|
|
|
News and Articles>
A SOFTER APPROACH TO ST. CLAIR
The Star --
Oct 28, 2004 --
CHRISTOPHER HUME
In most cases, decisions regarding urban development include winners and losers. If one group gets its way, another doesn't.
But what if the starting point were different? What if the idea was to achieve a balance rather than pick a winner? What if all the players involved got something, not everything, and were forced to compromise?
Then we'd be getting close to what Toronto architects Kim Storey and James Brown call "conciliatory urbanism." They have taken such an approach to St. Clair Ave. W., where the Toronto Transit Commission is charging ahead with a dedicated streetcar line, despite the objections of the local community.
Storey and Brown argue that the goals of almost all those involved in the dispute can be met without undue sacrifice on any one group's part.
As it stands, only the TTC will get its way — the streetcar right-of-way has been approved — but neighbours have lost out completely.
Instead, Brown and Storey propose a series of "fine-grained responses" that "can cut down wait times for streetcars though not as much as dedicated lanes." Their scheme would reduce wait and travelling times, but without giving the TTC the right-of-way it wants. The difference might be three or four minutes, something most transit users could probably live with.
On the other hand, the fine-grained response also means people opposed to the plan can salvage something from the process. They worry that a raised streetcar line will divide St. Clair in two, making it very difficult to cross over. They also worry the street will end up looking like Spadina, now suffocating beneath an overpowering mess of transit infrastructure.
"You've got to balance things," Storey explains. "You gain something, you surrender something. Urban streets are heterogeneous rights-of-way where a dedicated use may not be the best strategy. Toronto depends on the health of its main streets."
The very idea of congestion, Brown and Storey point out, isn't necessarily bad. Though a traffic engineer would tell you it's highly undesirable, congestion is also a sign of success. It means people are showing up.
"We want to create more diverse relationships between things," Brown argues, "not more separation. We're trying to look at all users."
As Brown also points out, traffic engineers and their ilk design to accommodate the most extreme usage, i.e. for rush hour. But what about the other 22 hours of the day?
In Brown and Storey's conciliatory approach, St. Clair would have much wider sidewalks, no TTC islands, transit lights, dedicated TTC lanes during rush hours, lay-by parking, dedicated cycle lanes and limited left turns.
Predictably, TTC officials have dismissed Brown and Storey out of hand, but they should look again.
A similar scheme designed by the pair is now being implemented on College St. between Spadina and Bathurst. Many of the same techniques have been incorporated into the rebuilding of College and though construction continues, it's clear the changes will enhance the neighbourhood hugely. Most notably, the newly widened sidewalks are a major improvement. At last, the street here functions as a destination, not just a way to get from A to B.
St. Clair has the same potential; both streets are 30 metres wide as opposed to the usual 20 metres. That means there's room to take care of pedestrians as well as cars and streetcars.
The most successful cities are those that allow citizens to inhabit the infrastructure. The streetcar is no exception, but it must be integrated into the urban fabric, not isolated from it and distinct. St. Clair isn't just a highway for streetcars, it is a pedestrian thoroughfare, as well as a shopping area and neighbourhood artery.
Clearly, the best plan for the street is not the one that hands it over to a single purpose, but the one that makes it available to the greatest number of compatible uses. The issue isn't politics; it's design. Done properly, St. Clair could become a place to spend time, not just save it.
All website contents are approved by the Corso Italia BIA. All rights reserved. Copyright ©1984-2007
|
|
