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Citizens Concerned About the Future of the Etobicoke Waterfront
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There are many issues, large and small, that pop up from time to time but don’t necessarily fit into any of the other pages. So, to help keep people up to date, we have this “What’s Up” page.
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January 25, 2012
South Etobicoke Stormwater Management EA
What is it?
Back in 2009, the City of Toronto initiated a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (EA) study to assess the consolidation of approximately thirty (30) stormwater outfalls within the Etobicoke Waterfront Drainage Area that discharge stormwater directly to Lake Ontario and to improve water quality by implementing stormwater management facilities.
Why you should care.
The first public meeting of the EA process was held in November 2009, and we haven’t heard very much since. This is a very worthwhile project, but it will be very costly, and potentially very disruptive. The extent and duration of the disruption will depend on which stormwater management options are chosen. Some involve the construction of large sewer mains, including Lake Shore Blvd through most of Mimico. Others involve large stormwater detention facilities. These could be open ponds similar to the flow balancing facility at Humber Bay East, or underground storage tanks. Sam Smith Park plays a prominent role in most scenarios.
We wrote about it, including our suggestions and concerns, on the website in January 2010. We wrote about it in our April 2010 Newsletter, and again in our April 2011 Newsletter. CCFEW has been part of a Community Working Group (CWG) through the EA process. The working group hasn’t met since December 2010, but at that time we weren’t too impressed with what we saw. It looked like millions of dollars and lots of disturbance with very little to show for it in the end. The resulting water quality improvements will be real, but not very tangible. We urged the consultants to give us something to look forward to after all the inconvenience we will suffer. This paragraph was included in the letter sent to the CWG members this week:
The Study Team has also considered suggestions of the Working Group for environmental enhancements and naturalized facilities in the Park, and that there should be minimal disturbance to the local community, existing natural and recreational areas, as well as park functions. I can assure you that during detailed design of the project, we will explore environmental enhancement and naturalization opportunities in Samuel Smith Park (e.g. for North Creek and the sediment embayment), in consultation with the local community, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, and internal City divisions.
How to get involved.
Next week, we’ll see the final recommendations. The public Consultation meeting is:
Thursday, February 2, 2012
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm (Presentation at 7 pm)
The Assembly Hall, 2nd floor auditorium
1 Colonel Sam Smith Park Drive
Visit our Activities page for more information.
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January 6, 2012
New for 2012, We are now able to process memberships & membership renewals on line! You can still do it by mail, but now we have an on line option using a secure PayPal site.
Memberships run on a calendar year basis. The cost is $10 for individuals, $15 for families. Your membership helps give us credibility when we advocate on behalf of the waterfront, and your membership fee helps cover our costs of operation.
Click here to get started.
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November 25, 2011
Mimico 2020 Update: There will be a Community Meeting next Wednesday to discuss the Mimico 2020 plan. Although no agenda is available, we have word that Urban Strategies will provide a project update and will be conducting an open Q&A period.
No final conclusions or recommendations are to come from this meeting, so presumably, this will not be the last chance for public input before the final report goes to council. It will however be a very important opportunity for the public to ask questions and voice concerns.
Check our Activities page for more information.
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November 24, 2011
Last week, Humber College presented concept plans for Lakeshore Campus expansion. The college has been gradually acquiring properties along lake shore Blvd W near the campus for expansion, but they have plans to build on the existing site as well as they aim to increase the student population of the campus from 7000 to 9000
The most prominent part of the plan is to replace the main parking lot with a 5 story parking garage and the change of the parking entrance from 23rd Street to Lake Shore Blvd W. The image below, a photo of one of the display boards, shows the parking garage with a black roof and an adjoining building along 23rd Street.
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This raises traffic concerns for local residents, but from CCFEW’s perspective, the concern is possibly reducing further the view corridor to the lake, and potential pressure to add an entrance to the east through the orchard. It’s interesting to note that this illustration doesn’t show any roadway large enough to carry traffic to and from a large parking garage.
In the ongoing stormwater management study, we had been promoting the idea of placing a large stormwater detention tank under the Humber College parking lot rather than where it appears likely to go: in Sam Smith Park. This plan would make that impossible.
We would also like to see a portion of the buried creek daylighted, but they haven’t left much room for that.
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This view shows their concept at Kipling & Lake Shore from the south-east. Existing buildings are white. The one in the foreground is the Assembly Hall. Across the street from that is the planned Catholic elementary school. North of that, along Lake Shore Blvd is Humber’s planned Welcome Centre. Our biggest concern with that is it’s on City property that is supposed to be open space according to the Lakeshore Grounds Master Plan. Every other planned or existing building conforms to that open space set back.
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This view shows the whole campus with planned buildings in colour and existing ones in white. It was encouraging to note that in the final phase of restoring building “G” (east side of the quad at the traffic circle), they still plan to restore the original tower on the front of the building.
These plans are all still conceptual, but clearly they are well advanced in their plans.
For more on the meeting, you can read coverage in the Etobicoke Guardian.
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November 23, 2011
I received this presentation as a PowerPoint earlier this week: It’s a thought provoking look at “Nature Deficit Disorder” put together last year by Terry LeRoux chief Credit Valley CA fund raiser and past - president of Hike Ontario.
Click here or on the image above to open it as a (large) pdf file in a new window. You can use your arrow keys to move through the presentation. I searched to see if it was already out there somewhere on line, but couldn’t find it. It deserves to be posted somewhere, so now it is!
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