The Public Realm in our "New Normal"
|
|
Both the current COVID-19 pandemic and the movement for racial equity have challenged us to re-examine our approaches to community health, community life and public spaces. Simultaneously global and local, these forces have underlined the crucial importance of high-quality, community-integrated public spaces as a foundation for local community and economic health.
We know that the inclusive and strategic adaptation and improvement of our public spaces can help to build a better city, with and for everyone. With that in mind, we have been updating and amending our community outreach, engagement and co-design practices to ensure that we are enabling the meaningful participation, and integrating the knowledge, of BIPOC and marginalized Torontonians into the analysis and the spatial, operational and policy-based improvement of local laneways. We will implement and seek to continuously improve these practices moving forward.
|
|
Activating Laneway Frontages
|
|
|
New laneway patio at Ronnie's Local 069 in Kensington Market
|
|
Businesses Unlocking Laneways' Potential
Toronto’s next phase of reopening is in motion! During this phase, the resilience of local Main Street businesses will be hugely increased if they are able to safely expand their operations into their on-site outdoor space. In partnership with the Bloorcourt BIA, we have created two cheat sheets outlining the existing regulations and guidelines governing the use of private outdoor rear-lot spaces as patios and as sales and display areas for merchandise, as well as next steps that businesses can take to promote the expansion of these uses to even more hard-hit Main Street businesses.
|
|
Clean Laneways and Walkability
Physical distancing requirements have led more Torontonians than usual to get around using active modes of transportation like walking and cycling — and since it can be difficult to maintain our distance on crowded sidewalks, people are using laneways as a quieter alternative. Unfortunately, since our laneways are treated as purely service-oriented spaces, dirt, litter and poor waste management often leave them unsanitary and uninviting. To address this “unsexy” challenge, we worked with the College Promenade BIA to evaluate existing municipal policies and best practices from around the world, and develop a toolkit of proactive steps that business owners (and residents too!) can take to transform their laneways into a welcoming public face for their neighbourhoods.
|
|
|
We are exploring whether and how to integrate higher-tech tools into our analyses of local laneways and our design of strategic measures to better integrate them into the everyday life of our neighbourhoods. Expect some exciting announcements in the coming months.
|
|
|
Laneway Park-ing is a community-integrated neighbourhood greening project that will see us working with local residents and businesses in three neighbourhoods with low tree canopy coverage to install raised beds filled with native trees, shrubs and low plants on the laneway frontages of private properties. Project planning is scheduled to begin in September, with completion in Spring 2021.
|
|
|
The Art of Placemaking will see muralists and community members collaborating with our planners and industrial and landscape designers to co-design and install street furniture and road and wall art. The goal is to inject culture and community, and calm traffic, in local laneways — turning them into safe and welcoming alternative routes that expand our available shared space and enable distanced public life as our city reopens.
|
|
|
|
We'd love to expand these projects to benefit multiple neighbourhoods — but we need your support! Contact us at info@thelanewayproject.ca if you or your business would like to learn more.
|
|
|
|
|
