Open space has become critical in this increasingly dense downtown area where so many of our residents now live in high-rise buildings. Parks provide much-needed tranquility within the busy city, with studies showing that in urban environments trees and green areas can provide a host of benefits including shade, storm water runoff reduction, improved air quality, reduced electricity use, and improved health and quality of life for residents.
ABCRA advocates for:
- Better maintenance of existing parks
- New parks and green space in proportion to new residential units approved
- Direction of park levies and Section 37 development fees to improvements to public space in the area of development
- Contribution of public space in the neighbourhood by new developments beyond the minimum City requirements
- Maintenance of existing trees and active new planting to increase overall canopy
We Stopped the Jets – Now Let’s Save the Toronto Islands
Thanks to the persistence of Torontonians like you, the federal decision grounded the jet expansion proposal at Billy Bishop. That was a huge win for our city’s green spaces, quiet shoreline, and quality of life.
The threat isn’t over – Premier Ford is moving forward to expropriate key waterfront land
Jets at Toronto’s Island Airport will reverse decades of urban rejuvenation
City of shadows
The new buildings were just what Toronto needed. More than 800 new rental apartments, about a third of them permanently affordable. These new homes would rise on the site of an old provincial building. The problem: They were too tall. One tower would rise 50 storeys into the air, and so it would cast shadow on a park half a block away – covering about a quarter of its surface – for up to three hours a day.
Three new bridges set to open as massive Port Lands development takes shape
number of major projects in the Port Lands area that are reshaping the city’s waterfront, with a focus on enhancing flood protection, restoring natural habitats, and creating vibrant public spaces, are set to open this month.
Debunking the “Business Case” for relocating the Ontario Science Centre
Scratch below the surface, and there’s clear problems with the province’s math.
This week, Doug Ford’s government struck a deal with the City of Toronto giving the province fuller control over the future of Ontario Place, in exchange for the province taking on responsibility for the DVP and Gardiner Expressway, as well as additional funding for transit and addressing homelessness.
Ontario Place landscape architect quits revamp over tree clearing plans
A prominent landscape architect, known for designing Trillium and Tommy Thompson parks, has walked away from the redevelopment of Ontario Place, citing his opposition to clearing hundreds of trees to make way for a private spa and waterpark on Toronto’s waterfront.
After it became clear he couldn’t influence plans from the inside, Walter Kehm told the Star he could no longer be tied to a project that threatens a decades-old wildlife habitat, likening his professional commitment to protect nature to a doctor’s Hippocratic oath: “Do no harm.”
ABCRA responds to City on Noise Bylaw Review
ABCRA has participated in many iterations of the Noise By-Law review, and was a member of the Noise Working Group (“NWG”) process and has attended all meetings in the lead up to the 2019 Noise By-Law review. The livability of the City is being eroded by excessive unrestricted noise and a lack of enforcement for the rules that we do have.
Toronto is getting a new bridge and the designs are stunning
The public got its first taste of Toronto’s planned Keating Channel Pedestrian Bridge design competition last week when a group of five shortlisted concepts were presented, revealing some impressive possibilities for the new pedestrian link. The link between the city’s Quayside district and the new system of parks, public spaces, and future development lands is a key element in the area’s connectivity plan.