbourhood. Should a disaster occur, that information would be critical to an effective response.

While Garneau admitted they are not providing as much information as they could, he did argue that it is a big improvement on the past.

“I personally believe that we have a great onus about sharing information whilst respecting security,” he said.

It was an exchange that brought renewed calls from the floor to push for diverting the transportation of dangerous goods to non-urban areas. But Garneau remained focused on his main point: that rail safety is achievable.

“My vision is that every Canadian who goes to bed at night is able to sleep peacefully even if there is a train in their neighbourhood.”

READ MORE:

Where do your LPC, NDP, and GPC candidates stand? (September 2015) Compiled by Annemarie Brissenden

Inaction frustrates residents (May 2015) By Arthur White

Risky Rails? (February 2015) by Madeline Smith

PHOTO COURTESY JESSICA LEE/TDSB: Toronto District School Board (TDSB) staff and students joined with the Toronto Police Service at Harbord Collegiate Institute to celebrate International Day of Pink on April 13, which raises awareness to stop discrimination, gender-based bullying, homophobia, and transphobia. Special guests included Canadian Olympian and rhythmic gymnast Rose Cossar and Eugene Melnyk, owner of the Ottawa Senators.

READ MORE:

NEWS: Break out the pink on April 13 (April 2016) By Brian Burchell

UTS goes pink, students unite (April 2015) By Brian Burchell

Canadians are rejoicing at the return of the census, after the mandatory long-form census was axed by the former Conservative government. The widespread enthusiasm for participating in the count is serving both as a declaration of the importance of evidence-based decision-making and as a guilty verdict on how wrong-headed the Harper regime was for cancelling it in the first place.

One of the things the Conservatives did for the 2011 census was remove the mandatory requirement to complete the survey. Doing so let Canadians off the hook for any penalties (which included a fine of up to $500 and a possible jail term of up to three months) for not filing.

The 2006 census, which was mandatory, garnered a 94 per cent participation rate, whereas the 2011 voluntary household survey got a response rate of just 69 per cent, which Statistics Canada called a “low resolution” portrait. At the time, then Industry Minister Tony Clement argued the long-form census was intrusive and that it was wrong to put people in jail for not answering private questions. Clement, however, was unable to identify a single case where anyone had in fact been jailed, so it was not clear what problem he thought needed solving. The volunteer approach commissioned by the Conservatives ended up costing $22 million more than the mandatory one. The only dividend the federal government reaped, and it’s a dubious one, was acquiring fewer facts to contend with at the end of the day.

The 2011 cut of the mandatory long-form census, Canada’s most robust and consistent point of data collection on the economy, society, and the environment, left governments and businesses at all levels with far less comprehensive data, a less reliable transparent way to monitor government itself, a diminished capacity for measuring democratic accountability, and fewer factual inputs from which to craft legislation, regulations, and policy decisions that make sense for tax-payers.

Munir Sheikh, then chief statistician, resigned in protest over the decision to kill the long-form census. Wayne Smith, born in Chilliwack, B.C., took his place. Smith has 35 years of experience at Statistics Canada and holds a number of international positions including that of chair of the Conference of European Statisticians.

The now governing Liberals, who came to office in the fall of 2015, made good on a campaign promise and quickly restored the mandatory census, in fact the day after being sworn in. Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains claimed at the time that the Conservatives were basing decision-making more on ideology than on facts.

“We’re focused on sound, evidence-based policies. We want to make sure we’re driving good policies based on good evidence and quality data,” Bains was quoted as saying.

Smith reported that the volunteer census had a very detrimental impact on municipalities and that Statistics Canada chose not to publish data for roughly 25 per cent of municipalities as the data was not of sufficient quality. With the mandatory census back on track, Smith makes the case that “while good data does not always guarantee good decisions, having no data or bad data is like stumbling in the dark in a windowless room and it’s a pretty good probability that you are going to make bad decisions”.

Internationally, Canada is considered a leader for including the environment as the third pillar of the census, which also includes economic and societal demographics, as well as measuring how the three pillars interrelate. It’s perhaps a testament to our leadership in this field that our chief statistician leads the European Union’s conference of his peers.

Our census-taking is even more popular at home; with so many thousands of Canadians trying to enter their personal info on line it recently crashed the Statistics Canada website. It turns out it’s part of our DNA to want to participate in this and, for the Conservatives to have taken it away, was, well, rather un-Canadian.

Beware the corporatization of Bloor Street

Re “Rexall replaces Brunswick House” (April 2016):

Anyone who sees Rexall’s move into the Brunswick location as a good thing or as a positive addition to the neighbourhood is sorrily mistaken. I am not sentimental regarding the loss of the Brunswick House itself, but sad to see a large American company move into this location. They will add nothing to the neighbourhood and take their profits out of Canada.

To those and in this I include Mr. Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) who saw the previous tenant as “problematic”: please pack up your belongings and move out. You should have been aware of the long-standing Brunswick House (40 plus years?). This part of Bloor Street has always been a destination for revellers and those out to enjoy some nightlife. The continual gentrification/corporatization of our neighbourhoods and Bloor Street in particular detracts from the city.

Want peace and quiet? I hear Elliot Lake is nice.

—John de Vries

Manning Avenue

A brighter park at night

Re Matt Cohen Park: Coming out of the Spadina subway station one night recently I noticed that dark, deserted, and out of place looking corner: the north paved part of Matt Cohen Park at the southeast Bloor Street/Spadina Avenue corner.

During daylight hours people get together there to chat and spend some time in the sun, read, count the number of cars that go through red lights, play cards or dominos, play musical instruments and dance some evenings.

At night, the place is dark, pitch black, empty, and somewhat dangerous looking.

It would only take two pole lamps, four metal benches (expanded metal benches last longer and do not absorb fat from discarded food and food containers), and slight rearrangement of the existing obsidian blocks, perhaps to form a stage, etc. Voila, we have a park that people can enjoy 24 hours. It could be a mini Dundas Square, with coffee and donuts close by.

If nothing else the corner would look part of the city, part of Bloor Street and Spadina Avenue and not a back alley in Marrakesh.

—Rudolf Manook

The arrival of cycling in Toronto

By Joe Cressy

For too long, discussions of bike lanes have been divisive in our city. They shouldn’t be. When we do it right, cycling infrastructure can be a win-win for everyone.

After more than 40 years of discussion, debate, and community advocacy, an overwhelming majority of city councillors — from east to west and north to south — recently voted for a bike lane pilot project on Bloor Street. Indeed, cycling has arrived in our city, and it is long overdue!

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Bike lanes will improve local business by bringing more customers into the neighbourhood.

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Over the past year and a half, we worked together — residents, businesses, local institutions, schools — on this exciting and long-awaited project for our community. We knocked on doors, met at local coffee shops and community events, and more. We came together to build a twenty-first-century city, and we won. But, this was only the latest push in a project that began decades ago, a project championed by community advocates like Tooker Gomberg, Albert Koehl, Cycle Toronto, Bells on Bloor, and countless others.

Protected bike lanes on Bloor Street will make it safer for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. They will also improve local business by bringing more customers into the neighbourhood; and ultimately, they will help to reduce congestion by moving people out of cars and into more active modes of transportation.

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Bloor Street was first identified as an ideal east-west cycling route in the city’s 2001 Bike Plan.

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Bloor Street was first identified as an ideal east-west cycling route in the city’s 2001 Bike Plan: it is flat, unencumbered by streetcar tracks, and already heavily used by cyclists travelling east or west throughout the city.

In 2009, the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation completed a study on the potential impacts on local business of a bike lane on Bloor Street and found that 90 per cent of survey respondents used some form of active transportation to arrive in the Bloor-Annex neighbourhood.

The call for bike lanes only grew louder as the years passed. Many students called for bike lanes for a safer ride to school. Many residents called for bike lanes to alleviate congestion and support healthy living. And many businesses asked for bike lanes because we’ve seen in many other contexts that they are good for business.

The pilot project will involve the installation of a 2.4-kilometre bike lane from Shaw Street to Avenue Road that will begin this August. As part of the pilot, the City of Toronto has committed to measuring everything: the impact on cyclists and pedestrians, the impact on vehicular movement, including on adjacent streets, and the impact on local business.

The pilot will give us the data to help make better decisions in our city. To quote Michael Bloomberg, “In God we trust, to all others bring data.”

The recent Toronto City Council vote may have been overwhelming in support (the final vote was 38 to 3), but it is the result of years of hard work in our community.

The project was supported by all six local residents’ associations along the corridor, the University of Toronto, cultural institutions like HotDocs and the Bloor Street Cultural Corridor, and the local BIA. I want to thank all of you for your hard work and support: this result wouldn’t have been possible without it!

If we are committed to alleviating congestion and building a more active, healthy, and liveable city, we must invest in cycling infrastructure. As more and more people choose active modes of transportation, we must invest to ensure residents can access these modes safely.

After years of old-style divisive political debates framed as cars versus bikes, we’re moving forward as a city. It is very good news and I can’t wait to ride Bloor Street together, safely, later this summer.

Joe Cressy is the councillor for Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina.

READ MORE: 

LETTERS: Annex cyclists already well served (April 2016)

NEWS: Once-seedy theatre renewed as climbing venue (March 2016) by Michael Chachura

Bike lane plan up for debate (January 2016) by Marielle Torrefranca

Bloor Street study launched (November 2015) by Summer Reid

A pilot bike lane for Bloor Street (May 2015) By Joe Cressy and Albert Koehl

Supporters aim to protect neighbourhood’s unique character

PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO: A Mona Lisa mural surveys the scene on Kensington Avenue. The market is undergoing a study to determine whether it should become a Heritage Conservation District.

By Geremy Bordonaro

Even in a city known for its distinctive neighbourhoods, it remains unique.

In this bustling centre, small shops, from grocery and thrift stores to restaurants, line the streets alongside hip boutiques that cater to the savviest of customers. Nary a car drives down the street, for pedestrians own the passages in this bohemian sanctuary of Kensington Market.

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“We thought it was the best way to not lose the character of the community”—Su Alexanian, chair, Kensington Market Action Committee

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But with the market increasingly under threat from encroaching development, the city has embarked on a study that will determine whether the area should be designated a Heritage Conservation District (HCD).

The Kensington Market BIA first proposed the approach in 2013, and those who support the designation argue that it would ensure the area’s protection for a long time to come.

“We thought it was the best way to not lose the character of the community,” said Su Alexanian, chair of the Kensington Market Action Committee (KMAC). “It’s going to be pretty unique, because unlike say Harbord [Street] (north of us), which is also a heritage district, it’s not really about the architecture in Kensington. It’s about trying to maintain a market. It’s about trying to maintain a mix of various income levels, so it doesn’t become completely and utterly gentrified. We want it to include the things that make us wonderfully and uniquely Kensington.”

Alexanian has seen the effects of not having protection over the area and some of the “ridiculous proposals” that come along.

“There’s two different owners of projects who want to rip out beautiful Victorian housing and put up a five-storey rooming house,” she said. “While we don’t mind having rooming houses, we have a lot of them, and we want people to develop things in Kensington that are respectful of the neighbourhood.”

Pouria Lotfi, a board member of the Kensington Market BIA, echoes this sentiment.

“I don’t think anyone is against new buildings,” he said in regard to the possibility of new construction in the area. “We don’t want to see mid-sized buildings here. I think it would change the structure of the neighbourhood.”

Pouria has his concerns about being able to define just what makes Kensington tick and how an HCD would cover it.

“It’s not quite clear yet. After council has approved it the city hires a consultant to conduct the study. The study determines what the shape of the HCD will be,” he said. “It could be anything. It could be based on historical value, architectural value, or social value, even the tiny little things, which I think is where the market will fall in. Somewhere like Cabbagetown, you have a lot of architectural value there…. The consultant [will have to] find out just what the heritage of Kensington is. I think it will be something less tangible.”

But Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) believes the study will help define and protect that less tangible aspect for Kensington.

“[Kensington] is a historic neighbourhood that given the pace and scale and pressure of development in downtown Toronto is under threat,” he said. “An HCD in Kensington Market doesn’t freeze the neighbourhood in time; it doesn’t prevent change. That’s not the intention. What it does is allow us to manage and guide change so that we preserve the basic historical character of a neighbourhood. And that character can be cultural just as it can be architectural.”

The city allows for certain provisions to be made around an HCD, including restrictions to building permits and height, under the borders of the district. Depending on what is determined for Kensington Market there will be rules in place to protect the area.

“Heritage Conservation Districts are an important tool that the city has to better guide and manage change while protecting the historical character of neighbourhoods,” Cressy explained. “In Ward 20, we have six heritage conservation districts. These are HCDs because these affect the local historical context.”

READ MORE:

Kensington Market ready for action (July 2015) By Annemarie Brissenden

Community council approves Madison Avenue HCD (October 2015) By Brian Burchell and Annemarie Brissenden

Preserving a historic street (May 2015) By Annemarie Brissenden