planning toronto s downtown Parks and Public Realm Plan Request for Proposals Information Meeting Andrew Farncombe, Project Manager August 19, 2015
BATHURST ST Keeping Downtown a great place to live, work, learn and play Where will future growth be accommodated? What physical and social infrastructure will we need, where will it go, how will we secure it?
Growth TORONTO S CHANGING DOWNTOWN
DOWNTOWN S CHANGING SKYLINE 2005
DOWNTOWN S CHANGING SKYLINE 2014 Existing and Anticipated
A MIX OF HOUSING AND COMMERCIAL USES A planning principle that has shaped our Downtown 500,000 500,000 450,000 400,000 400,000 350,000 300,000 300,000 TD TOWERS COMPLETED OFFICE BOOM RECESSION GROWTH OF DOT.COM & CREATIVE SECTOR START OF OFFICE BOOM EMPLOYMENT 277,000 > 433,800 250,000 200,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 100,000 REGENT PARK COMPLETION ST. JAMESTOWN OPENING CENTRAL AREA PLAN ST. LAWRENCE NEIGHBOURHOOD KINGS SECONDARY PLANS CONDO BOOM POPULATION 124,000 > 199,000 50,000 0 0 1956 1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011
LIVING DOWNTOWN Downtown s residential population doubled in 40 years 215,000 (estimated) 112,000+ 110% NET GROWTH PERCENT GROWTH 102,299 1976 2015
GROWTH RATES Downtown is growing 4X faster than the City as a whole 17% 18% 16% REST OF GTA 14% 13% 10% DOWNTOWN 8% 7% CITY OF TORONTO 5% 4% 4.5% 1% 1991-1996 1996-2001 2001-2006 2006-2011
NEIGHBOURHOOD GROWTH Residential Growth 2006-2011 18% Growth is not uniform across the Downtown +6% ANNEX +2% DOWNTOWN YORKVILLE +5% +7% +15% +1% UFT ST. JAMESTOWN +8% +27% CHURCH-YONGE - 7% CABBAGETOWN KENSINGTON - CHINATOWN BAY CORRIDOR MOSS PARK - 4% +86% +18% +31% REGENT PARK KING-SPADINA FINANCIAL DISTRICT KING-PARLIAMENT +8% +105% +68% ST. LAWRENCE- DISTILLERY WATERFRONT WEST WATERFRONT CENTRAL
DIVERSE NEIGHBOURHOODS Downtown includes different types of neighbourhoods New High-rise Neighbourhoods Older Apartment Neighbourhoods Main-street Neighbourhoods Low-rise Neighbourhoods
DOWNTOWN COMMUTERS AND VISITORS Daytime vs. Night time Population 830,000 + People Downtown every day residents commuting workers commuting students day trips overnight visitors 245,000 + Night time Population residents overnight visitors Source: TTS Survey, TES, Statistics Canada, RTO5 Statistics 2012
MOST DOWNTOWN RESIDENTS WALK, CYCLE OR USE TRANSIT Commuting by Mode of Travel 2011 70% 66% 60% 50% 41% 26% 32% 3% 3% 11% 39% 36% 4% 25% 34% ETOBICOKE SCARBOROUGH SOUTH OF 401 NORTH OF 401 DOWNTOWN
Downtown ANTICIPATING MORE GROWTH
DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE 2003 to 2013
DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE 2003 to 2013
TOcore STUDY OVERVIEW
STUDY GOALS
ALIGNED INITIATIVES Parks and Public Realm Complete Street Guidelines Outdoor Café Design Guidelines Toronto 360 Wayfinding Strategy Transportation SmartTrack & Relief Line Assessments Bikeway Network Gardiner East EA Feeling Congested? Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Review King Street Operations Study Water and Energy Central Toronto Integrated Regional Resource Plan Waterfront Servicing Master Plan EA Review Community Services and Facilities Recreation Facilities Master Plan Children s Services Service Planning George Street Revitalization Planning Framework Ongoing Local Planning Studies City-wide Planning Policy Reviews Official Plan Review Heritage Conservation District Studies Growing Conversations
TOcore PHASES PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT and ROLLING IMPLEMENTATION
ELEMENTS OF ENGAGEMENT PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3 STAKEHOLDER FOCUS GROUPS SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY INTERACTIVE ONLINE INPUT YOUTH OUTREACH PILOT (Growing Conversations) PLANNERS IN PUBLIC SPACES TRADESHOW INTERACTIVE OPEN HOUSE WORKSHOPS STATUTORY PUBLIC MEETINGS
Parks AND Public Realm PLAN
PARKS AND PUBLIC REALM Parks, squares, streets, laneways, paths, ravines, school yards, POPs and other open spaces TOcore will develop a parks and public realm plan for Downtown to improve the quality and connectivity of public spaces, and identify parkland improvement and acquisition priorities within an intensifying core.
TRANSPORTATION Surface transit, walking, cycling TOcore will develop a Downtown transportation strategy that prioritizes walking, cycling and transit and identifies networks and other improvements to increase mobility for the growing number of people living, working and visiting Downtown.
ELEMENTS OF THE PUBLIC REALM Towards a integrated network STREETS & LANEWAYS PARKS CYCLING NETWORKS SIDEWALKS STREET TREES SQUARES POPS
TRENDS AND CHALLENGES Intensifying residential fabric, growing workforce and more visitors Public realm as outdoor living room Intensity of use: parks, squares, streets Balancing the needs of different users Securing new parks in a mature urban fabric Trees under stress Accommodating pedestrian flows and sidewalk amenities
OPPORTUNITIES Acquiring new parks and squares and improving the ones we have (quantity vs. quality) Designing our streets for people: walking and lingering Building Toronto s cycling network and expanding bike parking Making connections: a network of green corridors and great streets linking parks and open spaces Improving accessibility to parks, ravines and the islands bordering Downtown Protecting and growing the urban forest Reinforcing our retail main streets and surface transit routes Expanding the underground PATH
PRINCIPLES Transforming our Downtown: bold and compelling vision, big moves, key strategies Putting public life, place-making and active mobility at the forefront of long-term planning for Downtown Looking at the Downtown s public realm in a holistic way, recognizing the challenges of a mature urban fabric Engaging the public in new and meaningful ways A plan that provides clear, tangible direction to leverage our existing great public spaces through strategic capital improvements
ACTIVITY COMPONENTS 1. Work program (inception) Staff workshop Public space / public life study design Public engagement strategy 2. Background & Analysis Context, history + existing conditions Public space analysis Best practices Active transportation analysis Downtown park provision assessment Street trees / analysis Public engagement 3. Public Life Study Behavioral mapping Intercept surveys Design recommendations
ACTIVITY COMPONENTS (continued) 4. Vision, Guiding Principles, Concept Plan and Priorities Initial vision + guiding principles Initial concept plan Organizing elements Placemaking opportunities + priorities Draft big moves and key strategies Public engagement 5. Parks and Public Realm Plan Vision Concept plan Big moves Key strategies under each big move Public engagement 6. Implementation Strategy Prioritizing and sequencing strategies Quick starts Partnerships Risks + mitigation Policy changes
SUBMISSION CONSIDERATIONS Follow Proposal Content guidelines -- Section 5.3 Note that study area includes Toronto Island Parks and should include consideration of adjacent areas Section 3.1 Factor in that public engagement is cross-cutting Take into consideration data to be provided by the City Appendix G (compendium of key policies, plans and guidelines), Appendix H (public realm map layers), Appendix I (active transportation data sets), Appendix J (parks asset and use survey report) and Appendix K (neighbourhood demographic profiles) See indicative weighting of team level of effort when forming bid teams Section 3.7.2 Account for student volunteers for public life study Section 3.4 Be mindful of proposal evaluation table Appendix E Pay attention to mandatory requirements Section 4.2 and throughout RFP document Note definitions of permissive versus imperative verbs in the RFP ( may and should versus must, shall and will ) Use the forms provided (e.g., Appendix F)
Questions?