cMCH T'OR u 40

A NEW PLAN

TORONTO

PREPARED FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION BY THE CITY OF TORONTO PLANNING BOARD 1966

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from University of Toronto

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Members of City Council

City of Toronto Planning Board

Mayor his worship, philip g. givens, q.c. Controllers william dennison

Vice-Chairman of the Board of Control and President of City Council HERBERT ORLIFFE, Q.C.

WILLIAM L. ARCHER, Q.C.

MRS. MARGARET CAMPBELL, Q.C.

Aldermen Frederick j. beavis

OSCAR T. SIGSWORTH B. MICHAEL GRAYSON, Q.C.

MRS. JUNE MARKS

CHARLES L. CACCIA MRS. HELEN M. JOHNSTON DAVID ROTENBERG, B.A. HORACE BROWN JOSEPH J. PICCININNI HAROLD MENZIES HUGH J. BRUCE KEN DEAR

MRS. MARY TEMPLE BEN GRYS

THOMAS A. WARDLE

Honourable Chairman his worship, philip g. givens, q.c. Chairman j. d. crashley Mayor’s Alternate

and Vice-Chairman controller william l. archer, q Vice-Chairman w. barry coutts Members w. H. clark r. v. DOTY A. EDINBOROUGH M. J. KELLY DR. J. W. KUCHEREPA A. MAIN L. A. OXLEY

ALDERMAN JOSEPH J. PICCININNI ALDERMAN MRS. MARY TEMPLE MRS. G. S. VICKERS

C.

Acknowledgment

MRS. ALICE SUMMERVILLE PAUL B. PICKETT KENNETH OSTRANDER

In formulating the policies suggested in these proposals for a new plan for Toronto, the City of Toronto Planning Board gratefully acknowledges the assistance it has received. During the preparation of the report close liaison was maintained with many individuals and organizations as well as civic departments and officials at other levels of government. Their comments and suggestions have been invaluable.

While acknowledging the assistance given in many ways by many individuals, the City of Toronto Planning Board accepts full responsibility for all statements and recommendations in the report.

Proposals for

a New Plan for Toronto

PREPARED FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION BY THE CITY OF TORONTO PLANNING BOARD 1966

3

Chairman’s Statement

Toronto is going through a period of dramatic change. In the years ahead the role of the City as the heart of a growing region, as a national and international centre, will be more and more pronounced. There will be extensive building and rebuilding to adapt to this changing role to create the new accommodation we need and to improve the older areas.

All of this presents us with a tremendous opportunity to make Toronto a truly fine city, one that is worthy of its people and its destiny. A plan is necessary, setting out how the needs can be met and the goals for the City realized. With this as a guide, everyone — citizen, businessman, developer and government — can then work together to achieve the finer City we all hope to see.

The City of Toronto Planning Board, in fulfillment of its responsibilities under the Planning Act, has studied the situation and prepared a series of proposals which it believes will be valuable in developing a new plan. These proposals are outlined in this report which the Planning Board is now distributing widely. We want you to read it, to understand the proposals and let us have your comments and suggestions, whether you agree with the proposals or have other ideas to advance. We will hold public meetings and after there has been full discussion we will recommend an Official Plan to

City Council. Council, after considering our recommen¬ dations, will decide on the Official Plan it will adopt and submit it to the Minister of Municipal Affairs for his approval.

The Official Plan for the City of Toronto will set out a concept of the future City, together with the policies, objectives and programmes to be followed to achieve it.

It must recognize the evolving role of the City and set out the best plan for its future growth fully integrating development and transportation. It must provide for the City operating effectively, accommodating all essential activities. It must protect and enhance the best existing features of the City and provide for the revitalization of the deteriorating areas. Proposals must be advanced for overcoming deficiencies, capitalizing on assets and seizing opportunities to the greatest advantage of the City.

With this new Official Plan as a guide we can all work together in developing our City. It will need modification from time to time as circumstances change, but should be adhered to as the basis of future growth. It should help us achieve the greater City that we know Toronto can be.

J. DOUGLAS CRASHLEY Chairman

4

Mayor’s Statement

This is our City — yours and mine. It is growing and changing rapidly. We must retain the best of what we have, providing stability, particularly for residential areas. We want to see new development channeled so as to make Toronto an even better City, a place that will be a pleasure to work in, worthy of its role as a national and international centre, a City of which we can all be proud.

The City Planning Board has studied the issues it believes will be most important over the next twenty years and has prepared proposals to guide the City’s development up to 1981. These are outlined in this report.

It is most important that we arrive at a sound plan at this time, since this will chart our progress during the vital years ahead. I urge you to read these proposals and comment on them. Out of them, and the discussion that follows, a submission will be made to City Council and I hope that we will arrive at the best possible plan for the future of our City.

PHILIP G. GIVENS, Q.C., Mayor

This Report

THIS REPORT IS NOT AN OFFICIAL PLAN

This report has been prepared by the City of Toronto

Planning Board:

• to set out city-wide issues that must be dealt with in an Official Plan for the City,

• to present recommendations and proposed plans and programmes for dealing with them.

The Planning Board will hold public meetings:

• to get citizen reaction to these proposals,

• to obtain suggestions and recommendations,

• to assist the Board in drafting the recommended Official Plan which will then be submitted to City Council.

City Council will receive the recommended Official

Plan submitted by the Planning Board and will:

• have the opportunity to consider and make revisions in the Plan presented,

• adopt the revised Official Plan,

• submit the adopted Official Plan to the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

The Minister will receive the Plan submitted by City

Council and will:

• review the Plan and request changes as desired,

• approve the Plan which will then become the legal Official Plan for the City of Toronto under the Planning Act.

The City Official Plan will have two major parts:

• the first part will present the issues and the proposed plans, policies and programmes. It will be a guide to citizen and Council-member alike of the common goals which are being sought.

• the second part will set out the specific policies adopted by City Council. It will constitute the legal Official Plan, and will be binding on City Council.

Subsequent to the adoption of the City Official Plan

it will be augmented by :

• District Plans,

o Local Plans and Projects.

Since the City is part of Metropolitan Toronto there must be no conflict between the plans of the two municipalities. Outstanding issues are discussed in the hope of arriving at a satisfactory solution.

This report sets out the City of Toronto Planning Board’s proposals for development to 1981 in the following chapters:
A New Plan for Toronto	7
The Plan	9
Residential Areas	19
Commerce	29
Industry	34
Major Parks and the Waterfront	38
Education, Research and the Arts	43
Transportation	48
The Quality of the City	54
Implementation of the Plan	57

6

A New Plan for Toronto

Toronto is growing and changing dra¬ matically. Houses make way for apart¬ ments, office buildings climb ever higher, suburbs thrust outwards, subways and ex¬ pressways are continuously under con¬ struction. By the turn of the century there will be twice as many people in Metropoli¬ tan Toronto as there are now, and the population within fifty miles will rise from 3 to 7 million, going on to 10 million and more therafter.

There will be a vast amount of new development and massive redevelopment. We must plan to seize this great potential and channel it intelligently, to produce a really fine city that will work well and be

a source of pride and pleasure to its citi¬ zens. Unless this happens, Toronto could become another megalopolitan chaos, an asphalt jungle, a prison for its people. We face a tremendous challenge, a great re¬ sponsibility and a wonderful opportunity.

The City of Toronto must bear the brunt of growth and change. It is the hub of the region and must house business, shopping, entertainment, government and all the other things needed there. The city centre is thriving and vital. Many people, especially young adults, will be drawn to live near it. Everyone, throughout the region, should be able to reach it easily.

New development must take place

among the old. New buildings can add vitality to their surroundings, even though they occupy only modest areas. Older districts must be preserved and improved. The total City, old and new, must be as fine as we can make it.

We must have a good plan and we must consistently support it. It must be realistic and practical as well as challenging. It must take account of all that can be fore¬ seen, recognize the City’s increasing im¬ portance and the fact that people expect more of it.

Many people make a city. If they are at odds, the result is bound to be chaotic.

7

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

The plan is a guide to all of them; to the Citv, to other governments, to those who wish to build and to those who wish to keep their property. It promises stability in manv areas coupled with change where needed and the opportunity for initiative. If everyone works to the same plan their combined efforts can achieve the greater City they all desire.

The Official Plan

When a plan has been worked out by the Planning Board, has been officially adopted by City Council and approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs of On¬ tario, it becomes an “Official Plan”. It is anticipated that the officially-adopted and legally binding part of the Official Plan will contain the statement of City Council’s plans, policies, programmes, and objec-

We must preserve and enhance the best of our older low density districts, rehabili¬ tation IN THE ANNEX PLANNING DISTRICT.

Many people, especially young adults, will be drawn to live in the City.

fives. The remainder, which explains the reasons for these, will be adopted “for information”.

After adoption the Plan governs the City’s actions in public works, such as road, sewer or renewal programmes, and in guiding private development through zoning by-laws and other controls.

The plans and policies of Metropolitan Toronto, and other governments, affect the City and have to be taken into account. But if the City’s interests call for a dif¬ ferent solution to a particular problem, such as an expressway or subway align¬ ment, this also has to be stated.

There is an existing City Official Plan that was adopted in 1950. It is now out of date in many ways and it is proposed to make a number of substantial revisions that will result in a new Official Plan.

This will consist of a General Plan for the entire City plus a series of more de¬ tailed District Plans. Because of its size and complexity the City as been divided into Planning Districts. For some of these, the Annex. Rosedale, Deer Park, Eglinton, the Don and Downtown, plans have al¬ ready been prepared; others are in prep¬ aration. Because of the rapid rate of change plans should be reviewed about every five years.

This present report concerns the Gen¬ eral Plan, the key part of the City’s Official Plan. When it has been circulated and dis¬ cussed the Planning Board will make its recommendations to City Council. Council will then decide what it will adopt for sub¬ mission to the Minister. It is intended to achieve the widest public understanding of the proposals so that there can be the greatest support for the Plan adopted.

Has

* * i %

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The plan must provide for the changing population. It must ensure the continued vitality of the City centre for entertainment and other activities.

New development must take place in harmony with those sound older buildings which are to remain. The new can compliment the old. the lijnbaan, Rotterdam.

8

The Plan

Toronto

The city is the people.’ The people serve the city, enabling it to grow and prosper. The city, guided by the city fathers, must serve its people well, enabling them to lead a civilized, constructive life.

The City of Toronto must see to the needs of its own citizens, their shelter,

sustenance, education, recreation and work, and the quality of the surroundings in which they lead their daily lives. But it is also the centre for people of the sur¬ rounding region, providing them with all the business, cultural, shopping and other services that belong in a great city. To play its part, the City must be well endowed in

all these fields. To serve its people, its facilities must be easy for everyone to reach.

Toronto has tremendous potential. One third of the purchasing power of all of Canada is within 100 miles of the Down¬ town area. This provides a firm foundation for Toronto’s prosperous, diversified in-

T0RONTO IN THE REGION

OWEN

SOUND

BARRIE

PETERBOROUGH

OSHAWA

CANADA

X. ■

~ U.S.A.-

TORONTO

.GUELPH

WATERLOO

KITCHENER

OAKVILLE

MONTREAL

SUDBURY

WOOlDSTOCK

HAMILTON

OTTAWA

LOh0 Hu ron

Nk-CATHARINESl

NIAGARA-

^.FALLS

BOSTON'

BRANTFORD

LONDON

TORONTO

NIAGARA FALLS

BUFFALO

WELLANtf

FLINT

ST. THOMAS

BUFFALO

TOLE

ITTSBURGH

’PHILADELPHIA

BALTIMORE

WASHINGTON I

9

The proposals in this report arc not final until approved by City Council

TORONTO IN THE METROPOLITAN TORONTO PLANNING AREA

THEORETICAL DIAGRAM OF CITIES IN A LARGE URBAN REGION

Population

CITY

METRO

Source Dominion Bureau of Statistics and Metro and City Planning Boord projections.

The population of the City will increase by more than 40,000, while in Metropolitan Toronto there will be close to 3,000,000 persons in 1981 and 7 ,000,000 by the turn of the century.

Employment 1 960

CITY

METRO

/////

/ C / /

* O' /i* ^ g cocy

Source Dominion Bureau of Statistics

While manufacturing employment contin¬ ues to be very large in Metro Toronto, the service industries are increasing in im¬ portance.

dustry and strong support for its business and financial community.

But the City is the centre for administra¬ tion and decision-making throughout a much larger area: it is a national and inter¬ national centre of trade and commerce. In many ways it is this fact, that it is a stra¬ tegic centre for business and government, that gives Toronto its singular character, unlike other cities that are based on nat¬ ural resources, particular industries, trans¬ portation or climate. Because of this, the success of Toronto depends particularly heavily on its people. They must have in-

1 he orderly growth of a large urban region requires integrated planning of transpor¬ tation and development. At the regional scale, the commuter train provides fast convenient access from city centres within the region, particularly to the central city, reducing the need for expressways.

THEORETICAL DIAGRAM OF MAJOR CENTRES AND THE LOCAL TRANS¬ PORTATION NETWORK IN A CITY

			A
fi		aSSey

Main Road Subway Mojor Ctntre

High Density Concentration Urban Area Central Areo

Within the densely populated urban area the subway and the arterial road play the same roles as the commuter railway and expressway at the regional level. Develop¬ ment is centred on the subway system and the whole focused on the central area.

telligence, enterprise and ability if the city is to thrive and keep pace in all its en¬ deavours with the rapidly changing society around it. As its people prosper, so shall Toronto.

To give its people every opportunity of developing to their full potential Toronto must provide first-class facilities for edu¬ cation and technical training, for research, for discussion and the exchange of ideas. To draw and hold the people it needs, people who can make a valuable contribu¬ tion to its prosperity, Toronto must be an interesting, attractive and stimulating place to live and work in. As it depends on people, so must it nurture them. The Plan establishes this direction as an economic necessity, not just a fine ideal: it is a direction that must be established in any Plan.

Growth

Toronto has grown rapidly since its foun¬ dation. The site was chosen by Governor Simcoe because it had a good harbour and could be defended, but it was as a provin¬ cial capital that it soon gained importance. The role of government was far-reaching, and alongside it a business, industrial and financial community soon grew up. To¬ ronto was on its way to dominating the economy of Upper Canada, and the prov¬ inces that opened up to the west.

Transportation played its part. Early roads were built out from the harbour and helped develop trade, government and defense. Railways brought a dramatic change, accelerating the growth of To¬ ronto as the centre of the region. The rise of the motor vehicle has resulted in people and industry gradually spreading outwards as congestion increased in the expanding City. The whole region is developing, with the growth of many smaller cities as well as Toronto.

The rate of growth is tremendous and has the most far-reaching implications. We must think not just of the almost 3 million people around Toronto by 1981, but of the 7 million in the region by the turn of the century, the 10 million and more shortly thereafter. Not only must we ac¬ commodate all this growth, we must also rebuild much of what we have. It is es¬ sential to grasp the full significance of this vast scale of development. It is for this that we are now laying the foundations.

The opportunity is obvious: with this scale and rate of building and rebuilding we can shape a fine community in the fore¬ seeable future. The responsibility is equally obvious: with such huge investment and sweeping change inevitable we must guide it wisely and not just let it happen hap¬ hazardly, jeopardizing the prospects of Toronto and its region.

Regional Organization

A choice must now be made as to how this region will grow. Will it grow haphazardly, with a continuously increasing reliance on automobiles, or can a pattern of orderly growth be established, with development focused on mass transit so that reliance on cars is reduced?

If houses, shopping and industry are spread out over wide areas more travel will be needed, public transit will be un¬ economic, and people will be forced to use their cars to get around. Traffic con¬ gestion will be severe and life in the city' will be under the tyranny of the automo¬ bile. This situation would be cause enough to question unlimited sprawl. But there are many other reasons. The greater the spread, the more people are immersed in it, divorced from the countryside and the

10

THEORETICAL DIAGRAM OF A CENTRAL CITY-THE TWO LAYERS OF TRANSPORTATION

		_
		4
			r
		\ ■

REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION

CITY TRANSPORTATION

Expressway	•	Major Centre
Commuter Railwoy	▲	Transfer Road to	Subway
Main Road Subway	♦	Transfer Railway to	Subway

In the central city of a large urban region the regional and local transportation networks are superimposed on one another , both focusing on the central area. The two networks must be fully integrated for maximum efficiency. Provision for transfers where express¬ ways cross rapid transit lets motorists use transit to reach the city centre and reduces congestion. Most major centres are focused on the local transportation network.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN TORONTO

REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION

CITY TRANSPORTATION

Expresswoy ■ ■■■■ Crosstown 4' ■+ 1 Commuter Roilwoy

- Main Rood

f t ♦ ♦ ♦ Subway

Major Centre

Tronefer Rood to Subwoy

Transfer Railway to Subway

Although the actual layout in Toronto appears different, the same principles as in the theoretical diagram of a central city apply.

city centre alike. New highways and serv¬ ices have to be built through the existing city to accommodate the sprawling

growth. This is difficult, costly and un¬ satisfactory: inevitably expedient decisions are made in response to urgent needs.

resulting in a patch-work of compromises.

Integrated planning of development and mass transit would free people of the tyranny of the automobile and lay the foundations for the orderly growth of the region as a civilized, efficient place to live and work. This fact is being recognized in Toronto by the focusing of development around subway stations. In the region, the equivalent of the subway would be a high¬ speed long-distance mass transit service, such as a commuter train system. A good, attractive service is essential and develop¬ ment must be focused around the stations so that people will find it convenient.

At selected stations could be the shop¬ ping centres and around them apartments and residential areas, industries and insti¬ tutions, all served by a bus system focus¬ ing on the station and the centre. With the scale of development foreseen there could even be a series of new cities in the region. This new concept would be based on inte¬ grated planning of transportation and development.

The commuter train lines should run from city centre to city centre, and partic¬ ularly to Downtown Toronto, the centre of the region. They would take the heavi¬ est traffic, reducing the need for express¬ ways. These would still be required for commercial and industrial traffic, and all the other trips that can not readily be handled by transit, but the need would be reduced, particularly in those key areas where traffic is heaviest and attempts to accommodate growth over the years will be most difficult. The demand for parking in these areas would also be minimized.

There is already an excellent system of rail lines to serve as the basis of a com¬ muter train system. The capacity of these lines can be increased over the years as the region grows, an essential element of flexibility.

Commuter trains would provide easy access to the centre of Toronto. This is a strong regional centre: excellent access is necessary if it is to continue to flourish and to develop all the variaty and excite¬ ment it should have. People must be able reach it easily for business or pleasure.

A region that grew in this way, with a series of cities, including Toronto, linked together by commuter trains, would work well and give people a welcome choice of places to live. Rather than having to tolerate the outskirts of an overgrown, sprawling Toronto, they could have a choice of cities with easy access. The cities could be varied in size and character with green belts between them. Their inner areas would offer many of the advantages of central Toronto, relieving pressure on that area. The creation of definite centres at the commuter stations would be of great advantage to businessmen deciding

11

The proposals in this report are not tinal until approved by City Council

Freeway

Macdonald - Cartier

Lawre nee

FOREST HILL

Eglinton

City Limit

St. Clair

Davenport

Crosstown Expwy

B loor

SWANSEA

College

Queen

Front

e Shore

Q t ion

Highwoy 403

Queensway

Elizabeth Way

Queen

12

PREDOMINANT LAND USES

Low Density Residential mH High Density Residential ^jHUmi Commercial

District Commercial Office Commercial Industrial

| Institutional ond Government Open Space

TRANS PORTATION

Expressways Crosstown Expresswoy Arterial Road

i i i i i h- Rapid Transit

| I I '■+ Possible Commuter Rail

{ j { =4 Other Roil

▲ Transfer Points from Rail

or Expressway to Transit

General City Plan

13

THE GENERAL CITY PLAN

The General Plan is a map that shows the broad distribution of the major elements in the City as planned for 1981. Boundaries and alignments are approximate and designed to convey the relationship between the different elements. Greater detail will be shown in District Plans.

The uses indicated are the predominant ones for the areas shown. Small areas are not shown, e.g. local parks in residential areas or small pockets of industry among housing.

GENERALLY THE TERMS MEAN:

Low Density Residential

predominantly family housing with an overall floor area ratio* up to 1, plus a bonus in selected areas.

High Density Residential

predominantly apartments with an overall floor area ratio of 2 in most areas, 2.5 in central areas, plus a bonus in many cases. The bonus in central areas may bring the floor area ratio up to 4.375 if certain conditions are met. In other areas it w'ould bring the floor area ratio of 2 up to a maximum of 2.5 and of 2.5 up to a maximum of 3.0. In three areas inducements to better standards would be achieved without entailing the acquisition of large sites.

Commercial

predominantly intensive shopping, offices and other commercial and service uses. Floor area ratios vary from 5 to 9 with bonuses up to VS additional in selected areas. May include residential and institutional.

District Commercial

predominantly shopping but may include offices, services and other com¬ mercial uses as well as residential and institutional. Mostly moderate density areas with floor area ratio of 3: a few up to 5 in key locations.

Office Commercial

predominantly offices but may include shopping, services and other com¬ mercial uses. High density in central area (floor area ratio of 9 with bonus to 12 under certain conditions), lower densities (3 to 7) elsewhere. May also include institutional and residential.

Industrial

predominantly industrial including manufacturing, warehousing and whole¬ saling, but may include commercial to serve the industries and certain insti¬ tutions. Mostly floor area ratio of 3 to 5, but higher in a few areas close to the city centre. Some existing pockets of housing may remain.

Institutional and Government

major groups of government offices and major institutions such as the University, Technological Institute and hospitals. Floor area ratios mostly 2 to 5.

Open Space

major public parks and private open spaces.

building floor area

♦Floor area ratio : the ratio of

lot area

where to locate. The existence of true city centres would help create distinct com¬ munities, serve the residents and give them the chance to enjoy their own city centre as well as Downtown Toronto. The indi¬ vidual could be a citizen of his own city and of the region.

City Organization

As in the region, integrated planning of

transportation and development must be the rule in the City. The same principles should apply. The subway is the equiva¬ lent, at the city level, of the commuter train at the regional level and the main road is the equivalent of the expressway.

Concentrations of business, shopping and apartments would be around selected subway stations where there are also good roads. People would find it convenient to

use transit wherever possible, relieving the pressure on streets and parking. A pleas¬ ant, reasonably-priced service with con¬ venient stations would encourage maxi¬ mum use of the subway.

A good bus service should bring people from the surrounding areas of homes, in¬ dustries, parks and other activities to the subway stations. Surface transit would also interconnect areas not accessible to each other by rapid transit. Local centres as well as Downtown, would be easily reached.

This is a clear, logical and practical plan for Toronto. People could see that de¬ velopment was concentrated where it made sense, and they would have the as¬ surance of knowing where major changes were likely and where they were not. In¬ vestment would be encouraged, both in the new concentrations of development and in the stable areas of homes.

Complete integration of the regional transportation system (commuter trains and expressways) with the local system (subways and main roads) is essential if they are to work as they should. Drivers heading Downtown must be encouraged to park and take the subway whenever possible. Rail commuters should be able to transfer to subway to get to their desti¬ nations. This will only work if the system is built so that it is easy, pleasant and ad¬ vantageous for people to make the transfer at the right place.

The General City Plan

CENTRAL TORONTO

The strong business and financial core is at the heart of Downtown, growing more intensive over the years ahead. Around it and extending north to the Yorkville District*, centered on the Bay-Bloor- Yonge area, is the concentration of major regional services. Government, hospitals and the University form a particularly handsome, large and expanding area to the west: churches, a hospital and an enlarged polytechnical institute form a smaller, less continuous grouping on the east side: in the centre is the great and growing shopping concentration, extending from the enlarged Downtown market place, with its great department stores and wide variety of other shops, up Yonge St. to the Bloor and Yorkville specialty centre. Throughout this area are many other ac¬ tivities that fulfil Toronto’s role as a re¬ gional, national and international centre: entertainment on Yonge St.; drama and the performing arts centred on the St.

♦Yorkville District is the whole of the area from College Street north to the C.P.R. tracks and from University Avenue to Jarvis Street. Yorkville Vil¬ lage is within it.

14

PLANNING DISTRICTS

District Plans have been completed for a number of areas. Others are being prepared.

Lawrence Centre but also in a number of other locations; national or regional of¬ fices of many voluntary organizations, particularly around the University or on Jarvis St., company offices and sales out¬ lets, from the largest and most impressive, located in Downtown, and on Bloor, to the smallest located in many buildings through the whole area, particularly to the north of Downtown. Easily recognized groupings, such as the City Hall area, the St. Lawrence Centre, the King and Bay area, Queen’s Park, and the Grange Centre, will make many of the most im¬ portant activities evident to residents of the region and visitors from elsewhere.

On either side of Downtown is the main concentration of service industry, shading off into the extensive Harbour industrial district. Around the entire central area are large groups of apartments at high densi¬ ties. These will provide convenient housing close to the centre of the City for many people who work there. Apartments will also be built at many locations within the business area.

TRANSPORTATION

This central area is the focus of the major transportation systems, both the regional expressways and commuter train lines and the main roads and subways serving To¬ ronto. The Gardiner Expressway, the Don Valley Parkway, Spadina Expressway, and the Highway 400 Extension alongside the railway tracks, will give excellent high¬ way access, particularly to the lower part of the central area. The Crosstown Expressway should not be built unless it can be demonstrated that its benefits sub¬ stantially outweigh the damage it would cause and that the money would not be better spent on expanding the public transit system.

A commuter train service would give all cities in the region good service to Down¬ town Toronto. Lines would radiate from a new transportation terminal in the vicin¬ ity of Union Station, which would serve not only for commuter and other passen¬ ger trains but also for air lines and long distance buses. Its location between Down¬ town and the Gardiner Expressway makes

it an ideal place also for commuter park¬ ing, and the subway service would let people travel easily into the city.

Good subway access to the city centre requires a Queen St. line in addition to the Yonge, University and Bloor-Danforth lines and their extensions. The Spadina line, starting from the MacDonald-Cartier Freeway in the north, will have to continue to Downtown by a route that will accom¬ modate present and future traffic and con¬ tribute to the City’s growth. This could best be achieved by coming down Bathurst to the Queen St. line.

A continuation of the Bathurst/Spadina line from Queen to the transportation ter¬ minal would provide an alternative route into Downtown. It would also provide an excellent service to any development over the railway tracks and to the Canadian National Exhibition, which would be par¬ ticularly important if this is to become a year-round attraction. A branch line could give easy access to the Islands.

Main roads in the city must accommo¬ date a great deal of local movement. The

15

The proposals in (his report are not final until approved by City Council.

>>

Low Density Residentiol

High Density Residential

Shopping and General Commercial

Downtown

Retail Centre

Office Sub-Centres Institutional and Government Industrial Open Space

Kingston

TORONTO 1966

Predominant Land Uses

Gerrord

FOREST HILL

Eglinton

St. Cloir

The present pattern of land uses reflects the influence of the railways on the location of industry and of the streetcar on the commercial areas and Downtown.

pattern must remain essentially as it is but it should be reviewed to see what improve¬ ments can be made that will help these streets work better and add to their ap¬ pearance as handsome arteries. Residen¬ tial streets must be protected from through traffic and the areas enhanced as places to live.

Every effort should be made to ensure that there is easy access to all parts of the city centre by transit and road. Priority must be given to those who are there to take part in its activities. Through traffic should be channeled onto perimeter roads and commuters should park outside the area. To improve street capacity, off-street loading must be provided in major build¬ ings and, since construction is continuously taking place, delivery of building materials should be controlled, either off the street or at off hours.

Parking is needed where motorists can leave expressways and transfer to transit. It should also be provided in commercial areas and on the periphery of Downtown.

COMMERCIAL CENTRES

Business centres are concentrated on the subway routes. Outside Downtown and Yorkville the main office centres are at Eglinton and St. Clair on Yonge. Minor centres at Bathurst and Bloor and at Pape and Danforth will mostly house profes¬ sional offices serving the west and east ends of the City.

The great regional shopping centre is in the heart of the City, at Queen and Yonge. Bloor and Yorkville is the major specialty centre. Throughout the City a number of district centres provide convenient shop¬ ping for their areas. Generally, though not always, these are on subway lines near major intersections. To strengthen these centres, providing better opportunities for the merchants and better shopping for the customers, it is necessary to consolidate them, provide better parking and improve their efficiency where possible.

APARTMENT CONCENTRATIONS

Apartments also are concentrated on the

subway lines and around major centres. Almost half are around and within the central area. The Yonge Street groupings at St. Clair, Davisville and Eglinton will continue to grow. New concentrations will be added on Bloor-Danforth at Bathurst and Greenwood, in addition to the ones now developing at Keele, Dufferin and Broadview. The Queen subway will serve South Parkdale and be of assistance to the apartment developments at Spadina, Par¬ liament and Woodbine. Concentrating apartment development into a limited number of selected locations and consoli¬ dating existing apartment areas gives apartment dwellers the maximum oppor¬ tunity to use the subway and also reinforce the shopping centres, helping to make them stronger, more important and more inter¬ esting features of the City. Integrated planning will be needed to achieve the maximum benefits.

AREAS OF FAMILY HOUSING

These centres of apartment and shopping concentration, placed as they are on the

16

The success of Toronto depends upon its people. To draw and hold the people it needs , the City must be interesting, attractive and stimulating.

transportation network, provide the focal points in the City. But around them are the extensive tributary areas. Here are the homes of most of Toronto’s residents, particularly the families with children, in areas ranging from the spacious, tree-lined streets of Rosedale and Lawrence Park to the compact areas of West Toronto. All of these must be protected, improved and provided with better schools, parks and other facilities to ensure that they remain places where people can have good homes in pleasant surroundings.

Major population changes can be ex¬ pected. As in the rest of Canada the high birth-rate since the war, contrasted with the low birth-rate before it, is producing a rapid upsurge in the number of older chil¬ dren and young adults. Toronto will get more than its share because they are drawn to the City.

The result will be a strong demand for apartments, which suit young adults, as well as family homes. The apartments can be provided in the locations already men¬ tioned. Family housing will mostly be in existing houses which will be at a premium since the demand will be rising at the same time as the supply is being reduced. It will be all the more important to protect and improve residential areas.

It will not be possible to produce within the City all the houses that might be needed by its residents and those who would like to live there. The number of houses cannot be significantly increased. The existing stock will be taken over more and more by those who can best afford it, institutions as well as individuals. Those families that have lower incomes will have the greatest difficulty in finding housing near the centre of the city, except where public housing is provided.

It will be essential to build most of the housing for lower income families in outer areas, outside the City of Toronto. This will fit in with the general expansion of the area. If new towns are established on the commuter train lines this will be an excellent opportunity to locate new hous¬ ing with good access to the centre of Toronto.

EDUCATION

The increase in children and young adults will also create the need for more schools and colleges. By 1981 elementary school enrolment will increase by one-quarter over 1961 while high school enrolment will double and higher education will more than double. Sites will be hard to find and the needs of education must be given high priority in considering the possible use of any land that becomes available.

Higher education is expected to follow three courses: university, polytechnical in¬ stitute, and community college. The Uni¬ versity of Toronto will progressively be¬ come more advanced, serving a very valu¬ able role in Toronto. It will be less able to cope with the growing need for under¬ graduate education and a new undergradu¬ ate college will be needed for this purpose. Ryerson Polytechnical Institute is expected to expand sufficiently to accommodate the growing demands placed on it. Com¬ munity colleges will have to be established to meet the need for this kind of education.

All of these will have to meet the need for continuing adult education, especially in the Downtown area, as well as their regular student enrolment.

PARKS AND RECREATION

Major parks are very limited, much below the desirable minimum, and the position

will become worse as population grows. It will be difficult to increase them substan¬ tially within the City. Those Toronto has must be used to the full to offset this de¬ ficiency as much as possible. The lake- shore and the ravines form the major parks system. They can be extended and im¬ proved to make them fine features of the City, parks that many people will enjoy. Additional recreation facilities must be provided and the programme of active rec¬ reation expanded and intensified to meet the needs of a -changed population with greater leisure time.

INDUSTRY

Industry occupies two large tracts, both at the confluence of major transportation facilities. The Harbour area, including lands north to Queen Street is intensively used but a programme of modernization and improvement is needed in certain parts, as well as the construction of new multi-storey buildings to house expanding industries. Filling into the Lake will permit harbour expansion as necessary and the creation of an industrial estate. The Junc¬ tion area will also need some moderniza¬ tion and the improvement of highway ac¬ cess, which can be provided with the construction of the Highway 400 exten¬ sion.

Toronto is at the cross-roads. It must go on to become a great city, well-organized through integrated planning, handsome and exhilarating, a true international cen¬ tre and a source of pride to its people. It must not be allowed to grow uncontrolled, becoming vaster, more congested and chaotic, a megalopolitan monster.

The Plan presented is a practical one. Its positive concept of integrated planning can be accomplished if the City accepts the

17

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

challenge. Much will have to be done and new means will have to be found to do it, but the Plan provides a framework within which everyone, public and private, can achieve the maximum results through working towards a common goal. It offers a firm foundation for building the future City.

The opportunity is tremendous; the re¬ sponsibility is great. People now, their chil¬ dren, and generations yet to come will want to know what decisions were made about their city, what effort there was to make it truly great. Toronto is in the mak¬ ing; it is for the City and its people to decide the Plan to which it will be made.

The reputation of Bloor Street and the Yorkville Village for high quality shops attracts visitors from the entire continent.

People should be offered a wide variety of dwelling types. One alternative is the high rise apartment near the City centre.

Another form of dwelling is the single family unit. In future, it will be all the more important to protect and improve the sound, older residential areas of the City.

18

Residential Areas

The Background

The growth of Toronto from quite a small city at the end of the 19th Century to its present size took place in a number of surges, interrupted by two world wars. By the end of the Second World War Toronto was on the brink of a major ex¬

pansion which swept the City boundaries far into the suburban municipalities.

In 1945 the City was mainly an area of private residences set on shady tree-lined streets. Apartments were not significant. Those which did exist were scattered and for the most part small in size. From 1955

to 1 964 there was a net increase of nearly 20,000 apartments units in the City. The new buildings are a conspicuous part of the landscape. In 1957 new zoning stand¬ ards were established to regulate the lo¬ cation and density of apartments, and to require adequate provision of parking,

THE GROWTH OF TORONTO

Lowrence

1930

Do venport

Donforth

Gerrord

Toronto has grown by a series of annexations. The central core has remained the focus of activities since the incorporation of the C ity.

19

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

Toronto is a city of private homes situated on attractive tree-lined streets. Definite policies must be adopted to protect the stability and special character of these neighbourhoods.

set-backs and landscaped open space.

But Toronto remains essentially a city of private houses in attractive residential neighbourhoods. The quality of the houses corresponds closely to the stages of the City’s growth when they were built. The suburbs of the twenties — Rosedale, North Toronto, large parts of the east and west ends of the City — are pleasant, attractive areas with sound, often large, houses. They are now enjoying an influx of younger families, generally quite well-to-do, who are attracted by the large houses and the convenience. West and east of the central area, built up in the early part of the cen¬ tury, most of the houses are sound and well-kept, the streets attractive, providing good accommodation for people of moder¬ ate income. In these districts there are areas where different immigrant groups predominate. But the inner part of the City, bounded on the north roughly by College and Carlton Streets, and on the south by the long arc of railway lines from Lansdowne to Logan Avenues, was built up in the nineteenth century. While most of the houses provide reasonable accom¬ modation and even, in places, very pleas¬ ant homes, there are also many which are not acceptable. A start has already been made in Regent Park, Moss Park, Alex¬ andra Park and Napier Place, on replacing the worst of them with new public housing and improving the remainder.

Prospects: Population, Households, Housing

Toronto in the Sixties and Seventies will feel the impact of the high birth rate since the war. Children of this period are now growing up. The City is an attractive place for them, offering a wide variety of accom¬ modation, entertainment and job oppor¬ tunity. Toronto may undergo an increase in population because of this.

However, lack of accommodation will limit the increase. Residential land will be reduced by the demands of roads, offices, institutions, etc. to serve the burgeoning Metropolitan area. There is also the need to provide more space for schools, parks, roads, etc., to serve any increase in popu¬ lation, particularly children.

Projections have been made of the “natural” increase to 1981, i.e. the way the population of the City would grow if there were no restraints on it, and of poten¬ tial capacity of the City. The “natural” growth could reach 738,000, but the capa¬ city will be only 715,000. The 1961 popu¬ lation was 672,000.

Not only will the population be larger; its age distribution will be substantially different. The proportion in each age category will undergo change from the youngest to the oldest. The proportion of children under 15, of adults 25 to 44, and

the elderly, 65 and over, will be roughly the same in 1981 as in 1961. The propor-

POPULATION 1834 to 1 981

Source; Dominion Bureau of Statistics and City of Toronto Planning Board projections.

By 1941 , Toronto had reached a saturation point as a city of single family houses. A shift to apartments will increase the popu¬ lation by 40,000 between 1961 and 1981 .

CHANGE IN AGE STRUCTURE 1951 to 1981

675,800 672,400 715,000

Source : Dominion Bureau of Statistics ond City of Toronto Planning Board projections.

The numbers of those in their late teens and early twenties will increase substan¬ tially.

tion in the late teens and early twenties will be much higher and the proportion in the middle years lower.

Housing needs depend on both house¬ holds and families. A family consists of a husband and wife with or without unmar¬ ried children. A household consists of one or more persons occupying the same dwelling. If every person were in a family and each family occupied a separate dwel¬ ling, families and households would be equal. A household may be smaller than a family, e.g., a single person living alone, or larger, e.g., a family with a boarder. Significant changes are anticipated in fam¬ ily and household structure by 1981. An increase in average family size is foreseen. There will be more single people, particu¬ larly the group under 25 living indepen¬ dently.

In households, the main increases will be in those of one, two and three persons. The remainder will decline or show moder¬ ate gains, except for the very large house¬ holds, which include the institutional pop¬ ulation.

Apartment building accounts for the continuing growth of the number of one and two-person households and marks an improvement in accommodation for those people, but a trend toward doubling-up of families is indicated for those with two or three children. Many of the doubled-up families are likely to be those living at or below poverty levels. The obvious answer is to provide low-rental housing. But the total need cannot be met in the City alone since the amount of residential land is de¬ clining and only a limited number of people can be housed without making liv¬ ing conditions intolerable. Low-rental housing must also be built outside the City.

Objectives and Principles

The objective of civic policy for housing is to improve the quality of life for every resi-

20

NUMBER AND SIZE OF FAMILIES

Families With and Without Children 1951 1961 1981

□ a ■

Single Persons

Size of Families

170 - -

Average Number of Persons per Family

Single 23456789 Persons per Fomily

Source: Dominion Bureau of Statistics and City of Toronto Plonning Board projections

There will he more single persons under 25 living independently and fewer families without children.

dent by ensuring that residential areas are pleasant, attractive, free from congestion and features incompatible with good living conditions, and provided with adequate community facilities.

Residential areas fall into three broad categories. In Areas of Private Redevelop¬ ment, high density building will be limited

SIZE OF HOUSEHOLDS

1951 1961 1981

m m m

Persons per Household

Source: Dominion Bureou of Statistics and City of Toronto Planning Board projections.

One and two person households will in¬ crease dramatically.

to those locations where apartments are presently allowed, to areas which are being expanded to consolidate existing develop¬ ment, and to the few new areas designated in the Plan. In Areas of Stability, which are the balance of the residential areas other than areas of Private Redevelopment or Improvement Areas, little or no change is planned: more exact boundaries for stable areas will be designated in district and other plans. In Improvement Areas public action will be required to bring about satisfactory conditions. Each type of area will require a clear policy.

Areas of Stability

Those areas of the City which will remain substantially unchanged cannot just be ignored. Definite policies must be pursued to protect them from intrusions which would detract from their character and reduce their stability. Positive steps will be needed to ensure that adequate municipal housekeeping is maintained and that com¬ munity facilities are provided to a standard which will retain them as good places for family living. When specific areas of stabil¬ ity have been designated, the area should be regarded as inviolate, and a firm com¬ mitment made that no basic changes through zoning or other public action which is not of keeping with the character of the area will be allowed for a period of 10 years.

Most stable areas will be zoned in a category suitable for family living. The most spacious, lowest density areas of homes will generally have a floor area ratio* of 0.35 (Zone 1) but most areas will be zoned with a floor area ratio of 0.6 (Zone 2). Several areas of compact devel¬ opment will have a floor area ratio of 1 .0 (Zone 3).

*Floor area ratio: the ratio of

building floor area lot area

The pressures on residential areas will be severe. In excess of 20,000 dwelling units will be eliminated, some to apartment construction, but an equal amount to ex¬ pressways, schools, parks, etc. It is clear that the present stock of 105,000 sound houses, both old and new, represents a most valuable asset which must be pro¬ tected. A variety of factors may contribute to the deterioration of an area of perfectly sound houses. Among the more serious problems the following can be cited:

(a) Increased traffic passing through resi¬ dential areas;

(b) Lack of compliance with building, occupancy and maintenance standards;

(c) Erection of apartments in unsuitable locations;

(d) Speculative land assembly may dis¬ courage proper upkeep and weaken the confidence of residents in the future of the area;

(e) Lack of adequate provision for car parking;

(f) Failure to maintain municipal house¬ keeping, roads, sidewalks, tree plant¬ ing, etc.;

(g) Failure to eliminate objectionable non- conforming uses.

The basic requirements for maintaining the quality of an area are stability and confidence.

Unless residents have the assurance of continued stability they will be loath to improve or even maintain the soundness and appearance of their properties. Uncer¬ tainty about future plans for redevelop¬ ment, expressways, subways, etc. is unset¬ tling. Precise information on known routes and timings should be as definite as pos¬ sible. When these are known, decisions and definite plans for the areas affected must be announced very shortly thereafter.

The enforcement of prescribed stand¬ ards of occupancy and maintenance are an essential part of any programme. There is a continuing need for a periodic and regular review of building codes to ensure adequate standards for the future. Also steps necessary to deal with special prob¬ lems, such as control of termites, must be undertaken vigorously.

The conversion of dwellings to increase their accommodation may help relieve the pressure on housing and encourage reno¬ vation. Care must be taken to see that this is done only where all standards have been met and where the added numbers will not result in reduced levels of service, recrea¬ tion and parking for the balance of the neighbourhood.

Plans and programmes must be pre¬ pared and funds continuously provided to ensure that there is regular repair of streets, sidewalks and lanes, garbage col¬ lection and street cleaning, up-dating of street lighting and wiring, replacement of

21

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council

Egllnton

SWANSEA

$t' rurd

Front

RESIDENTIAL USES

RESIDENTIAL AREAS

FOREST HILL

St. Cloir

8loor

Kingston

1

■^^^^Donforth

Gerrord

High Density - Existing Areos for Development High Density - Areos not Subject to Bonus High Density - Areos Proposed for Development Improvement Areos

NOTE ; Apartments may be built in certain designated commercial orsas, ond in csrtoin low density areas within the limitation of low density. These oreas ore not shown.

Apartment areas are at selected points on the subway and close to main intersections. Low density areas remain substantially unchanged.

trees and renewal of street furniture. The replanning of traffic patterns should elimi¬ nate through traffic in residential areas as far as possible, and solutions should be sought to parking problems.

The standards for parks should be ad¬ hered to for each stable area. Where inap¬ propriate non-conforming uses are situated in stable residential areas they should be relocated. A continuous programme should be followed to achieve this. Powers of expropriation should be used for these latter purposes if necessary.

While confidence, good maintenance on the part of the City, and the ready availa¬ bility of information and advice on reno¬ vation. can help retain the quality and attractiveness of residential neighbour¬ hoods, other steps are needed. The City can encourage renovation by seeking legis¬ lation to withold tax increases resulting from renovations. In other cases long¬ term. low interest loans can be arranged. Whatever steps are taken, the return to the City is ensured. The alternative involves

urban renewal, dislocation, added costs, lower standards of living, overcrowding or worse.

Areas of Private Redevelopment

Private redevelopment will provide apart¬ ments and townhouses. Projections of pop¬ ulation and building trends indicate that about 62,000 new dwelling units will be provided in this way between 1961 and 1981. The net gain will be about 40,000 units. The losses have been outlined in the previous section. To provide space for this development, and to be prepared for the dislocation in services, community facili¬ ties and people which will be involved, the City must establish locations, phasing of rezoning, standards of development and firm policies well in advance of develop¬ ment.

Locations should meet several criteria. New apartment areas should support the structural concept in the Plan for the City. They should be around subway stations

and adjoining main roads. They should be close to existing and planned centres of shopping, recreation and community life. Proximity to the central area is particularly desirable. There must be adequate serv¬ ices. Open space, views and similar special features should be considered. If circumstances are suitable, apartments can replace obsolescent buildings and other uneconomic, deteriorated or improperly located properties provided they do not themselves suffer from unsightly or obnox¬ ious surroundings. In all this it is implied that the selection of new locations will not adversely affect the surrounding area, either physically or aesthetically, and that there will be adequate protection for stable areas of homes. Sites which are satisfac¬ tory on all other counts may be excluded on this basis.

Areas proposed for high density devel¬ opment are located at major interchange points on the transportation network, both existing and projected. In some instances

PROJECTED CHANGES IN HOUSING STOCK 1961 to 1981

Number of Units

xxx'"

Totol 215,000

It will take an average of 3,100 apartments a year to meet the needs of the City’s pop¬ ulation. Construction from 1961 to 1965 has been slightly below the projection , but it is expected to catch up by the end of 1967. Over the next 10 years, to 1976, allowance should be made for the building of an average of 4,000 units per year so that the construction industry will have scope to expand. Actual development will be reviewed before the end of 1971 and any necessary adjustments made at that time.

Percentage Distribution

o- 52%

Single ond Multiple Homes

1961 1981

Sourc* : City of Toronto Plonning Board

The growth from 33,000 to 95,000 apart¬ ments will mean an increase from 64,000 to 178,000 apartment dwellers, a rise from 9.5% to 25% of the City population. In 1961 , 377 acres or 4.7% of all residential land in the City wa.v occupied by apart¬ ment buildings. By 1981 this will have in¬ creased to about 930 acres or 12.4%.

Some areas contain dwellings which are no longer satisfactory. Some of these will eventually be replaced by private redevel¬ opment.

they represent a consolidation of an exist¬ ing area, in a limited number of others, new development. Within the designated areas, rezoning will not be automatic for the lands which are not already zoned for high density development. Rezoning will be considered only where a scheme is presented which fits into a pattern of orderly development of the area. Priority will be given to those areas, such as South Parkdale, where continued development could be used to help rectify existing diffi¬ cult situations. A degree of flexibility and freedom of choice must be allowed. The fact that not all the sites in a zoned area may be developable must also be con¬ sidered. Therefore, a limited amount of land in excess of that actually to be used should be available for development in each period.

It is estimated that at the beginning of 1966 there was sufficient land zoned or recommended for rezoning to permit about 64,000 additional apartments at the proposed densities, including bonuses in the areas where these are applicable. In fact, detailed examination of the sites indi¬ cates that about 51,000 units can readily be built on these lands. The balance, some 1 3,000 units, is unlikely to be built because the sites are not entirely suitable for a variety of reasons. These figures do not include apartments that can be built in lower density areas (Zone 2 or Zone 3) or in commercial areas, except where specific projects are known. There could be as

High density redevelopment will be lo¬ cated near subway stations and adjoining main roads. Tall, free-standing apartment buildings set in landscaped grounds will be encouraged.

many as 10,000 apartment units built in commercial areas in the central part of the City.

The land now available for apartment development, with the additional locations shown in this Plan, is sufficient to accom¬ modate 77,000 new apartment units on sites that can readily be developed. The sites could actually hold 93,000 units but 1 5,000 of these are judged to be not suit¬ able for development. The sites available for 77,000 units are ample to take the 40,000 for which allowance has been made over the next 10 years, and still provide a reserve of sites and a choice of location at anv one time.

In light of this, it is unlikely that any further designation of land for high den¬ sity development will be considered for 10 years, but a full review of the projected demand for apartment sites should be made before the end of that period.

Residential standards must be main¬ tained and individual apartment projects carefully scrutinized to ensure the best possible development of each area. Out¬ side the central area the density should generally be limited to a floor area ratio of 2 (Zone 4), plus bonus up to a maxi¬ mum, where appropriate. In the central area it should generally be 2.5 (Zone 5) plus bonus up to 3.0 maximum. In the central business area including the streets bounded by Front, Jarvis, Bloor and Uni¬ versity Avenue, bonuses may permit floor space to go up to 4.375 times lot area in

23

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

APARTMENT SITE CAPACITIES

Capacities of Available Sites to December 1965

APARTMENT SITE CAPACITIES

Capacities of All Sites Included in Residential Areas Map June 1966

CAPACITY OF SITES IN DWELLING UNITS

f Total Capacity of Sites

Capacity of Readily • loptd Sites

DISTRIBUTION OF READILY DEVELOPED SITES

DISTRIBUTION OF READILY DEVELOPED SITES

Source: City of Toronto Planning Board

CAPACITY OF SITES IN DWELLING UNITS

| Total Capocity of Sites

□ Capacity of Readily Developed Sites

Source: City of Toronto Planning Boord

Not all sites can be readily developed in areas designated for

presence of existing

The distribution of apartment sites reflects the anticipated de¬ mand in different sections of the City. 47% are in and around the central area, 23% are to the north, 17% to the west, and 13% to the east.

apartment development because of the buildings and isolated lots.

certain cases. Some lower density (Zone 3) areas will also be redeveloped. Here the basic floor area ratio of 1 may be increased by bonus to 1.35 where appropriate.

The zoning standards as a whole encour¬ age the erection of tall, free-standing apart¬ ment buildings set in landscaped grounds, or mixtures of large buildings with row housing. The greatest possible integration of projects in each area should be sought to achieve the best overall development possible.

There are three areas designated for high density development in which it is intended that a high standard of develop¬ ment should occur without encouragement of large-scale building on big sites. These are in the Annex, along Avenue Road at St. Clair and on Eglinton Avenue east of Mt. Pleasant. Special stipulations must be included in the zoning by-laws applicable to these three areas to permit bonusing for landscaped open space above the mini¬ mum limit of 50 per cent, without the necessity of assembling a large site, and to require that minimal surface parking be permitted. None of the other bonus pro¬ visions normally provided for the assembly of large sites would apply.

Improvement Areas and Public Housing

This section deals with those residential areas in which extensive public action, going beyond ordinary municipal “house¬ keeping” and attention to a few individual properties, is needed to bring living condi¬ tions up to an acceptable level.

The study entitled “Urban Renewal, A study of the City of Toronto, 1956” pro¬ vided a basis for future renewal and im¬

provement projects. The Moss Park and Alexandra Park projects were developed from it.

A continuing programme of projects has now been developed in the report “Improvement Programme for Residen¬ tial Areas, 1965”. It is the City’s policy

that projects will be undertaken at the rate of two or three a year, with a view to completing the entire programme by 1 980. These projects will be developed in collaboration with the Federal, Provincial and Metropolitan governments. The pro¬ gramme will be reviewed from time to

Private redevelopment will provide, beside apartments, townhouses similar to those in North York, yorkwoods village and don valley woods.

24

POOR HOUSING

1	RIVERDALE 1	8	SPADINA	15	GORE VALE
2	RIVERDALE 2	9	GRANGE PARK	16	NIAGARA
3	DUKE - DUCHESS	10	HARBOUR 1	17	TRINITY
4	DON 1	II	HARBOUR 2	18	DUFFERIN 2
5	DON 2	12	HARBOUR 3	19	DUFFERIN 1
6	DON 3	13	ALEXANDRA PARK	20	JUNCTION
7	DOWNTOWN	14	KENSINGTON	21	MARLBOROUGH

IMPROVEMENT AREAS

Public action is required to ensure a continuing programme to bring living conditions up to an acceptable level across the older areas.

time. The Metropolitan Planning Board has conducted an Urban Renewal Study of the Metropolitan area. When it is pub¬ lished the City’s “Improvement Pro¬ gramme” will be re-examined.

In 1961 the City had 113,000 residen¬ tial buildings containing 173,000 dwelling units. Of these, 26,500 dwelling units, or 15% were built before 1900 and 94,400, or 55%, were constructed before 1920. In the ten-year period, 1951 to 1961, some 13,600 dwelling units were demolished. Allowing for demolition and new con¬ struction, it is anticipated that in 1981 some 69,000 dwelling units, or 31% of the total at that time, will survive from before 1920, being by then more than sixty years old.

In 1961 more than 4,700 residential buildings, or 4% of the total, accommo¬ dating 24,000 persons, were in poor con¬ dition. Two-thirds of these were within the area bounded by College-Carlton Streets, the Don Valley, Gerrard Street and the sweep of the railway tracks from Lansdowne to Logan Avenues. This area contains about 1 5,000 houses, mostly in fair condition; but it requires far more demolition and rebuilding than do areas further out. The band beyond the central

area is in fairly good condition but no longer new, while the outer area is com¬ paratively new.

The central area, where houses are poorest, also has most social problems. Here income is lowest, unemployment highest and overcrowding the greatest. Crime and sickness rates are higher than for the rest of the City. A comparatively large part of the population is made up of single people, 20% compared with the City-wide average of 14.5%. The average net residential density of the central area is very high, nearly 150 persons per acre.

The “Improvement Programme for Residential Areas” takes in this part of the City. Individual projects will be worked out to eliminate existing prob¬ lems and make the project areas sound for many years to come. Proposals will be in accordance with the Official Plan, and may include public housing. In these projects, private development will be en¬ couraged to participate.

As much public housing as possible should be built in improvement projects, subject to the paramount requirement of achieving living conditions that will be satisfactory over the years ahead. Public housing should be carefully designed to

fit into its surroundings and avoid being too conspicuous, and should be provided with the necessary community facilities, such as shops and playgrounds. In some cases public housing may be built on sites vacated by industry.

Substantial aid is available to the City from the Federal, Provincial and Metro¬ politan governments to carry out the Im¬ provement Programme, and similar pro¬ jects in industrial and commercial areas. It is the intention that this aid be used to achieve overall improvement of the City and that adequate studies, plans, pro¬ grammes and policies will be called for before grants are given. Therefore, a thorough process of planning and prepara¬ tion, together with an adequate organiza¬ tion and programme of implementation, will be necessary to take full advantage of the assistance now available from the senior governments.

Services and Facilities for Residential Areas

EDUCATION

Population changes have an impact not only on housing, but also on all the serv¬ ices and facilities needed by city-dwellers.

25

The proposals in this report are not final until approved hy City Council.

SCHOOL NEEDS

Forecast of Enrolment 1961 1981

Source Respective School Boards and

City of Toronto Planning Board projections

New schools will have to be built and others expanded to meet population change, both in the number of school children and their future educational needs.

The greatest impact of the City’s popula¬ tion changes between 1961 and 1981 will be in the field of education. Elementary school pupils will increase by about 20% and secondary pupils will almost double. About 500 new elementary classrooms and close to 900 new secondary class¬ rooms will be required. In addition to the great expense of building, there will also be the serious problem of providing sites for new schools and for the expansion of existing ones — an estimated total of 125 acres to 1981.

On the whole this demand will not arise from the new apartment buildings, which have few children of school age in rela¬ tion to the number of dwellings, but in the older, stable areas, as middle-aged and elderly residents are replaced by younger and much larger families. The use of existing school grounds can only be in¬ tensified to a limited extent without harm¬ ing the satisfactory operation of the schools. New school sites must be given high priority in considering the use of available land. The search for sites must

be part of the attempt to achieve the best use of all land. For example, a new school, instead of eliminating a number of per¬ fectly sound and usable houses, might re¬ place a pocket of poor dwellings, an intru¬ sive industry, or a group of declining shops.

PARKS AND RECREATION

There is a serious shortage of parks to serve the residents of the City and a major effort will be needed to bring them up to minimum standards. There are now 2,295 acres of parkland within the City all told, including City parks, Metro parks and private recreation areas. This comes to only 3.4 acres per thousand people. The standard in the proposed Metropolitan Official Plan is 7.5 acres per thousand, a low level compared to the widely-accepted figure of 10 acres per thousand. Recogniz¬ ing that these standards are impracticable in the inner built-up areas, City Council has adopted a standard of 4.6 acres per thousand as being the minimum that can provide a reasonable service and one that is reasonably possible to establish as an

PARK DEFICIENCIES 1966 J

Eglinton

Other Open Space

Residential Areas more than 1/4 Mile from a Park

Danforth

Bioor

Gtrrord

Corlton

% Gerrord	1
** 1
_

Serious deficiencies of parkland exist in many areas. New policies on street closings in apartment areas can help overcome local problems.

26

objective. The City should now have 3,100 acres to meet this standard and by 1981 this should rise to almost 3,300 acres as the population increases. The present overall deficiency is 800 acres and it will rise to 1,000 acres unless cut down by acquisitions.

The total park provision is made up of regional, district and local parks. The proposed Metropolitan standards are re¬ spectively 5, 1 Va and 114, for a total of IV2 acres per thousand. The City stand¬ ards are 3.2, 0.5 and 0.9 respectively, for a total of 4.6 acres per thousand. The dis¬ trict parks, which provide playing fields, recreation centres and other facilities for major segments of the City, and the local parks, which provide convenient small parks and playgrounds close to the home, are the most urgent need. Taking them to¬ gether there should be 940 acres in the City now, rising to 1,010 acres by 1981. If it is assumed that regional parks also serve as local and district parks for people liv¬ ing near enough, the City now needs 300 acres more than it has in order to reach the minimum level in these categories. Some areas of the City are seriously defi¬ cient in parks. Many people in the inner part of the City, particularly in the west- central area, have little or no parkland within easy reach. Every effort should be made to help them.

The ravines and Eastern Beaches offer excellent opportunities to obtain addi¬ tional regional parklands. They will in no way compensate for the serious shortage of local and district parks but will still be of great value. The proposed Metropoli¬ tan Official Plan calls for Metropolitan Toronto to achieve a standard of 5 acres of regional parkland per thousand popu¬ lation. These additions will still leave them well short of this target within the City, and the Metropolitan Corporation should be urged to do what it can to reach this goal.

The balance of local parks required to achieve the standard and overcome local deficiencies can be provided to some ex¬ tent in conjunction with apartment devel¬ opment. Where appropriate, closed streets could be exchanged for public park, or a levy could be charged to enable the City to provide the park that will be needed. Detailed proposals can be made in district appraisals, improvement programme pro¬ jects and in individual rezoning applica¬ tions for large-scale private development.

Because of the changes in population, particularly in the number of young adults and teen-agers, it will be extremely im¬ portant to expand the facilities and inten¬ sity the active recreation programme to meet the new needs.

WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE

The responsibility for water supply and

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INCLUSION IN THE OFFICIAL PLAN

1. The City to adopt the objective that the quality of life be improved for every resident. Residential areas to be pleasant, attractive, free from conges¬ tion and features incompatible with good living conditions, and provided with adequate community facilities.

2. All residential areas not designated for high density residential or other uses, to be areas of stability and no basic changes to be made through zoning or other public action which is out of keeping with the character of the area for a period of 10 years. Boundaries of designated high density and other uses to be delineated in district and other plans.

3. Zoning, building occupancy and maintenance standards by-laws to be enforced, traffic through residential areas to be restricted, provision made for off-street parking, prohibition and gradual elimination of unsuitable uses, and the maintenance of a high level of municipal housekeeping, adequate parks and municipal services.

4. Advice and assistance in the improvement and maintenance of private dwellings to be provided to homeowners.

5. Methods of encouraging improvement and maintenance of buildings in residential areas to be investigated, including legislative changes to allow the use of temporary tax incentives and other schemes.

6. A continuing improvement programme of public action to be carried out in conjunction with senior levels of government to bring living conditions up to an acceptable level in those areas which require extensive public action, and to provide public housing within the City to the extent determined by studies. Where appropriate in carrying out the public purpose, private development to be encouraged to participate.

7. Within residential areas all those uses of land which are normally found in residential districts such as parks, playgrounds, schools, churches, etc. to be regulated by by-law so that they will be of a type and standard suitable to the character of the area.

8. Areas of high density residential development to be as designated in the General City Plan and in locations which: support the structural concept of the Plan for the City; are around selected subway stations and adjoining main roads; are close to existing and planned centres of shopping, recreation and community life; preferably are close to the central area; are provided with adequate services; have open space, views and similar services; if suitable, replace obsolescent buildings and other uneconomic, deteriorated or im¬ properly located properties provided they do not themselves suffer from un¬ sightly or obnoxious surroundings; and in which the selection of locations will not adversely affect the surrounding area, either physically or aesthetically, and that there will be adequate protection for stable areas of homes.

9. Applications for approval of apartment projects in designated areas, where revisions in the zoning by-law are required, to be scrutinized to ensure the best possible development in conformity with defined zoning standards and plan¬ ning objectives for high density development.

10. Integration of projects in each designated area to be sought to achieve the best possible overall development.

11. High standards of development to be encouraged through bonuses in ac¬ cordance with prescribed standards.

12. The allocation of high density sites to various areas of the City, as out¬ lined in Areas of Private Redevelopment, to be in accordance with: the antici¬ pated requirements for a 10-year period; the feasibility of developing the loca¬ tion shown in the General City Plan; the need to satisfy the preferences and meet the needs of many kinds of families; the adequacy of utilities and muni¬ cipal services in different parts of the City; and the provision of parkland up to the standards set out below.

13. District and local parks to be brought up to a standard of 1.4 acres per 1,000 population living beyond one-half mile of regional parks, and the pro¬ gramme of active recreation and leisure time activities expanded.

14. All residential development, especially at high densities, to be required to provide landscaped open space.

27

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

15. Metro to be encouraged to achieve a standard of 5 acres per 1,000 popu¬ lation in regional parks, including the provision of new parks to serve those areas of the City which are beyond 3 miles from a regional park.

16. When land becomes available, and a change in use is being considered, requirements for new school sites and the expansion of existing sites to be given a high priority in the reuse of the land.

17. When new school sites are required, and where appropriate, new school sites to replace pockets of substandard housing, isolated industry, obsolete or deteriorated commercial space.

18. W here new school buildings are built on or adjoining a district or local park, the designated school yard not to be considered as public park, and the amount of public park remaining after construction to be not less than existed

before.

19. Construction of new sewers to eliminate problems of flooding and lake and river pollution and to provide the services required in the designated areas of development, in accordance w ith the programme adopted by City Council, to be given high priority, and installed in the designated area before new buildings are occupied.

20. Services provided for the benefit of people, such as libraries, district health units, welfare services, nursery and day care centres, to be located close to those whom they are to serve, in district centres or other centres of commun¬ ity activity.

21. Services provided for the benefit and protection of people and property, such as fire protection and works yards, to be located to serve the special re¬ quirements of these services and so as to minimize interference with residen¬ tial areas.

sewerage is divided between the City and Metropolitan Toronto. The Metropolitan Corporation has jurisdiction over the pro¬ duction, treatment and storage of water, and over the pumping stations and trunk mains which distribute it over the whole Metropolitan area, while the City is re¬ sponsible for the local distribution system which carries water to individual proper¬ ties. At present there are no serious prob¬ lems of water supply in the City and there is no reason to expect long-term develop¬ ment problems to arise from difficulties of water supply and distribution, although the present system may require reinforce¬ ment in places. The system should also be studied to determine the need for a long¬ term programme of improvement.

In the case of sewage disposal the posi¬ tion is different. Combined sewers, carry¬ ing both storm water and sanitary sewage, are overloaded in many areas, resulting in flooding during heavy rainstorms and lake pollution due to overflow. The construc¬ tion of new storm sewers is therefore essential and is a prerequisite for further rebuilding of the City. The City is now undertaking a long-term programme of sewer construction* which will eliminate the present problems and enable new development to go ahead. The new sewers must be installed before development can be permitted in several areas.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

There are a number of other essential services. These include libraries, district health and welfare services, nursery and day care centres, as well as fire protection, garbage collection and other services operating from works yards. Services pro¬ vided for the benefit of people, such as libraries and health centres, must be located close to those they serve. District centres and other centres of community activity are best for these purposes. Serv¬ ices to both people and property must be placed where they can best serve their purposes, but because of the traffic gener¬ ated, the buildings and yards should be sited to minimize interference with resi¬ dential areas.

*Report on City of Toronto Sewer System, Department of Public Works, September 1965.

7 he public school population will in¬ crease by 20% by 1981. High school registration will nearly double in the same period.

Commerce

Commerce in Toronto

Commerce is the fastest growing seg¬ ment of the Canadian economy. It in¬ cludes shopping, restaurants, recreation

and entertainment, offices, hotels, service trades, automotive businesses, parking lots, commercial schools, medical centres, and similar enterprises. In the City of Toronto those working in this field in¬

creased from about 50 percent of the labour force in 1951 to over 60 percent in 1961.

Toronto is a headquarters city, a finan¬ cial and decision-making centre for its

o

Business facilities are important to the improvement of the quality of city life. Pleasant and efficient shopping areas at convenient locations improve the surrounding areas and attract more customers.

29

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

The construction of office space in Downtown Toronto will provide opportunities for the creation of fine buildings and attractive open spaces. A new office building in

COPENHAGEN.

1111X0

The Yonge-Eglinton intersection will con¬ tinue to be one of Toronto’s prime office locations.

rapidly growing region, for the Province and for Canada. It is also a great shopping and entertainment centre: people from towns and cities throughout the region throng its great department stores and shopping centres. These roles will grow over the years ahead.

Within Toronto, Downtown is the great centre of commerce. It contains the very large office buildings, the head offices of banks, insurance companies and industry, and the department stores. It is the major focus of a multitude of activities. The Yorkville centre, at Yonge and Bloor, is also important, both as an office area and a specialty shopping centre for the region. St. Clair and Yonge is becoming a significant area for company offices while Eglinton and Yonge has grown into one of the major office sub-centres. These sub¬ centres house certain groups of businesses that have relocated from the Downtown area.

The concentrations of commerce in the main centres are readily apparent. But everyday shopping and personal services are widespread in district shopping centres, commercial strips and scattered stores, spread out close to the people they serve.

Downtown

Downtown is prosperous and building is going ahead rapidly. Financial and busi¬ ness offices are clustered around King and Bay Street and will remain so, with a new and more impressive focus at the centre. Corporate and prestige offices are grouped on University Ave. and around Toronto Street. These groupings will grow and there will be others around the City

Hall and on the south side of Downtown. By 1981 Downtown will show great changes. The construction of some 12 mil¬ lion or more square feet of office space (a net gain of about 8V2 million over 1961) will give great opportunities for fine build¬ ing, the creation of open spaces, plazas, footpaths and ornament, to help make the city centre attractive, worthy of its im¬ portant role.

Downtown is the great, vital hub of Toronto and its region. In the interests of everyone it is imperative that it expand and flourish, becoming a greater, finer, more efficient, beautiful and exciting city centre. Development must be channelled to it, where business can be conducted most effectively, and should not be al¬ lowed to draw off its vitality to other sites.

Shopping must be increased and re¬ vitalized, giving it a fresh air of quality, variety and chic. A shopping trip Down¬ town should be a pleasure, a stimulus and a satisfaction.

Entertainment must also grow and diversify. The St. Lawrence Centre will help achieve quality and choice, but night clubs, theatres, private clubs and restau¬ rants will also be needed. Public features, comparable to the skating rink on Nathan Phillips Square, will be a great asset.

The many other elements that go to make up Downtown will also grow and should contribute to the general signi¬ ficance and vitality of the area. Clearer identification of major functional centres and new outstanding landmarks will help people understand and enjoy Downtown, a centre that they can regard as their own.

Access to all its parts must be easy and

clear. And inside Downtown people must be able to walk freely from place to place, across squares and through walks that are handsome and interesting, separated from vehicles as much as possible. An under¬ ground walkway system can be achieved. It will be a valuable contribution to free pedestrian circulation that must be well done to achieve the necessary quality that people will enjoy.

Integrated planning of all these fea¬ tures, together with transportation and other needs, will provide the basis of achieving a truly great city centre, match¬ ing up to the challenge to be of first-rank international importance, worthy of all who look to it and are served by it.

Yorkville

The Yorkville District, north from College Street to the C.P.R. tracks, is not part of Downtown Toronto but complements it, providing specialty shopping, a major coft- centration of insurance company head offices, prestige office buildings and offices for the Provincial Government.

An additional 4 million square feet of office floor space, including expanded business and government offices can be expected in the Yorkville District by 1981, a substantial part of it on Bloor Street be¬ tween Avenue Road and Jarvis Street. Some could well be combined with stores and apartments in mixed development.

Office Sub-Centres

Outside the central area are the two major sub-centres on Yonge Street, one at St. Clair and the other at Eglinton. The St. Clair sub-centre is a prestige address

30

and several corporations have located their head offices there. It is close enough to the central area to be readily accessible but far enough away to avoid serious con¬ gestion. It is in the middle of an attractive, well-to-do residential area. About 1.6 mil¬ lion square feet of additional office space is expected between 1961 and 1981.

The Yonge and Eglinton office centre is the third largest in Metropolitan Toronto (after Downtown and Yorkville). The sur¬ rounding area includes both a large apart¬ ment concentration and good homes. The Yonge Street subway, combined with good road access, makes this one of the most accessible locations in the City. Since 1955, when the subway was opened, large office buildings have been constructed along Eglinton Avenue from Yonge to Mount Pleasant Road. The district will continue to be one of Toronto’s prime locations for company offices and for pro¬ fessional and financial consultants, and about 3 million square feet of office space will be added between 1961 and 1981.

Only about 2.1 million square feet of

office space is likely to be built outside the central core and the above sub-centres in the years to 1981. Minor concentrations are anticipated at Bloor and Bathurst and at Danforth and Pape. These will mainly house business and professional services for their districts of the City. No other significant centres are expected, despite subway construction, since no other loca¬ tions have significant advantages. Nor are any other centres required to serve the office needs of Toronto. Future develop¬ ment should be channelled to the centres already established: this will add most to the business strength of the City.

Shopping Districts

In the past, shopping in Toronto has fol¬ lowed the growth of residential areas, moving outward from the central core along the major arterial roads. The street car system allowed people to reach Down¬ town cheaply and quickly, supporting the shopping centre and the department stores at Queen and Yonge. It also stimulated the growth of long strips of stores along the

major arteries, with concentrations at nodal points, such as Queen and Bathurst, Bloor and Bathurst, St. Clair and Vaughan Road, Danforth and Pape, and others, like beads along a string. The strips also met the every day needs of nearby residents. In some places small groups of stores grew up off the main routes.

Shopping in Toronto can be recognized as consisting of “corner” stores, isolated shops which provide a variety of conven¬ ience goods, “neighbourhood” centres, small groups which serve day-to-day needs, and “district” centres which, in addition to serving a wider area, offer less fre¬ quently purchased items and usually in¬ clude a major food chain store and a variety store. There are also large, planned shopping plazas serving a wide area. Beyond these four levels are the major shopping centres, Downtown, with its department stores, and Yorkville, with its specialty shopping, depending on cus¬ tomers who come from the whole region.

In practice the different types of shop¬ ping are not so clear-cut in the City: they

DISTRICT CENTRES 1981

District Centre

Residential Areas served by District Centres

glinton

Downtown

NOTE : Symbols are not intended to show

exact location or extent of the centres

Danforth

Gerrard

Cqllige

Kingston

- -

G<rrard

Public policy should support the concentration of future commercial development at well-located points on the transportation network. They must also serve areas beyond the City’s boundaries.

31

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

Inside Downtown, people must be able to walk freely across squares and along paths, separated from vehicles, constitution plaza, Hartford; town centre, Coventry; and

THE BARBICAN DEVELOPMENT, LONDON.

merge into each other geographically and functionally. Except for Dufferin and Rite-way Plazas, the centres mentioned are not planned shopping plazas. They are agglomerations that have evolved over many years and continue to grow and change. There are also the special purpose centres of boutiques, car dealers, coffee¬ houses, entertainment, ethnic goods, fur¬ niture and appliance dealers, medical serv¬ ices, specialty food stores, and many others. These cater to special needs for a widespread clientele throughout Toronto and play a vital role in the commercial life of the City. They are located accord¬ ing to their highly specialized require¬ ments. Because of their importance the City may undertake special actions to assist them.

The Future of Shopping Districts

Shopping has changed in recent years. People make major shopping trips, using their cars. They look for a choice and range of goods on these trips. For this kind of shopping, planned shopping plazas have many advantages over the older un¬ planned shopping strip. The change from street cars to subways also tends to con¬ centrate shopping at subway stations, par¬ ticularly where apartments are grouped around them.

It is necessary to adopt a policy of con¬ centrating shopping efficiently and attrac¬ tively, in keeping with the way that development is to be concentrated in the City. Coupled with this is the need to reduce progressively, in accordance with detailed studies, the strips that no longer

have an adequate market to serve, and to help the merchants relocate in the grow¬ ing centres.

The centres which are best located to¬ day must be strengthened and developed to meet the needs of the future, and the concentrations of population which will be brought about by high density residen¬ tial development. How this might be accomplished is shown diagramatically on the District Centres Map. The symbols are not intended to convey the exact loca¬ tion or the extent of particular district centres. They are shown at the major in¬ tersection of the subways and arterial roads near the centre of each shopping district. Where older shopping districts are close together, or are serving small areas, they have been combined to provide a reasonable area on which a district centre could be based. Because they serve the whole district, these centres should not be confined to shopping alone but should provide a full range of community facili¬ ties for the area.

They should be supported not only by zoning and other regulations, but also by positive steps to encourage activity, in¬ crease efficiency and improve appearance. For example, public and quasi-public buildings should be built at these loca¬ tions, parking provided, transportation focused at the centre, trees planted, wires removed and buildings face-lifted. This will require conscious effort to coordinate the activities of a wide variety of boards and committees, departments and branches, both governmental and quasi- governmental, as well as merchants, owners and other private groups. Inte¬ grated planning will be called for to achieve good results.

Each centre will have to be studied in¬ dividually and a plan worked out accord¬ ing to its needs. The Parking Authority will provide parking in co-operation with the merchants. The T.T.C. services should be channelled to serve the centre. The merchants themselves could undertake a face-lifting programme to improve ap¬ pearance and integrate their stores with any new development that is needed. The City can protect the centre by zoning, but it is even more important to ensure that the plan for the centre is sound and fits in with the surrounding area, and to make the centre more prominent and attractive by tree planting, better sidewalks, special lighting, good street furniture and other measures. The success of district centres will increasingly depend on well-planned concentrations at good locations, and the City can be instrumental in bringing this about. At the same time it must make sure that competitive development does not undermine the validity of these centres. Any further strip development must be

32

curbed and the unlimited building of shopping centres in industrial zones pre¬ vented.

Strip shopping which is likely to de¬ cline presents the most serious problem to all concerned: tenants, owners and the City. The building of new subways and expressways, and the concentration of high density development will shift the de¬ mand for shopping space. If commercial blight is to be avoided, each case will have to be studied to find out how much the strip will decline, how best to help mer¬ chants relocate in prosperous centres, and what the best future use for the vacated land will be. Where they can be used, urban renewal measures are the best means of dealing with this problem since public funds from all levels of government will then be available to help in moving businesses and in changing street and lot layouts as may be necessary. The best ap¬ proach is a commercial improvement programme, similar to the residential im¬ provement programme but applied to commercial properties. The Metropolitan Urban Renewal Study will touch on this subject and may give some guidance for future action. But it will be a gradual pro¬ cess going on over many years. It will re¬ quire constant study, special policies and continuous action by the City, merchants and owners if it is to be successfully car¬ ried through.

MOWitK

LAM

svxwm.

CAFE

The City may undertake to assist certain special purpose areas because of their vital role in the commercial life of the City.

Tree planting can define commercial areas and make them more attractive.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INCLUSION IN THE OFFICIAL PLAN

1. The City to adopt the objective that future commercial development be concentrated into designated areas to produce efficient and attracive centres.

2. Centres of commercial activity to be as shown in the General City Plan.

3. The Downtown area to continue to contain the main concentration of financial and related business, and of general retail trade.

4. Development in the Downtown area to be efficiently distributed without excessive concentration in any one place, that it be attractive and enjoyable for its users by integrating the planning of all the diverse features of com¬ merce, entertainment, transportation and the arts.

5. Outside the Downtown area, future office development to be channelled to existing office sub-centres, except for business and professional offices serving specific districts.

6. The development and efficient working of designated office sub-centres and district centres to be aided by the City as a matter of public policy. Where appropriate, such support to include zoning changes, special bonus provisions, urban renewal schemes, provision of parking, improved access, separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, public works and encouragement of co-opera¬ tive schemes for improving the appearance and adding to the amenities of public and private property.

7. District centres to be made the centre of intensive and varied activity for each district by ensuring that entertainment, recreation, and civic and public buildings are located in or adjacent to them.

8. Further expansion of commercial strip areas to be curbed and the unlimited building of shopping centres in industrial zones prevented.

9. A commercial improvement programme to be instituted so that areas of commercial activity that are uneconomic, badly located, or physically de¬ teriorated, will be studied and special policies and programmes adopted for their replacement or redevelopment.

33

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

Industry

The Industrial Structure of Toronto

Early Toronto had a few small industries that manufactured for purely local needs: these were centred on lower Yonge Street, although there were two breweries north of Bloor Street, and some mills on the Don River. It gained prominence in the 1850’s with the coming of the railways and the use of steampower in factories. It expanded with the influx of immigrants, good markets strengthened by the Ameri¬ can Civil War, and the protection of tariffs imposed by the Dominion Govern¬ ment. By the turn of the century it had many of the types of industry it has today, and more than half of the City population was dependent on this industry.

During the period from 1850 to 1920 plants spread outwards from the central area, initially following the railway lines. From 1875 to 1890 factories moved north and west from Bathurst Street to Sorauren Avenue and Dupont Street. Starting in 1890, the area along the C.P.R. line paral¬ lel to Dupont developed, as did the Junc¬ tion District. The large meat packers followed the location of the Ontario Stockyards in the Keele-St. Clair area in 1900. Meantime, factories also developed along the Don River south of Gerrard Street, west along King Street, and along the C.N.R. tracks in the Coxwell-Wood- bine area. The introduction of electricity soon after 1900 boosted manufacturing in the City, and World War I brought heavy demands for goods — munitions, food and clothing. The 1920’s were marked by the continuing growth of industry.

Harbour land reclamation began in 1 862. It was greatly extended by filling into the lake in the 1920’s. Since World War II harbour expansion has gone on, adapting to changes brought about by the St. Lawrence Seaway. Lake fill is again being used for this purpose but now the new docks are outside the Toronto Bay for the first time.

Today manufacturing is a major eco¬ nomic activity in the City. It is quite varied, comprising a large number of small to medium-sized plants producing for the consumer market.

There are seven major industrial areas in Toronto.

1. AREA NUMBER 1 - WEST CENTRAL

The area bounded by Dundas, Bathurst, Front and Jarvis Streets contains two special concentrations, the garment in¬ dustry or “needle trade” centred at Spa- dina Avenue and Adelaide Street, and the printing and allied industries located near the south end of University Avenue and extending to the west. The textile whole¬ salers and jobbers displaced from Welling¬ ton Street between York and Bay have moved to nearby locations and to the west. The area also houses manufacturers of iron and steel, leather and paper products, and the wholesaling of iron and steel and paper products and of china. Many new and small firms are attracted to this area by low rents and proximity to markets and suppliers.

2. AREA NUMBER 2— PARKDALE

West of area number 1 is a group of three sub-areas, the first bounded by Queen, Bathurst and Niagara Streets, the second by Dufferin, Queen and Strachan Streets and the C.N.R., and the third following the C.N.R. from Queen Street to Dundas Street and Sorauren Avenue. Among them, they contain a great diversity of in¬ dustries, mainly manufacturing but with some wholesalers and warehouses. The iron and steel industry is most important, followed by textiles and clothing, elec¬ trical apparatus, printing and furniture.

3. AREA NUMBER 3 - JUNCTION

In the Junction area industry is focused on the three major rail lines. The meat packers are concentrated here, but the bulk of industry is manufacturing, mainly metallic products, food products and

chemicals. There are also many other types of manufacturing, together with wholesalers, scrap metal yards, construc¬ tion firms and transport companies.

4. AREA NUMBER 4 - HARBOUR

This is an extensive industrial area, ex¬ tending from Bathurst Street to Leslie Street, and south from Front Street and Eastern Avenue to the Lakeshore. The southern portion, below the railways and Eastern Avenue, is relatively modern. It is oriented essentially towards the Har¬ bour. There are two distinct sub-areas in the southern section. The sub-area to the east of Cherry Street provides storage space for coal, petroleum, steel and chemicals. There are also several manu¬ facturing establishments, the chemical in¬ dustry being the most significant. The major land fill now under way will pro¬ vide room for harbour expansion as needed in the future, and industrial sites with access to the water. The sub-area to the west of Cherry Street is dominated by the docks, although there are a limited number of manufacturing and wholesale establishments. The northern portion of Area No. 4, north of the railway right-of- way and extending up to Front and Eastern Avenue, is unrelated to the har¬ bour. It is an area of old industrial build¬ ings and is primarily oriented towards serving Downtown Toronto. Manufactur¬ ing and warehousing are dominant in this area.

5. AREA NUMBER 5 - DUPONT

Industry in the Dupont area is highly con¬ centrated in a narrow east-west belt along the C.P.R. tracks extending from Dufferin Street in the west to Bedford Road in the east. It is predominantly a manufacturing area characterized by an extreme varia¬ tion in the age and size of firms, as well as diversity of products, which include: iron and steel, food and beverage, textile, chemical and rubber.

34

6. AREA NUMBER 6 - EAST TORONTO

In East Toronto industry is concentrated along the C.N.R. line, mainly between Pape and Greenwood Avenues. It is chiefly manufacturing, including light iron and steel products, paper products, elec¬ trical apparatus, printing, rubber prod¬ ucts, toys, and food and beverages, but there are also wholesaling, warehousing, construction and transport firms. Various inadequacies give this area probably the poorest industrial prospects of any of the seven.

7. AREA NUMBER 7 - EAST CENTRAL

The industrial area from Jarvis Street to and along the Don River, on either side of Queen Street, has several clearly de¬ finable sub-areas.

The Jarvis to Parliament section con¬ sists mostly of manufacturing similar to that found in the West Central area. Scrap yards predominate in the area bounded by Eastern Avenue, St. Lawrence, River, Shuter and Parliament Streets. The re¬ mainder of the area has a mixture of

firms, with service industries predominant among the new arrivals.

Trends in Industry Today

Manufacturing employment in Metropoli¬ tan Toronto and in the City is no longer the largest component of the labour force. The grouping which includes service, trade and finance is now the largest and the fastest growing. This partly reflects the fact that the City provides services to the growing region, but also the fact that with increased wealth more services are required. The drop in manufacturing and wholesaling employment occurred while there was actually an increase in floor space and only normal vacancies, illus¬ trating the fact that increased automation is affecting the City as well as the suburbs.

Certainly major changes are taking place in the City. Large old firms leave, and small young firms occupy their space. These firms in turn grow large and are forced to move. Some existing firms de¬ cide, because of the amounts already in¬ vested on the site or the advantages of the

location, to expand rather than move. And entirely new firms and new buildings are being established.

The Future of Industry

The City should continue to be an im¬ portant industrial centre. It is advan¬ tageous for many industries because of the convenience of the large business centre, finance, contacts and buyers, be¬ cause of its range of business services and supplies, its labour and its markets. Trans¬ portation in the industrial areas is generally excellent. The Harbour is par¬ ticularly well served. Older buildings with space to rent at reasonable rates serve as “incubators” for new small industries which can later move to larger premises as they prosper. This is a vital function to feed new life into the Toronto economy.

This will provide employment for the City’s people, even though there will be a shift from manufacturing to service em¬ ployment. It will serve the city centre and provide wealth to sustain all its activities.

To thrive, the City must improve the

INDUSTRIAL AREAS 1966

Lowrence

Industry

Eglinton

Area Number

The compactness of the well-serviced industrial areas in the City is in contrast to the spaciousness found in the suburbs.

35

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES BY MAJOR CATEGORIES Total Canada

1800

1700

1600

1500

1400

1300

1200

•o

% 1100

«•

9

® 1000

- 900

•

o 800 u.

I 700

a

o

J 600 500 400 300 200 100 0

Province of Ontario

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

rn

—

I95< 1961 1951 I9GI 1951 1961 1951 1961 1951 1961

Metropolitan Toronto

S 300

1951 1961 1951 1961 I 1951 1961 1951 1961 1951 1961

City of Toronto

□ Agriculture, Forestry and Logging, Fishing and Trapping, Mining, Quarrying and Oil Wells Manufacturing

| Transportation, Communication ond Utilities

| Recreation, Personal, Government ond Commercial Services

| Trade, Finance, Insurance ond Real Estate, Construction, not Stated or Unspecified

Source Dominion Bureau of Statistics

Manufacturing employment in Metropoli¬ tan Toronto rose between 1951 and 1961 . However, employment in the service and trade sectors rose more rapidly. In the City, employment in manufacturing actu¬ ally declined, while service employment continued to increase.

advantages it has in being a compact well- serviced area, in contrast to the spacious¬ ness offered by the suburbs. It must consolidate and improve its better loca¬ tions while allowing isolated sites to change to other uses. The isolated sites, mostly strung along the railway lines in East Toronto and Parkdale, are hard to sustain, because of the lack of services and the friction with residences, and can better be converted to other purposes when their occupants move. The better locations can be further consolidated, made more efficient and attractive, and provided with new buildings to accom¬ modate industrial growth.

An improvement programme will gen¬ erally achieve the best results. Poor hous¬ ing and poor industrial buildings can be removed and the land used to improve the total area. Parking can be increased, servicing improved, streets re-organized, and room provided for plant expansion. Just as important, the area can be cleaned up and beautified by landscaping, tree planting, better lighting and handsome street furniture. Many of these measures can be carried out on their own but an im¬ provement programme offers the best chance to do a thorough, co-ordinated job with the benefit of adequate finances.

Most firms that leave the City do not want to go. They move because there is no suitable space for them in the City. The buildings they leave are often old, rather inefficient and quite cheap, and the space is taken up by young “incubator” in¬ dustries that are prepared to put up with it for the economy and the location. But the established, expanding industry would gladly pay more for better space. There is a need for suitable new multi-storey fac¬ tories if they can be achieved at rentals that are not too high compared with suburban costs. Improvement pro¬ grammes may help in creating suitable sites.

It is important that all suitable indus¬ trial land be kept for industry and not disposed of for other purposes. Efforts should be made to encourage those in¬ dustries in the warehousing, distribution and service activities, particularly incu¬ bator industries, and those related to the harbour, and to provide space for them to locate in industrial areas of the City. Unless this is done, industry will be more and more hampered by lack of space and obliged to move to the suburbs.

One major opportunity exists for new industrial land. This is the fill into the Lake for the extension of the harbour. Land created here is best used for in¬ dustries that make use of lake water or the harbour. It is an excellent opportunity for new buildings in a handsome setting: a high standard of excellence can be es-

PERCENTAGE EMPLOYMENT BY MAJOR CATEGORIES

Total Canada

Metropolitan Toronto

35

* 30

o

o

**■ 25

D

O

^ 20

o

-I

H- 15 o

1 10 o

4>

5

0

1951 1961 1951 1961 1951 1961 1951 1961 1951 1961

City of Toronto

V

o

o

li¬

ar

0.

35

30

25

20 I 5 10 5 0

1951 1961 1951 1961 1951 1961 1951 1961 1951 1961

li

Agriculture, Forestry ond Logging, Fishing and Trapping, Mining, Quarrying ond Oil Wells Manufacturing.

Transportation, Communication ond Utilities.

Recreation, Personal, Government and Commercial Services

Trade, Finance, Insuronce ond Real Estate, Construction, not Stoted or Unspecified.

Source Dominion Bureau of Statistics

In all parts of the country, a smaller pro¬ portion of the labour force is engaged in manufacturing. Service industry is now the major employer in the City.

36

The City of Toronto will continue to be an important industrial centre.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INCLUSION IN THE OFFICIAL PLAN

1. The City to adopt the objective that Toronto will continue to be an impor¬ tant industrial centre.

2. Industrial areas to be those shown in the General City Plan.

3. Changes in the pattern of industrial development within the City to be recognized and encouragement given to those industries which depend on the convenience of locations which provide ready access to the business centre, finance, buying organizations, large rfetail markets, business services and sup¬ pliers, and the Harbour.

4. Zoning regulations to be reviewed to ensure that different types of indus¬ trial activity are reasonably segregated and the purposes for which industrial land may be used, other than for industry, are controlled.

5. The siting and maintenance of industrial premises and the storage and disposal of waste and scrap to be regulated.

6. Uses permitted in industrial areas to be reviewed to allow ancillary and incidental commercial uses.

7. The control of air and water pollution to within acceptable levels to be encouraged.

8. The use of fill to be directed towards extension of the harbour, the land being used to create new land for industry and suitably landscaped parkland along the newly created waterfront. An attractive industrial estate to be part of the harbour expansion.

9. An industrial improvement programme to be instituted, to improve the efficiency and appearance of industrial areas and to relocate scattered indus¬ tries into designated industrial areas.

10. Provision to be made in improvement programmes for parking, public works and other facilities, road re-alignment, improved access, and co-opera¬ tive schemes to enhance the appearance of the areas.

11. Where small parcels of land 'become available within industrial areas through improvement programmes, or which are in the ownership of the City, they are to be used for the expansion or improvement of facilities serving industry in the area.

12. Where suitable parcels of industrial land become available, an endeavour will be made to achieve rental space suitable for small industries in multi¬ storey factories designed for that purpose.

tablished to the benefit of surrounding areas as well. An efficient trucking ter¬ minal can also be created to serve the port area.

There are also the extensive railway yards running west from Union Station to Bathurst Street. These will be re-organ¬ ized as the result of the construction of the new suburban yards. Though it seems unlikely that any land will be given up, an opportunity exists to develop major new projects above the tracks, using the air rights.

With vigorous steps to improve the better placed industrial areas, to modern¬ ize buildings and services and to provide suitable new buildings for expansion, there is every reason to believe that industry will continue to thrive and contribute greatly to Toronto's prosperity.

Land fill will provide room for harbour expansion and for an industrial park.

Encouragement will be given to industries which depend on locations with ready access to large retail markets.

37

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

Major Parks

The Background

Water has given Toronto four priceless gifts: the lakeshore and open water, with all that these imply; the Toronto Islands, a secluded park within easy reach, shel¬ tering a first-class harbour; the ravines which wind through the otherwise solid mass of buildings and streets; and the escarpment, the shore of prehistoric Lake Iroquois which adds interest to the City’s site. The lakeshore, the Islands, and the ravines, together with High Park, which itself is mostly a ravine park, give the people of Toronto a remarkable choice of outdoor environment and recreation.

Everything possible must be done to protect and enhance these unique assets, especially in view of the increasing pres¬ sure of the City. High Park is fully used by the City and the Islands are being de¬ veloped by Metropolitan Toronto. But the ravines and the lakeshore still offer the prospect of substantia] development to increase their value to the people of Toronto.

The Ravines

The original ravines of Toronto can be divided into four groups:

THE RAVINES WHICH NOW CONSTITUTE HIGH PARK

Two long ravines in the western part of the City which came together near Fort York. These have almost completely dis¬ appeared, one having been used for the railway lines running north-westward from the central yards and the other (the Bickford ravine) having been largely filled or built on. Fragments remain in Willow- vale Park, Trinity-Bellwoods Park and some smaller parks.

Several small ravines in the central and eastern sectors of the City. Most of these have also been used in various ways, small parts remaining in various parks such as Queen’s Park, Withrow Park and Fair- mount Park.

The Don Valley and the ravines which run into it — the Chatsworth-Lawrence Park, Moore Park, Vale of Avoca, Nord- heimer and Rosedale Valley ravines. The Chatsworth-Lawrence Park ravine and the Nordheimer ravine (including Sir Winston Churchill Park) are parts of the original ravine system, but are now sepa¬ rated from it. The Moore Park Ravine, the Vale of Avoca and the Rosedale Valley, all linked to the Don Valley, re¬ main as a continuous series of natural valleys in something close to their original state. The recreational potential of this area is of the greatest value to the whole City.

In 1960 City Council adopted the policy of acquiring and using the ravines, as recommended in “Natural Parklands”, a report by the City of Toronto Planning Board. A number of steps are still needed to put this policy into effect.

THE OUTER RAVINES AND RAVINE PARKS

The Chatsworth-Lawrence Park ravine, which runs diagonally across North To¬ ronto from Havergal College to Sherwood Park, is almost completely landscaped and developed as park within the City. Metro¬ politan Toronto should carry this treat¬ ment along the ravine from Sherwood

An amusement and recreation park should complement Downtown, tivoli gardens,

COPENHAGEN.

Park to the Don Valley. The rear of some private lots that run down into the ravine should be acquired to add to the use of the valley.

The Nordheimer Ravine was originally part of Rosedale Valley, but (and fill and building having separated it from Rams- den Park. It now runs from Boulton Drive to St. Clair Avenue, crossed by Spadina Road, and is mainly publicly owned and in a natural state. The Spadina Express¬ way will run through the part northwest of Spadina Road. It should be carefully designed to ensure that the valley remains an attractive park with a pleasant wooded walk. This should be connected by a con¬ tinuous pedestrian way to Ramsden Park, thus providing a link to Rosedale Valley and the central ravine system.

The Edgewood-Fairmount-East Lynn ravine, between Danforth Avenue and the Eastern Beaches has been largely lost to fill and building. Only the small parks named, and a short stretch of unused ravine on either side of the C.N.R. line, are left. These should be connected to¬ gether by existing streets, unused road allowances, easements across privately- owned ravine land, and a tunnel under the railway, to provide a pedestrian walk to the lakeshore. The Gardiner Express¬ way should be carefully designed to ac¬ commodate this walk.

The Glen Stewart ravine, between Queen Street and the Kingston Road, should be enlarged as a developed park by the acquisition of some privately owned ravine land.

THE CENTRAL RAVINE SYSTEM

Rosedale Valley, The Vale of Avoca and Moore Park Ravine all connect to the Don Valley. At the northern end people can walk from the Vale of Avoca to the Moore Park Ravine through Mount Pleas¬ ant Cemetery. From Rosedale Valley to the Vale of Avoca the way lies through

38

MAJOR PARKS AND THE WATERFRONT 1966

St. Cloir

PARKS OF 20 ACRES OR MORE

SIR CASIMIR GZOWSKI PARK

HIGH PARK

SUNNYSIDE PARK

EARLSCOURT PARK

TRINITY- BELLWOOOS PARK

EXHIBITION, CORONATION, 8 LAKESHORE PARKS

WILLOWVALE PARK

QUEEN'S PARK

EGLINTON PARK

SHERWOOD PARK

DAVID A. BALFOUR PARK

ROSEDALE VALLEY ROAD LANDS

RIVERDALE PARK

WITHROW PARK

WOODBINE BEACH PARK

BEACHES PARK

KEW GARDENS

RECREATION CENTRES ft ARENAS

GEORGE BELL ARENA McCORMICK RECREATION CENTRE TRINITY RECREAT'ON CENTRE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT JOHN INNES RECREATION CENTRE REGENT PARK NORTH RECREATION CENTRE PAPE AVENUE RECREATION CENTRE S. H ARMSTRONG RECREATION CENTRE TED REEVE ARENA ELIZABETH RECREATION CENTRE NORTH TORONTO MEMORIAL ARENA

Oonforfh

Gerrord

Major Parks 8 Open Space Cemeteries

Troils and Pedestrian Routes Recreation Complex

The lake shore and ravine systems, the islands and the escarpment must be protected. Their use must be for the benefit of all.

Rosedale. Walking, cycling, horseback and ski trails should extend through all of them and, at intervals, playgrounds, pic¬ nic areas and the like should be provided. Carefully and sensitively developed, the central system should be one of Toronto’s greatest attractions and a recreational as¬ set comparable to, though different from, the Islands: a place for quiet relaxation, for hikes, for nature studies, and just for escape from brick, concrete and asphalt. Part of it may be developed as a regional park by Metropolitan Toronto but the prime responsibility for the entire system rests with the City.

Rosedale Valley should be used as at present, from the open bowl at the Rose¬ dale subway station to the narrow wooded defile as it approaches the Don Valley. Private property should be acquired as necessary to ensure public control of the banks, especially if there is any danger of intrusion by new buildings. Trails and walkways should be constructed.

Much of the Vale of Avoca is owned by either the City or Metropolitan Toronto.

Additional land should be acquired to en¬ sure good public access throughout, particularly extending north to Mount Pleasant Cemetery and also at the other end where the ravine enters the Don Valley. Slopes should be controlled by purchase, agreement or regulation to en¬ sure that they are preserved as part of the park. The central part of the ravine is attractive and well maintained but the northern part should be opened up and improved through to the Cemetery. The stretch leading to the Don Valley will be greatly affected if the suggested Cross¬ town Expressway is built in it. The land here is mostly held by the Metropolitan Corporation and it is important that a continuous park connection be created through to the Don Valley whether the Expressway is constructed or not.

Moore Park Ravine is owned by the City and East York, and leads into the Mount Pleasant Cemetery. The ravine lands will be taken over by Metropolitan Toronto to be developed as part of the Don Valley park system. Continuous walkways

and trails should extend through from the Valley to the Cemetery, through which they can connect to the Vale of Avoca. The slopes should be protected from any development that could harm the attrac¬ tive natural atmosphere of the ravine.

The Waterfront

Like the ravines, the waterfront is a very special asset and should be treated as such. The City should be opened to the lake by improving accessibility and ex¬ ploiting water views, and waterfront recreations should be fully developed. Careful landscaping and design should give unity to the entire waterfront and screen out its less attractive features. Pol¬ lution is a major threat to the use of the lakeshore. Programmes of sewer con¬ struction and sewage treatment plant ex¬ tension will reduce this threat and should be given high priority. But it must be recognized that lake pollution is more than a local problem. It is of concern also to the province and the nation and as such its ultimate solution must be sought in a

39

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

joint venture by all levels of government.

Plans for the entire Metropolitan water¬ front, from the west limit of Toronto Township to the east limit of Pickering Township, are being prepared by the Metropolitan Toronto Planning Board. The City is responsible for the part within the City limits, the harbour area being worked out in co-operation with the To¬ ronto Harbour Commissioners. Metro¬ politan Toronto is responsible for the Islands and is now' developing them.

THE WESTERN BEACHES

The Western Beaches are a fine stretch of parkland. They form an impressive ent¬ rance to the City, the curve of Humber Bay affording a handsome view of the skyline of Downtown Toronto across an expanse of water.

The City is taking over from the Har¬ bour Commissioners the land south of the F. G. Gardiner Expressway, from the Humber to the east end of Coronation Park. The present policy of maintaining the parkland and developing it for swim¬ ming, walking, picnicking, boating and children's playgrounds will be continued.

Commercial operations other than con¬ cessions in public parks, should not be allowed to expand: rather they should be cut back as opportunity permits. Private clubs, located on the waterfront, which make use of lakefront facilities, should be allowed only limited expansion and only where such expansion will not interfere

with public use of the waterfront. Uses which do add to the public enjoyment of the lakeshore, such as marinas and restau¬ rants, should be leased on a concession basis.

A more intensive recreation area should be developed to serve particularly the west end of the City. It should be as acces¬ sible as possible by transit and road. The construction of a Queen Street subway would make the best location as close as possible to Queen and Roncesvalles.

Bicycle and walking trails should ex¬ tend down the Humber Valley, across the Western Beaches and on to the Islands via the ferries or a transit tunnel.

The continuous sweep of the water should be cherished as one of the fine fea¬ tures of the Western Beaches. It can be enhanced and reinforced by suitable land¬ scaping of the park and highway. There should be no interference with the sweep of the waterfront, by filling or otherwise, except for purposes that are essential to the enjoyment of the Beaches, and any such developments should be carried out in a way that will enhance the appearance of the area, not detract from it. Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, and all those who come to enjoy the Beaches, should have the clear view to the lake before them.

THE C.N.E. - FORT YORK AREA

East of the Western Beaches is the Cana¬ dian National Exhibition. Besides the great annual exhibition and other fairs, this should be a year-round centre of

continuous interest for Toronto residents and visitors. It has a large site, and there is considerable space to house expanded operations within it if parking can be made available elsewhere. A large parking garage north of the railways and the Gar¬ diner Expressway could, if connected di¬ rectly to the C.N.E. grounds, to the Expressway, and to suitable transit serv¬ ices to the Downtown area, serve the Ex¬ hibition and be used by daily commuters. In addition to the C.N.E. there are sev¬ eral interesting places in this area: the Marine Museum, Fort York, Maple Leaf Stadium, several boat clubs, Coronation Park and the Armed Services exhibits, and the playground south of Exhibition Park between Lakeshore Boulevard and the lake itself. They cover a wide range of leisure activity for different ages and tastes: by linking them together an in¬ teresting, loose-knit grouping can be achieved with a wide variety of attrac¬ tions. A site for a major recreation and amusement park could also be created in this area.

Good transportation will be important to the success of this area. It must be easy to reach from the entire region. Excellent service to the area would be provided by a continuation of the subway system from the transportation terminal and connected to the Bathurst line at Queen. It would serve those from Toronto coming by sub¬ way and those from the region coming by commuter train. It could be the same line that served the C.N.E. and its commuter parking garage, and any other develop¬ ment over the railway tracks, and a branch from it could also serve the ball park and the Islands, including the Airport.

THE CENTRAL WATERFRONT

This sector of the waterfront covers the area south of the Gardiner Expressway between Stadium Road and Coatsworth Cut with the exception of the Islands. Besides the harbour itself this is the largest industrial area in the City. Most of the land, about 1,000 acres, has been created by fill into the lake, a process which is still continuing. Originally, most of it was owned by the Toronto Harbour Commis¬ sioners/but about 20% has been sold to private companies and 15% to other pub¬ lic agencies. Thus 80% of the land re¬ mains in public ownership, although 50% out of this is occupied by private com¬ panies through leases. Large tracts of land still remain vacant in the eastern section of the harbour and the filling operation is adding more and more every year. When the newly created land has settled it should be landscaped and used for public park purposes until needed for development. This is particularly important along the lakeshore where it can form a valuable

40

part of a continuous park waterfront from one city limit to the other, including the Islands. Even where docks are developed attractive tree-lined roads should be main¬ tained so that visitors can have a pleasant drive through this very important part of the City.

The western part of the central water¬ front, from the western gap to York Street, has several very large industries, mostly grain elevators and milling plants, right on the docks, and north of them the extensive railway yards that are likely to be reorganized in the next few years. The chance to develop the air rights over the yards offers a great opportunity to the City, although the fact that these are air rights will limit what can be done both because of the cost and because it will all be elevated structure.

Projects over the tracks could include motor hotels, offices, commercial and service businesses. Any residential de¬ velopment in the area would be difficult, because of the large industrial areas to the north and the Gardiner Expressway and major plants to the south. It seems un¬ likely that these plants will move, opening up a vista to the harbour.

Nowhere else, except possibly through clearance in renewal projects, is there likely to be such a large area available reasonably close to Downtown. Its devel¬ opment should not be permitted to com¬ pete with Downtown but should comple¬ ment it. Priority in its use should be given to those things which the City needs and which take large areas, particularly public needs.

A major recreation centre would be most desirable in this area. The possibility of an amusement and recreation park has already been mentioned, a combination of Disneyland, fun-fair, concerts, danc¬ ing, restaurants and other entertainments designed for the needs of the future popu¬ lation of Toronto and its region. It will be particularly necessary to cater to the growing numbers of teen-agers and young adults. This would be a good location for an indoor arena, a stadium and sports complex. A site for a new stadium might be the land on which Maple Leaf Stadium now stands, and some adjoining lands, once the area is well served by transit.

The use of all this area, and the C.N.E. and Islands, would be greatly enhanced by an extension of the subway system from the transportation terminal at the time the railway tracks are being reorgan¬ ized. A further connection to the Bathurst line at Queen would also improve access to the area from major parts of the City. Easy access to all of Toronto and its region would make this a choice location for projects that would serve the entire area.

The development of available land and the air rights along the railways from the western gap to York Street will provide for the recreational needs of young adults.

The core of the central waterfront is the area south of Union Station between York Street and Yonge Street. The plans for this relatively small but vital sector are based on the following objectives:

(i) all development to fit into one major scheme for the entire area;

(ii) to create a visual and functional link between Downtown Toronto and the waterfront;

(iii) to complement, not conflict with, the development of Downtown;

(iv) to be of benefit to the Port of Toronto;

(v) to provide for maximum public ac¬ cess to and enjoyment of the water¬ front.

A scheme to achieve all these objectives could include a variety of buildings and open space, including a transportation terminal, an exhibition and other com¬ munity buildings, multi-level parking, parks, hotels, motels, apartments, offices, separate facilities for ferries, small boats, and large vessels.

Such a scheme should be carried out as a joint public and private project rather than by public redevelopment. Co-opera¬ tion among the landowners involved, and possibly some consolidation of ownership, would be essential, but complete consoli¬ dation should not be necessary. Most of the land is owned by government or by public agencies and the accomplishment of the scheme on a co-operative basis

ought to be possible. Whatever is done should make the most of this fine spot and its vista of the Bay and Islands, and should be strongly linked back into Down¬ town to bring the pleasure of the water¬ front back to the City centre.

East of the harbour lands lies Ash- bridge’s Bay Sewage Treatment Plant. This is to be expanded by Metropolitan Toronto, out into the lake. The new land created should form a continuous shore¬ line with the lake fill placed to accom¬ modate the expansion of the harbour.

While it can not be used as park all of this land should be landscaped as attrac¬ tively as possible and a scenic road, start¬ ing in the harbour area, probably at Cherry Street, should skirt it on the water¬ front, and extend through to the Eastern Beaches.

THE EASTERN BEACHES

This is a most attractive beach area run¬ ning from Ashbridge’s Bay (Coatsworth Cut) each of the City limits at Victoria Park Road. It is readily divided into the part east of Kew Gardens, which is essen¬ tially a pleasant beach serving mainly the residents of the adjoining Beaches area, although it does also house the Balmy Beach Rowing Club, and the part to the west, which is a major beach serving people from a wide area and containing the Olympic Pools. Alongside is Ash-

41

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

bridge's Bay with its boat clubs, and to the north are the Woodbine Race Track, the Beaches Athletic Field and Kew Gardens.

The extension of the sewage plant into the lake on the west side of Ashbridge’s Bay, will call for filling into the lake on the east side also, in order to recreate a satisfactory shoreline. This will influence

the use of the Eastern Beaches during the filling process, but more beach and park¬ land will be created in this valuable loca¬ tion. It is possible that the present Ash- bridge's Bay may be lost as a small har¬ bour. This loss should be offset by the provision of new and larger marine basins for small boats in the same area. There is

a great need for additional small boat marinas in several places on the water¬ front, and this area, having direct access by road, and long-established boating clubs, is an excellent choice.

The Eastern Beaches generally provide good swimming. The extensions to the sewage treatment plant are intended to still further purify its effluent and should help reduce the danger of pollution, but care will still be needed especially as several road sewers discharge into Ash¬ bridge’s Bay. It will be some years before this situation can be completely corrected and in the meantime the use of Ash¬ bridge’s Bay may be reduced because the land fill on either side will make it more of a closed-in channel.

As much as possible of the present sandy beach should be preserved when filling takes place. It might become part of a large lagoon that could provide excel¬ lent swimming in the summer and in winter, if frozen over, a great outdoor skating rink. The Eastern Beaches hold great promise for further expansion to make them even more interesting and better able to cater to many thousands of Torontonians.

The islands, the lakeshore and the ravines will he preserved for public recreational use. Pedestrian trails should extend through the ravines to the waterfront.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INCLUSION IN THE OFFICIAL PLAN

1. The objective of the City to be that the lakeshore, islands, ravines and escarpment are protected and enhanced as unique assets, preserving them for all time for public use.

2. Policies to be adopted for each of the major ravine systems so that they may remain in their natural state with such extension, connection, clearance and improvement as is necessary to their use as continuous areas for walking, riding, picnics and recreation.

3. Private land within the ravine areas to be acquired where necessary to pre¬ vent development incompatible with the recommendations above, in accord¬ ance with a schedule of priorities. When acquired, such land to be designated as public open space.

4. Where it is appropriate to designate parts of a ravine area for the construc¬ tion of a road or other non-recreational purpose, the design to detract as little as possible from, and where possible to promote and enhance, the appearance and recreational value of the ravine. Where parkland is lost through such action, equivalent amounts to be acquired either in the same area, or elsew'here in the City where there is deficiency of parkland.

5. The waterfront to be opened to public view and waterfront recreation fully developed. With the exception of the harbour area, recreational and ancillary uses, such as parking, restaurants, playgrounds, swimming pools, skating rinks and marinas to remain under public control.

6. Buildings and other features on the lakeshore, to be carefully designed and landscaped to insure visual continuity, variety and the screening of those un¬ attractive features which cannot be improved.

7. Continuous trails to be developed through major parks and ravines and along the waterfront for walking, riding, skiing and cycling, linking major parklands together wherever possible. Where Metropolitan parks are involved, the co-operation of the Metropolitan Corporation to be sought.

8. Filling in the lake for recreational purposes to be carried out only at selected locations. Regard to be had for the visual effect of such filling on the lakeshore as a whole, and for the enhanced enjoyment of the waterfront by the residents.

9. Public access to lakeshore parks to be improved, consistent wtih their appearance, recreational value and the preservation of the amenity of the adjacent residential areas.

10. Programmes of sewer construction and sewage treatment to eliminate problems of water pollution to be pursued, with support from all levels of government, to preserve the amenity of the lakefront and ravine lands for recreational purposes.

1 1. The development of the existing features in the area between the Canadian National Exhibition and Fort York into a major recreation complex, to be encouraged.

12. The development of the air rights and available land along the railways from the western gap to York Street, to be encouraged to meet the needs of the City in complementing the Downtown area and in providing public space, subject to the limitations of cost and structural capacity.

13. The whole area from the Union Station to the C.N.E. and the Island to be served by a subway line to be provided at the time of the re-organization of the

railway trackage in that area.

14. An overall scheme for the development of the Central Waterfront to be encouraged which will link Downtown and the waterfront, complement Down¬ town development, benefit the Port and provide maximum public access to and enjoyment of the harbour front.

42

Education, Research and the Arts

The Role of Toronto

A great city is more than a place where many people live and work. Greatness in cities is gauged in large measure by the variety and quality of opportunities they offer to their citizens for the enrichment of mind and spirit, and by the stimulating atmosphere that lends vitality to individ¬ ual and corporate effort.

The city is the wellspring of knowledge and creativity. To a growing extent society is based on knowledge — on the discovery, storage, analysis, integration and use of facts — and on intelligent control based on that knowledge. Research and decision¬ making are the hallmarks of the modern metropolis.

At the same time, with rising educa¬ tional standards, greater prosperity, the prospect of increased leisure, and the growing ability of most people to take time for those things they enjoy or think worth while, the arts are moving from the periphery to the centre of attention. There is a shift that will greatly change people’s needs and the emphasis on what they expect from their city, a shift from concern with finding the means of liveli¬ hood to concern with living.

Toronto is pre-eminently a head¬ quarters city, a commercial and financial centre, a place where decisions are made and policies established affecting the entire country. It must be able to attract, educate and retain the people it needs to ensure its position of leadership if it is to prosper. The provision of space and facili¬ ties for education, research and the arts is a matter of first importance, and beyond that everything possible must be done to make Toronto a more civilized and stimulating city.

The Needs in Higher Education

In the years to come there will be a substantial increase in the number of people in the City aged 18 to 21 and in

the percentage of them taking a post¬ secondary education. They may go to universities, polytechnical institutes or community colleges. In the past many have gone to teachers’ colleges. Recently the Province has decided that in future elementary school teachers will take their training in universities, and as a result university enrolment will go up substan¬ tially.

By 1981 space will have to be created in the City of Toronto for an additional 10,000 university undergraduates, 6,000 to 8,000 community college students, 10,000 polytechnical students and a num¬ ber of general arts students taking teacher training. In addition there will be at least an equal number of part-time and evening students who will be seeking courses to upgrade their qualifications or merely to expand their knowledge of the world in which they live, a knowledge which will be increasingly essential if they are to be able to play a useful role in it. Adult edu¬ cation will be of ever increasing import¬ ance. The demand can be expected to strain the capacity of all schools and colleges, besides creating a parking prob¬ lem in their area. There may even be a need to expand some colleges beyond the size needed to accommodate full-time students, to take care of the demands of adult education.

Additional capacity at present planned in institutions of higher education will not meet the anticipated demand, except in the case of Ryerson Polytechnical In¬ stitute. A new undergraduate college and one or more community colleges will be needed.

The University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a great in¬ stitute of higher education. In this period of continuous rapid advance in many fields of learning it must constantly strive to be in the forefront, to maintain a posi¬

tion of national and international leader¬ ship. Only in this way can it fulfil its obligations to educate students to the highest level, to develop new ideas and knowledge of value to all mankind, and to build up a faculty that can help the community.

It is of the utmost importance to Toronto that the University develop in this way. The City needs the highly quali¬ fied graduates, the advanced knowledge, and the best advice if its affairs are to be conducted wisely so that it may prosper in this increasingly complex and rapidly- changing world. The University must con¬ tinuously expand its libraries, research laboratories, and other plant to serve advance graduate and faculty studies.

The logical direction of University ex¬ pansion is southward, towards the Art Gallery and Grange Park. This expansion could accommodate the necessary aca¬ demic and research facilities and also residences that will be needed for many students, particularly graduate students, who should be housed close to the cam¬ pus. The University should develop plans for its expansion as soon as possible, setting out its needs and how it proposes that they be met, and should consult with the City in so doing.

While the University of Toronto will grow from its present enrolment of 21,000 to a maximum of 25,000, it will not be able to take more undergraduates than it now has. Indeed, in the long run, it will probably take fewer undergraduates be¬ cause priority must be given to graduate and advanced students.

The acknowledged change in the Uni¬ versity of Toronto from a teaching insti¬ tution to a centre of scholarship will in¬ crease the demand for space for research and for graduate students. This change will also result in a shift in the role of the University from a more local responsibil¬ ity for education, to an international in-

43

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

fluence which involves the whole country and beyond. What undergraduate places there are will be much sought after by students from all across Canada and abroad, drawn by the prestige of the University. The City must look elsewhere for the undergraduate education of in¬ creasing numbers of its sons and daugh¬ ters.

A New Undergraduate College

Bv 1981 there will be about 14,000 resi¬ dents of the City seeking a university undergraduate education, exclusive of those seeking teacher training, as against 4,700 enrolled in the University of To¬ ronto in 1964. A new university or univer¬ sity college will be needed to accommo¬ date some 5-6,000 of them since the Uni¬ versity of Toronto, which has always been the “home town” university to Toron¬ tonians, will be unable to take them. Nor can these students just be told to go else¬ where for their education. While many students do go to out-of-town universities, such a policy would inevitably mean that many would not get the education they should have, both in their own interest and in the interests of society and the City. This would be particularly true for the poorer families.

This new university will also have to take residents of other municipalities adjoining the City, as well as the added general arts students taking teacher train¬ ing. The total graduate enrolment would be at least 10,000 by 1981. The suburban universities, York, Erindale and Scar¬ borough, are not well placed to serve City residents and they will, in any event, be pressed to take care of the students from their own districts by 1981. An additional college may well be needed in the suburbs before then.

The new university should probably be a “city college” rather after the style pre¬ valent in many cities, with good research and laboratory facilities since science and technology will inevitably play a large part in all future education. It should concentrate on providing a sound basic education for as many Toronto citizens as possible and should cater both to those taking regular undergraduate courses and to the many thousands who will seek part- time and evening classes. It should be as close as possible to the Downtown core of the City, served by good transporta¬ tion so that it will be accessible to people living in all parts and also well placed to serve the business community.

There is some urgency in founding this new city college. It takes a long time to organize a new institution of this type, to staff it and to be ready to accept students. The Province should consider this as a matter of urgency for the City.

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute

Rverson Polytechnical Institute provides the advanced technical training that is increasingly important in our society. It has grown rapidly since its founding in 1949 and it is expected that its enrolment will increase from 4,100 in 1965 to 10,000 day students in 1 970, plus many thousands of evening and part-time students. This is not likely to meet the demand unless further expansion is undertaken and ade¬ quate facilities are provided in the suburbs to take students seeking basic technical training.

Inevitably Ryerson will continue to ex¬ pand and to develop and elaborate its courses. It should develop plans for its growth in consultation with the City.

Community Colleges

Up until now secondary school has been an accepted standard of education for most people. It now appears essential that they take some form of post-high school education and that it be provided for all those who can benefit from it.

Advancing technology requires a more highly skilled labour force. Many of the skills needed cannot be provided by the secondary schools, and the universities are not designed to offer this type of train¬ ing. The Province has recognized this problem by the establishment of com¬ munity colleges to meet the needs of graduates of secondary schools, apart

from those going on to university or to Ryerson. Instruction may include general education below university level, technical courses and special courses to meet speci¬ fic needs. In addition to courses for grad¬ uates of the secondary schools, community colleges can also serve adults and those who have left school, by providing trade and apprenticeship training, commercial and other courses. In community colleges students will receive adequate training so that they can find a useful role in society.

There is an urgent need for one or more community colleges in Toronto to fill the gap in our educational system between secondary schools and the university.

There are at present Provincial Insti¬ tutes of Trade on Nassau, Wellesley and Dartnell Streets, with a combined enrol¬ ment in excess of 2,000. These would be absorbed into the new community col¬ leges, but much more is needed. By 1981 the enrolment of day students should reach 8,000 to 10,000. There is also a heavy demand for part-time and evening courses in this field, as demonstrated by pilot projects.

One community college at least should be close to Downtown, to serve the busi¬ ness community as well as nearby resi¬ dents. A site might be found in an urban renewal project.

Adult Education and Retraining

In recent years there has been a steady increase in the number of people taking

Public libraries are designed to remove barriers to knowledge.

44

The City will co-operate with Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in preparing its plans for expansion.

part-time and evening classes to the point where they now substantially outnumber all those taking regular full-time courses in comparable schools and colleges. Some are studying to improve their ability to do their job, others are simply anxious to know more about the world they live in. Because of the rapid rate of change in our society there is also a rapidly-growing need to train and re-train people. All of these demands add up to a major task to be faced by all our educational institu¬ tions.

Other Colleges

Any significant major city has a great

variety of colleges in many fields. Indeed, this is one of the things that make it significant. Toronto has several either established or in embryo. Many more should develop over the years and there must be a willingness to encourage them as part of the general stimulation of thought and interesting diversity that will add to the vitality of the City.

The Ontario College of Art is probably the most important of the present colleges. It should grow and develop as one of the major elements of the proposed Grange Centre. The School of the Royal Con¬ servatory of Music and the National Ballet School fulfil similar roles. Colleges in the other arts will be needed such as a theatre

school and a vocational school for music and the performing arts.

Public Libraries

Public libraries are designed to remove barriers to knowledge, to guide the reader to a clearer understanding of his world.

Toronto is fortunate in having a large and impressive public library system built up over more than 80 years. It has a fine Central Library supported by local branches. The resources of the Central Library are important to all Toronto. The present site is not ideally located and is considered inadequate. If it is relocated, this library should be made as accessible as possible to residents of the whole Metro area and close to other institutions of education and research. A location in or close to the central area of the City and near the major public transportation net¬ work is highly desirable.

Recently it has been recommended that the Metropolitan area should develop a new class of libraries, bridging the gap between the highly specialized Central Library and the limited services of the small neighbourhood libraries. These should be sited in places where they are easily reached by transit from a large sur¬ rounding area and should preferably be in district centres where they can benefit from and add to the total attraction and diversity of the centre.

Research

It is not only industry that must carry out research to prosper. More and more, business and government turn to studies to determine the courses they should follow. The means have been developing over a number of years and the introduc¬ tion of the computer, with its ability to correlate a vast array of facts, has greatly increased their scope and efficiency. In years to come this kind of research and analysis will be fundamental to the suc¬ cessful operation of business and govern¬ ment.

Just as industry benefits greatly from well conceived industrial research parks, so business and government would benefit from their own Downtown research cen¬ tres. Many individual research operations are building up, either inside companies, within government departments, at the universities or in consultant services. The entire community would benefit from greater integration of these efforts and research into the way individual pro¬ grammes could be related to one another and the community. Research centres in or close to Downtown could meet this need.

The Arts

It is axiomatic that a great city makes

45

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

MAJOR INSTITUTIONS IN THE CENTRAL AREA OFTORONTO

1 University of Toronto

2 Art Gallery

3 Ontario College of Art

4 The Grange Centre

5 Central Library

TORONTO BAY

Existing use Expansion area ■■ ■

6 Ontario Government Area

7 Hospital Area

8 Municipal Government Area

9 Newspapers, Publishing, Advertising New University (site not selected)

Existing su bway m Proposed subway

10 Ryerson Poly techn ical Institute I I Community College, Student Residences

12 St. Lawrence Centre

13 O' Keefe Centre

14 Broodcasting Centre

The grouping of major institutions around the Downtown core offers a wide variety of opportunities for enrichment.

generous provision for the arts since they represent an important part of man s highest aspirations. With higher educa¬ tion. increased prosperity and a growing ability to spend time on doing those things that are enjoyable and worthwhile, people will come to expect their city to provide more of the arts in their lives.

Creativity is fundamental to the success of the arts, and also to many facets of the communications industry, including radio and television, newspapers, advertising, and publishing of books and magazines. There is a strong inter-connection between all of these and it is important that they be close enough together so that they can support one another and profit from the services of the people active in the various fields.

Toronto already holds a strong position as the centre for English-speaking Canada in the creative arts. There is an important concentration in and around the Down¬ town area, a location that is convenient for its many connections with the business community and because it is accessible to the entire public. It is essential that Toronto strengthen its position over the years since this whole field of activity will inevitably become of increasing import¬ ance in our society. To do so, adequate facilities must be created, many of them in clearly identifiable centres that will both express the importance of the activity they house and provide a feature in the city that people can recognize.

The St. Lawrence Centre, together with the O’Keefe Centre, will form one such feature. When the centennial project is completed the Centre should be further expanded as the need arises and can be met, so that, together with the other theatres and halls available, Downtown will have a complete range of facilities for the performing arts.

Alongside the St. Lawrence Centre should be a new broadcasting centre, a consolidation of the English-language net-

The expansion of the University of To¬ ronto will he important to the City in the interests of advancing knowledge.

work production facilities for the C.B.C., possibly combined with some private com¬ panies. Apart from the obvious advantages of being with the St. Lawrence and O'Keefe Centres, this site would be con¬ venient to all the other creative arts, to the business heart of the city, to hotels, restaurants and the many services that both the C.B.C. and others employ. For the first time the C.B.C. could have a home in Toronto adequate to their needs, sited where it would be a conspicuous feature of the city.

On the other side of Downtown the Grange Centre for the visual arts could be built up, starting with an expanded Art Gallery and College of Arts as basic ele¬ ments. It could also include studios, schools, a craft centre and similar facili¬

ties. With the construction of the Dundas Street Mall from University Avenue to the Art Gallery, the Grange Centre would be well placed, especially in view of the anticipated expansion of the University of Toronto south to Dundas Street.

Elsewhere there would be many smaller buildings for drama, concerts, art dis¬ plays, suitable for many of the smaller groups in town, both amateur and pro¬ fessional. These could be part of com¬ munity centres or in public libraries or similar buildings. They could be in dis¬ trict shopping centres, where they would be a welcome addition. Outdoor displays, outdoor concerts and performances could also be staged in many places, both Down¬ town and in district centres, adding interest and pleasure to the City.

46

The St. Lawrence Centre will be a key in providing a complete range of facilities for the performing arts.

The Central Concentration

Many of the items described in this chapter will be clustered around Down¬ town. Here they are well placed to serve the people of Toronto and of the entire region. Together with commercial enter¬ tainment they make up some of the great¬ est attractions of the City centre. Together with the hospitals, Queen’s Park, the cathedrals and other institutions they make up some of the most handsome areas of development. Progressively they will become more important features of the central area. They are well placed on the perimeter of the prime commercial areas, which have ample room for expan¬ sion internally. It will be important to ensure the best possible quality in their development so that the total central area can be a handsome, exciting place to be.

Research institutions will be encouraged to locate in an area convenient to those business, government, university and edu¬ cational institutions to which they are related.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INCLUSION IN THE OFFICIAL PLAN

1. The City to adopt the objective that space and facilities will be provided for education, research and the arts to attract, educate, and retain the people needed to ensure a prosperous city that will command a position of inter¬ national leadership.

2. Institutions and buildings for education, research and the arts to be de¬ signed and located to enhance the appearance of the City.

3. The City to support the expansion of the University of Toronto in the in¬ terests of advancing knowledge and the needs of the City itself. Plans for this expansion to be worked out in consultation with the City.

4. The establishment of a new undergraduate college in central Toronto, acces¬ sible to people in all parts of the City and to the business community in the central area, to be facilitated.

5. The City to co-operate with Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in the prepara¬ tion of plans for expansion beyond the present limits of its site, having regard for the possibility of providing student residences in an adjacent residential improvement area.

6. A college or colleges of applied arts and technology to be established at central locations in the City.

7. Encouragement to be given to the establishment of other schools in fields such as the theatre, music, etc.

8. Research institutions to be encouraged to locate in an area convenient to those business, governmental, university and educational facilities to which they are related.

9. The St. Lawrence Centre to be expanded, as feasible, to include suitable and adequate facilities for the performing arts and related activities.

10. The location of the C.B.C. Broadcasting Centre for the English-speaking networks alongside the St. Lawrence Centre to be given every assistance by the City in recognition of the prime importance of this activity to the creative life of Toronto.

11. Establishment of the Grange Centre for the visual arts to be encouraged, using an expanded Art Gallery and Ontario College of Art as major elements.

12. Accommodation and facilities for concerts, theatrical performances, ex¬ hibitions and similar endeavours to be included in public or private buildings located in district centres where appropriate.

13. The Central Library to be located at a central point on the transportation network as accessible as possible to residents of the whole Metro area and in the central area close to other educational and research institutions.

14. “Regional” libraries, as designated by the Library Board, to be located in district centres and other locations which can be reached easily by transit from large surrounding areas.

47

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council.

Transportation

The planning of transportation and devel¬ opment must go hand in hand. Develop¬ ment generates movement; ease of access encourages development. A plan for one makes sense only if integrated with an appropriate plan for the other.

The maximum integration of all forms of transportation must be sought — transit, train, private car, truck — to achieve the best use of each and the best overall results.

The Region

The growth of the region, extending some 50 to 100 miles from Downtown Toronto, is of cardinal importance to any future plans. From its present population of under 3 million it will grow to 7 million by the turn of the century and to 10 million and more thereafter. It is for this tremendous scale of growth that we are now laying the foundations.

A system must be established that will permit continued growth without con¬ gestion. Downtown Toronto, the heart of the region, must be accessible from all parts, and the entire region should offer its residents attractive surroundings to live and work in. Uncontrolled scattering of development can not be tolerated as it would result in the progressive despoil¬ ing of the entire area and steadily mount¬ ing congestion that could not be relieved by the subsequent addition of mass transit since movement would be too diffuse for it to work.

The combination of a long-distance high-speed mass transit system, such as a commuter train service, between city centres, and an expressway network for regional circulation would be efficient, attractive and flexible. It could accom¬ modate continued growth in old and new cities by increasing commuter line capa¬ city rather than relying entirely on new expressways. In the long run the com¬ muter train system could be as important to the region as the subway is to Toronto.

It is imperative that an early decision be made to adopt this system and use it as the basis for the future development of the region.

The most logical long-term plan for this regional growth would be to establish a system of efficient commuter train lines, and to channel development to key points on this system. Here existing cities could be expanded or new ones established. The commuter trains would give the residents a fast, convenient way of travelling from one city centre to another, particularly to the centre of Toronto. They would have a choice, instead of being forced to rely on cars, and this choice would ease the de¬ mand for new highways. It should be noted that there is no reason to expect a commuter train service to be self-support¬ ing any more than any other form of pas¬ senger transportation. Public costs should be weighed against the benefits to be obtained.

Expressways would also be required, for commercial and industrial traffic and the large number of other trips that can not be handled by rail service. They should form a network allowing free movement in many directions, with con¬ centration towards Toronto and other major cities.

The new and expanded cities would be an essential part of this concept since development must be focused on the com¬ muter stations if the system is to work. Local transit would take people to their own city centre, where the commuter sta¬ tion would be. Expressways could also bring drivers to convenient stations where they could transfer to a train.

The towns and cities in the region could be varied in size and character, depending on their location and the period of their development. People would have a choice of places to live, each a city on its own with its own centre, yet tied in with the region so that the benefits of all its re¬ sources, its opportunities and interests,

would be readily available. Guiding devel¬ opment to selected locations can eliminate the squandering of the countryside and allow the building up of cities with ade¬ quate greenbelt areas. The channeling of growth to these cities would also provide an efficient basis for developing the serv¬ ices that people need. This efficient and logical structure for the region could be the foundation for varied, attractive and flexible growth in which the individual would have a choice of where to live and how to travel.

The City

The City, and the surrounding Metro¬ politan area, is compact and concentrated by comparison with the region. The same principles should apply, but at a different scale. The subway is the equivalent of the regional commuter train, and the main road the equivalent of the expressway. Dramatic concentrations of new develop¬ ment must be accommodated. It is logical that they focus on the subway, so that as many people as possible will be able to use it, being forced to rely on their cars only when taking trips for which no transit service could reasonably be provided. It is important to build up the subway sys¬ tem to serve this development, just as it is important to focus development on the subway. This would provide the best access to important parts of the City, particularly Downtown, and would relieve the surface streets as much as possible, allowing them to operate satisfactorily for many years to come.

Both regional and local systems would focus on Downtown Toronto, commuter trains and expressways at the regional level being superimposed upon the sub¬ ways and main roads at the local level. To get the best service it is essential that the two systems be articulated so that people could switch from one to the other where it was most advantageous. Motorists on the expressways should be given the op-

48

portunity of parking and transferring to commuter train or subway; passengers on commuter trains should be able to transfer to subway where necessary; those who have to drive Downtown should park on the fringes and take transit or walk to their destinations within the area.

Downtown is the principal focus of all these systems. It is the centre of business, shopping, government and other impor¬ tant functions. If it can be reached from all parts of Toronto and its region by mass transportation, it can be built up to the greatest efficiency by concentrating people without concentrating vast numbers of cars.

The regional and local systems already meet at Union Station. This is the place where the expressway network is close to Downtown; it is the southern end of the subway loop and of the University-Front- Jarvis arterial road system which encircles Downtown. This is the logical area to build the new transportation terminal. This would include commuter and long¬ distance trains, long-distance buses, an air

terminal, heliport, taxi ranks, and com¬ muter parking. Traffic entering and leav¬ ing the City could easily transfer to sub¬ way or the local streets. Downtown, with its business, entertainment, shopping and hotels, is within easy walking distance.

People who still need to drive Down¬ town for business, shopping or entertain¬ ment should be accommodated as con¬ veniently as possible in and around the area. Service vehicles should have free access to the businesses they serve. But people who use cars to get to and from work, should be encouraged to park on the perimeter. This would save land for more important uses within Downtown and reduce traffic congestion. Perimeter roads should also be developed around Downtown for through traffic. Everything possible should be done to minimize through traffic and to conserve the capa¬ city of the existing streets. If such meas¬ ures are adopted, it is likely that the streets within Downtown will be adequate for the next fifteen to twenty years. If they are not, and especially if highways are

improved at the expense of transit, there is every likelihood of serious congestion.

The time has come when there must be a major decision about the kind of city we are to have, and the decision on trans¬ portation is critical to it. If the City is to be well organized and to work efficiently and attractively, we must emphasize rapid transit rather than highway construction. Transit

Neither the commuter train nor the sub¬ way system are the direct responsibility of the City, yet their adequate development is essential to the City. Fortunately the existing rail rights-of-way are very suit¬ ably located in the region and once a com¬ muter train system is established it should be expanded as the region grows. The new transportation terminal will be well placed to handle the traffic. A few other stations would be useful where passengers can transfer to subway in the outskirts, but otherwise fast trips with few stops should be the rule.

A programme of subway extension is also contemplated. After the suburban ex-

MAJOR TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES 1 981

CARTIER

MACDONALD

Lawrence

HIGHWAY 403

£ qlintpn

Eglinton

City Limit

St. Clair

OConnor

TOWN EXPRESSWAY

Danforth /

College

TVpresswai.

QUEEN ELIZABETH WA;

Front

Existing Expressway Proposed Expressway Cosstown Expresswoy Arteriol Road Improved Arterial Rood Existing Rapid Transit Proposed Ropid Tronsit Possible Commuter Rail Line Other Rail Line Possible Transfer Point from Rail or Expressway to Transit

While the Crosstown Expressway is shown, it should only be proceeded with if it can be shown conclusively that the benefits outweigh the damage it would cause, and that the funds could not be better spent on expanding rapid transit facilities. A commuter rail line will be in operation along the lakeshore from Hamilton to Dunbarton by 1967.

49

The proposals in this report are not final until approved by City Council

A sound transit system is essential to give access to important parts of the City and to minimize traffic congestion.

tensions of the Bloor-Danforth lines are completed, Metropolitan Toronto intends to extend the Yonge Street line beyond the City limits into North York. The opportu¬ nity should be taken to encourage drivers on the MacDonald-Cartier Freeway, and Yonge Street, to park and transfer to this subway if heading into the City. A subway on Queen Street should have high priority. It should run from Roncesvalles to the Greenwood Yards, but if sufficient funds for all of it are not immediately available a start could be made by putting the pres¬ ent street car line in a tunnel through the central area, from about Spadina to Sher- bourne. It is essential that all of this area have good access to the City centre.

Provision has been made for rapid transit in the centre boulevard of the Spa¬ dina Expressway. At the southern end this was planned to swing east, cross the Bloor-Danforth line at St. George Station and link up with the University Avenue line. This may not be practicable. There

would then be four lines, Bloor from the west, Spadina from the north-west, Yonge from the north, and Danforth from the east, feeding into two lines, University and Yonge, taking people Downtown. If traffic grows as anticipated, and particularly with the focusing of development on the sub¬ way, these two lines will be seriously over¬ loaded.

To relieve the pressure that will build up on University and Yonge over the years, and to allow the operation of direct trains from Bloor and Danforth to Down¬ town via University, it is proposed that an alternative alignment for the southern end of the Spadina subway be worked out leading directly Downtown. Bathurst Street is suggested as the best location. Starting from the Nordheimer Ravine north of St. Clair Ave. the subway could go straight down Bathurst to Queen, where it could join the Queen Street line running east through Downtown. In addition to providing a better subway system this

would serve an important, densely built- up area and several locations that, with subway service, could be excellent for concentrated development.

Another rapid transit line that is pro¬ posed is an extension of the system from the transportation terminal along the re¬ constructed right-of-way of the railways to the C.N.E., and into the Bathurst sub¬ way line at Queen Street. People arriving at the transportation terminal by train or otherwise could use this direct connec¬ tion, as could passengers on the whole subway system. The line would also serve any future developments over the tracks from Downtown to Bathurst Street, as well as the recreation complex in the C.N.E.-Fort York area. It would provide an alternative route into Downtown and the transportation terminal from the Bath¬ urst line and a branch line could be built to take the summer throngs to the Islands. This extension of the subway system would be ideal for all the activities that could be concentrated here, and could be instrumental in stimulating the use of the entire area.

Throughout the City good surface transit must be maintained, feeding people to the subway system and providing a local service. A sound, well-developed total transit system is essential, both to give people easy access to all important parts of the City, minimizing traffic con¬ gestion, and to form the basis of plans to accommodate future growth.

Roads

The highway system must first and fore¬ most serve commercial and industrial traffic. It also must handle the many trips that people make which are scattered widespread and, because they are not con¬ centrated, cannot be adequately handled by transit. It should provide free move¬ ment in many directions and should be focused on Downtown Toronto. But it should compete with the transit system as little as possible.

The needs of trucking within the City must be recognized and suitable routes designated, with whatever limitations, such as the hours of use, as may be neces¬ sary in each case to reduce to a minimum the interference with the areas transversed.

Expressways will meet the need for major regional movement, and main roads provide circulation within the City. Where expressways penetrate the City they should be carefully located and laid out to do as little damage as possible and to pro¬ duce the maximum advantages, so that the future development of the City may be enhanced. They should be fully land¬ scaped and handsomely designed so that these huge undertakings may be worthy of their creators. Within Toronto, the

50

Gardiner Expressway is being completed to the east. From the southern end of the Spadina Expressway, Spadina Avenue should be rebuilt as necessary to handle the traffic bound for the City centre, carrying it as close as possible to its desti¬ nation before discharging it into the local streets. The proposed extension of High¬ way 400 would be best located close to the railway tracks which run north-west from Downtown. This would avoid disruption of a large residential area, and confine disturbance caused by the expressway and the railway to one band. It would also help the industries along the railway, which are at present suffering from lack of highway access. The desirability of building the Crosstown Expressway from Highway 400 to the Don Valley in the vicinity of the C.P.R. tracks is question¬ able. It would help relieve some main roads in this area and provide some choice of direction for motorists on the express¬ ways, but it would also be a major dis¬ turbance, and no more traffic should be brought into this area than is absolutely necessary. The Metropolitan Draft Offi¬ cial Plan proposes that the Crosstown be reviewed in five years to see if it should be built. Unless it can be shown con¬ clusively that the benefits derived would outweigh the damage it would cause, and that the funds would not be better spent on expanding rapid transit facilities, it should not be proceeded with.

Surface arteries are very difficult to en¬ large because they are so continuously built up, and it is questionable whether it is sound to do this simply to move traffic. There are cases, such as on Jarvis Street and the central stretch of Dundas Street, where the road should be reconstructed to provide a handsome approach to Down¬ town and a more efficient perimeter artery, carrying traffic around the busy central area, but such cases are exceptional and can best be developed on the basis of local studies. It is not proposed that there be an indiscriminate programme of creating new surface arteries, or widening existing streets, in an attempt to provide a more extensive main road system throughout the City. The existing