Density Coming?

WEDNESDAY, GREATER TORONTO DECEMBER 20, 2017 2 CAs 10 HAMILTON WARDS Legislation Vol. 20 OMB decides updates roles & HAMILTON AREA No. 50 boundaries TTC ROLLS INTO YORK DENSITY COMING? Dominik Matusik he TTC’s Line 1 extension It is, and it will probably of development proposed the finishing of the secondary into Vaughan opened achieve a lot more density, for the VMC and the lack of plan was only the finishing of T Sunday to much fanfare, and it probably already has. construction to appeals of the policy planning. There’s but questions remain over But given the starting point the Vaughan Metropolitan still the entire development whether it will attract enough of really low densities of all Centre Secondary Plan and the planning process to go on after development and ridership to those stations...to justify this “insanely long development that. ... Everyone still has to justify the expense. massive investment, I think approval process” in southern go through and do all their The six new stations of we need to pull out every tool Ontario. development approvals, which the Spadina subway extension in our toolbox to not only “I always, for ease of could take another year and a opened to the public on Sunday, maximize densities but build use, split the discussion into half, three years potentially.” two of them in Vaughan: communities.” the policy planning and the He compares the Spadina Highway 407 and Vaughan Malone Given Parsons development planning,” he says. extension to the 1974 Yonge Metropolitan Centre. principal Matthew Cory told “Because a lot of the public just extension from Eglinton to Ryerson City Building NRU that at the Vaughan doesn’t get the difference. And Finch Station, then in a low- Institute executive director Metropolitan Centre Station CONTINUED PAGE 3 Cherise Burda told NRU that the development is already it isn’t enough to just build a happening. few towers near these subway “The [Vaughan Rendering of the downtown portion of Wasaga Beach’s ambitious revitalization proposal. Read about it—and stations: planners must ensure Metropolitan Centre station] everything else that happened in the GTHA planning world the development of complete is smack-dab in the middle of this year—in NRU’s 2017 Year in Review starting on page 5. communities. what’s going to be a humongous SOURCE: TOWN OF WASAGA BEACH “We did an analysis two amount of density and years ago that showed that the development,” he says. “It is densities around those stations, happening... Everyone who is with the exception of York pushing for approvals there is University, don’t even have pushing for higher heights and enough density currently to densities than the city was even support a bus in mixed traffic, contemplating or originally let alone a subway,” she says. estimating.” “That’s not to say the Vaughan Cory attributes the Centre isn’t making an effort. disconnect between the amount DENSITY COMING? Highway 407 Station CONTINUED PAGE 1 density area that has since had lend themselves to a lot of substantial development. great placemaking. Over time, Vaughan ward 4 councillor you would hope that you start Sandra Yeung Racco highlights building something more a number of projects either comparable to CityPlace or any under construction or awaiting of these other subway-centred building permits in the VMC. areas and start to build the She expects that many of the community services.” employers in the low-density She says that the Highway office park to the north of the 407 Station is a potential station—which is located just blank canvass on which to York University Station outside of the secondary plan create a new community, but area—will either move into new is currently little more than a buildings closer to the subway, parking lot. or redevelop their sites, though “It’s basically a parking True to its goal there are currently no city lot, 600 spots...600 spots is of spurring the policies encouraging the area’s half a subway full,” she says. development of a new downtown in redevelopment. “So if a subway is running at Vaughan, the Vaughan Vaughan Chamber of capacity, it holds 1,500 people. Metropolitan Centre Commerce president & CEO So you’rebasically creating a subway station features design elements not Brian Shifman told NRU that parking lot for 600 cars. So unlike those found in just the promise of a subway that’s 600 people on a subway, minimalistic subway has already led to development. which doesn’t even fill up a entrances in downtown “The mere fact that the whole subway for the entire day. Toronto SOURCE: DOMINIK MATUSIK FOR subway was coming has CONTINUED PAGE 4 NRU (ALL IMAGES) already spurred significant development in the area. We’ve seen a lot of leading companies Vaughan Metropolitan that are typically based in Centre Station downtown Toronto moving significant secondary offices to Vaughan,” he says. Burda says that a challenge in the VMC is creating an actual community, rather than simply being a location where people live only for the subway access. “Part of the problem is that the surrounding area is all arterial roads,” she says. “You’ve got these buildings and the subway station in the centre of it and they’re surrounded by arterial roads. Which don’t WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2017 NOVÆ RES URBIS GREATER TORONTO & HAMILTON AREA 3 DENSITY COMING? Downsview Park Station CONTINUED PAGE 3 Because people park there one community, with residential time. And that’s what you’re and employment uses. She getting. There’s a lot of other hopes that the provincial ways to generate a ridership government will make some of 600 people... This should be of its land holdings in the area the time that we are building available for development. complete communities. We “I don’t want to just see want to be transforming our a station there with a huge parking lots into communities. parking lot. I really hope that So don’t start a new subway we can do something to make place with a parking lot.” it a more viable area,” she says. Burda adds that the abundance of publicly-owned land near these stations is a Pioneer Village Station prime opportunity to realize The built form around Downsview Park subway provincial policy surrounding station has a long way to go to urbanity intensification and density near transit stations. Shifman doesn’t see an issue with the 407 station, and says that the amount of parking may actually be an asset. “When you look at the Sheppard subway...or other parts of the line, there are stations that are less populated and, when they were built, The new TTC subway system map, as seen on a Vaughan-bound train they didn’t have the same level of employment they do now. You can’t just have a subway Finch West Station that has increasingly long stops where you can’t get on or off. And I think part of the function of the 407 station is the abundance of parking because we don’t have that at the VMC station,” he says. Yeung Racco says there is New signs at Spadina Station point development potential around in the direction of travel the Highway 407 station, particularly closer to Jane Street, but agrees with Burda that the area should become a complete transit-oriented WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2017 NOVÆ RES URBIS GREATER TORONTO & HAMILTON AREA 4 .

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