Recently I wrote “as Toronto’s prosperity goes so too does the province’s prosperity go” commenting that “…their fates are so completely entwined with each other that policy coordination between them on the matter of cities” is “a matter of competitive necessity.” I should have added politically expedient too!
Ontario’s Premier McGintty’s recent announcement of a pre-election pledge of $17. billion for GTA transit expansion is what I believe the first fledgling steps in a process that will eventually see all level of governments co-ordinating policy on transit and many other issues. Not as in today with each level trying to win more political capital then the other with each announcement, but more in a lock-step, win-win capacity.
As gridlock and other issues would surely overwhelm us if nothing were done, the new political mantra is going to be your problems are my problems! So ironically, as our problems get bigger and the room for manoeuvre gets smaller, in ten years or so we are going to see governments behaving very differently in the level of inter-governmental co-ordination they being to the table. A “nice to” will be matter of competitive necessity in more ways then one.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
More Toronto Roundhouse Lunacy...
In my previous post “Toronto’s Roundhouse Madness” I commented on the sad fact that a low-end furniture store was moving into our last surviving roundhouse from the 1920’s and how this was a really inappropriate use of an important heritage civic asset.
Since the news broke the story gets worse. We now learn that the city’s mission with respect to the roundhouse was two fold; one, create a railway museum at no cost to the city, and two, find roundhouse tenants. On the first objective the new deal gives 3 of 32 train bays for a small museum, and on the second objective, 15 bays to the furniture store (the remaining bays presently occupied by the tourist-friendly Steam Whistle Brewery).
From a space perspective a 3 bay museum would all but useless (even if the remaining locomotives on-site were left outside to rust), what really seems so short sighted is that the city left the job of finding tenants up to a developer and as we well know in Toronto, what our developers what they get regardless of what the rest of us might have wanted.
So in a nutshell the city has a rare heritage civic asset across the street from a major tourist attraction, the CN Tower, and doesn’t want to spend a dime developing the site never mind leveraging CN Tower’s capacity to draw tourists to the area; gives a developer the job of finding a tenant without so much as demanding a heritage sensitive re-use and tourist-friendly outcome, and oh yes, throws in a token museum at no cost to the city. The heritage department we are told “is pleased” and so it is mission accomplished!
In reality, don’t spend a dime city marries “don’t pay a cent event” furniture store. Too bad few tourists are going to show up this for wedding. Even the Steam Whistle Brewery looses out in that their plans for a railway museum/event space were turned down by the city.
(See Chistopher Hume's recent Toronto Star article titled "Toronto's don't-pay-a-cent event, the Toronto Star, June 16, 2007)."
Since the news broke the story gets worse. We now learn that the city’s mission with respect to the roundhouse was two fold; one, create a railway museum at no cost to the city, and two, find roundhouse tenants. On the first objective the new deal gives 3 of 32 train bays for a small museum, and on the second objective, 15 bays to the furniture store (the remaining bays presently occupied by the tourist-friendly Steam Whistle Brewery).
From a space perspective a 3 bay museum would all but useless (even if the remaining locomotives on-site were left outside to rust), what really seems so short sighted is that the city left the job of finding tenants up to a developer and as we well know in Toronto, what our developers what they get regardless of what the rest of us might have wanted.
So in a nutshell the city has a rare heritage civic asset across the street from a major tourist attraction, the CN Tower, and doesn’t want to spend a dime developing the site never mind leveraging CN Tower’s capacity to draw tourists to the area; gives a developer the job of finding a tenant without so much as demanding a heritage sensitive re-use and tourist-friendly outcome, and oh yes, throws in a token museum at no cost to the city. The heritage department we are told “is pleased” and so it is mission accomplished!
In reality, don’t spend a dime city marries “don’t pay a cent event” furniture store. Too bad few tourists are going to show up this for wedding. Even the Steam Whistle Brewery looses out in that their plans for a railway museum/event space were turned down by the city.
(See Chistopher Hume's recent Toronto Star article titled "Toronto's don't-pay-a-cent event, the Toronto Star, June 16, 2007)."
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Toronto's Roundhouse Madness
I was astonished to read recently (the Star June 11, 2007) that Toronto's barley surviving 1929 CPR John Street Roundhouse was to be turned into of all things a gaudy Leon's furniture store.
One could only have hoped that an important historical asset like the roundhouse would have been brought back to life in a more historical context, but no, valuable tourist dollars were traded for “buy now pay next year” furniture sales. Why? Apparently because Leon’s is about to celebrate in 2009 its 100 anniversary as a family business so locating it a rare and priceless roundhouse from the 1920’s seemed to make the most sense to council!
As with our waterfront, now to with our roundhouse, lets give the our tourists condo’s and furniture stores to visit while we collect a few bucks on property taxes. Council, this isn’t the way to build the city of the future.
One could only have hoped that an important historical asset like the roundhouse would have been brought back to life in a more historical context, but no, valuable tourist dollars were traded for “buy now pay next year” furniture sales. Why? Apparently because Leon’s is about to celebrate in 2009 its 100 anniversary as a family business so locating it a rare and priceless roundhouse from the 1920’s seemed to make the most sense to council!
As with our waterfront, now to with our roundhouse, lets give the our tourists condo’s and furniture stores to visit while we collect a few bucks on property taxes. Council, this isn’t the way to build the city of the future.
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