Ground 17 – Spring 2012 – Mobility

17

Landscape Architect Quarterly 08/

12/

20/

Features Streetwise Round Table Mobilizing for Mobility Parkway in a Prairie Spring 2012 Issue 17

Publication # 40026106

Contents

03/

Up Front Information on the Ground Mobility:

08/

12/

Streetwise Ryan Whitney in conversation with Netami Stuart, OALA Round Table Mobilizing for Mobility

President’s Message

Editorial Board Message

President’s Message

Editorial Board Message

The past two years as President of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects have been an interesting and enjoyable experience. The opportunities to work with an excellent Council and staff, and the many meetings I’ve had with allied professionals and students, have been rewarding. The OALA is now well positioned to advance into the future from both an organization viewpoint and a strategic planning standpoint. As always, the work that occurs behind the scenes to allow for programs to be delivered effortlessly to the membership is the result of the combined efforts of our dedicated volunteers and excellent office staff. The efforts of all those involved is greatly appreciated.

The diverse contributors to this issue of Ground make one thing very clear: mobility is a crucial urban issue, and landscape architects have an important role to play.

As Gil Penalosa points out in our Round Table discussion, the biggest public spaces in any city are the streets. The broader question this raises is “not only about mobility, it’s about how we want to live…and how are we going to use that public space that belongs to all of us?”

Complete streets are a new design approach, originating in the U.S., and are quickly gaining influence and being applied in a number of Ontario communities. In conversation with Netami Stuart, OALA, Ryan Whitney of the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation identifies the barriers to and opportunities for complete streets, which are an inclusive model of design for everyone: all modes of transportation—walking, cycling, taking transit, driving, pushing a baby carriage, using a walker or wheelchair—are key to ensuring that mobility is possible for all members of our communities. As disability consultant Christine Karcza reminds us in our Round Table, “Seventy percent of disabilities are hidden. Most people don’t know that. And so, when we think of access, or when we think of movement, we often only think of people who use wheelchairs, and then we stop.”

MODERATED BY TODD SMITH AND VICTORIA TAYLOR, OALA

20/

Parkway in a Prairie Re-imagining an Ontario highway as a ribbon of green TEXT BY LESLIE MORTON AND NETAMI STUART, OALA

26/

Letter From…Paris Rails and Trails TEXT BY LORRAINE JOHNSON

30/

Plant Corner Alternatives to conventional lawn grasses TEXT BY TODD SMITH

34/

42/

Notes A Miscellany of News and Events Artifact The Parkway of Least Resistance TEXT BY DENISE PINTO

Spring 2012 Issue 17

Following the March 2012 Conference and AGM, we will be seeing a combination of new Council members and the continued service of a number of experienced Council members. I encourage each of you to volunteer at some point with the OALA. There are many opportunities to help, and many of these opportunities have a finite mandate and time commitment. Our annual dues are kept to a minimum level because of the thousands of hours of volunteer time, which limits the need to hire outside staff. In the foreseeable future, the phased, mandatory Continuing Education Program (C.E.C.) and Practice Act will be two of the important areas of interest.

The OALA, as always, enjoys the strong support of those sponsors who support our magazine, events, and make it possible to support our students and programs. When you are specifying or purchasing products, please support those sponsors who consistently support the OALA. Our membership has grown to 1,480 members in all categories, a six percent increase over last year. The coming year will be a transition year for the Associates in the Professional Development Program (P.D.P.), with changes in the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.) being initiated by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (C.L.A.R.B.).

OALA Council has discussed this transition extensively and made specific changes to permit a phase-in period to support our Associates, tomorrow’s landscape architects. During the next year, in my role as Past President, I will represent OALA at the CSLA national level. I appreciate the support you have given to me as President of our association and for the trust you have placed in me for the past two years. I look forward to bringing a strong voice to the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects as Past President.

GLENN A. O’CONNOR, OALA PRESIDENT@OALA.CA

This issue of Ground illustrates that there are many reasons and many ways to think about mobility, and many ways for landscape architects to contribute. The advantages for public health, environmental sustainability, and better quality public space through the creation of multimodal transportation networks are becoming increasingly well recognized and important drivers of urban design.

Todd Smith’s interview with Elyse Parker, OALA, of the City of Toronto’s Transportation Services department highlights the active role of landscape architects in this burgeoning area of practice. Our article about the largescale Windsor-Essex Parkway, led by Eha Naylor, OALA, shows the integral role of landscape architecture for highway design. Lorraine Johnson’s piece about York University Associate Professor Jenny Foster’s work on the Petite Ceinture in Paris is a fascinating example of the adaptive reuse of industrial transportation routes.

Developing urban design guidelines for implementing complete streets is an example of the ways in which landscape architects can be involved in crucial mobility issues.

In the American context, the ASLA is active in the complete streets movement and has been instrumental in applying complete streets principles to actual streets. We take inspiration from the OALA members and others who have already gotten involved and made a difference.

NANCY CHATER, OALA, AND ROBERT WALKOWIAK CO-CHAIRS, EDITORIAL BOARD

Masthead

.17

Editor Lorraine Johnson

2012 OALA Governing Council

OALA Editorial Board Nancy Chater (co-chair) Vanessa Eickhoff Eric Gordon Jocelyn Hirtes Fung Lee (on maternity leave) Leslie Morton Kate Nelischer Denise Pinto Maili Sedore Todd Smith Netami Stuart Victoria Taylor Rob Walkowiak (co-chair)

President Glenn O'Connor

Art Direction/Design www.typotherapy.com

Councillors Sarah Koeppe Jonathan Loschmann

Advertising Inquiries advertising@oala.ca 416.231.4181 Cover Revisioning the Don Valley in Toronto, from the MOVE exposition. Image by Karen May. (See page 42).

Ground: Landscape Architect Quarterly is published four times a year by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects.

Ontario Association of Landscape Architects 3 Church Street, Suite 407 Toronto, Ontario M5E 1M2 416.231.4181 www.oala.ca oala@oala.ca Copyright © 2012 by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects All rights reserved ISSN: 0847-3080 Canada Post Sales Product Agreement No. 40026106 Ground is printed on 100 percent post-consumer, processed chlorinefree paper that is FSC certified.

Vice President Joanne Moran Treasurer Bryce Miranda Secretary Morteza Behrooz Past President Lawrence Stasiuk

Associate Councillor—Senior Neeltje Slingerland Associate Councillor—Junior Jonathan Woodside Lay Councillor Linda Thorne Appointed Educator University of Toronto Elise Shelley Appointed Educator University of Guelph Sean Kelly University of Toronto Student Representative Todd Douglas University of Guelph Student Representative Najib Najjar OALA Staff Registrar Linda MacLeod Administrator Aina Budrevics Coordinator Joanna Wilczynska

OALA

OALA

About

About the OALA

Ground: Landscape Architect Quarterly is published by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects and provides an open forum for the exchange of ideas and information related to the profession of landscape architecture.

The Ontario Association of Landscape Architects works to promote and advance the profession of landscape architecture and maintain standards of professional practice consistent with the public interest. The OALA promotes public understanding of the profession and the advancement of the practice of landscape architecture. In support of the improvement and/or conservation of the natural, cultural, social and built environments, the OALA undertakes activities including promotion to governments, professionals and developers of the standards and benefits of landscape architecture.

Letters to the editor, article proposals, and feedback are encouraged. For submission guidelines, contact Ground at magazine@oala.ca. Ground reserves the right to edit all submissions. The views expressed in the magazine are those of the writers and not necessarily the views of the OALA and its Governing Council.

.17

Ground Advisory Panel Upcoming Issues of Ground Ground 18 (Summer) Health Deadline for advertising space reservations: April 23, 2012 Ground 19 (Fall) Time Deadline for editorial proposals: May 4, 2012 Deadline for advertising space reservations: July 23, 2012

Andrew B. Anderson, BLA, MSc. World Heritage Management Landscape & Heritage Expert, Oman Botanic Garden Victoria Lister Carley, OALA, Victoria Lister Carley Landscape Architect, Toronto John Danahy, OALA, Associate Professor, University of Toronto George Dark, OALA, FCSLA, ASLA, Principal, Urban Strategies Inc., Toronto Katherine Dugmore, MCIP, RPP, Waterfront Project Manager, City of Thunder Bay Real Eguchi, OALA, Eguchi Associates Landscape Architects, Toronto Donna Hinde, OALA, Partner, The Planning Partnership, Toronto Ryan James, OALA, Landscape Architect, Peterborough Alissa North, OALA, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Principal of North Design Office, Toronto Peter North, OALA, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Principal of North Design Office, Toronto Cecelia Paine, OALA, FCSLA, FASLA, Professor and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, University of Guelph Nathan Perkins, MLA, PhD, ASLA, Associate Professor, University of Guelph Jim Vafiades, OALA, Senior Landscape Architect, Stantec, London

Up Front

03

.17

01 MATERIALS

lessons from berlin Traveling to Europe typically leaves me feeling both inspired and frustrated. Their urban environments are so rich in variety and texture. Ontario’s urban landscapes, on the other hand, are the result of the over-use of predictable and uniform landscape materials such as colourless concrete, precast concrete pavers, and other mass-produced materials made to look like something they are not.

Recently, I was invited on a virtual tour of Berlin’s green spaces that left me feeling a familiar disenchantment with Ontario’s urban landscapes. The virtual tour was led by Birgit Teichmann of Berlin-based Teichmann Landschafts Architekten. She was the keynote speaker at the annual “All Hands in the Dirt” event hosted by the non-profit organization Evergreen at their Toronto headquarters, the Brick Works.

Highlighting her experience in designing more than seventy parks and schools within and around Berlin, Teichmann’s designs for public spaces were rich in

Up Front: Information on the Ground

02

this experience has shaped her design approach. Things once considered impossible are indeed possible, and change is part of the urban landscape. Moving to the more practical, she explained that specifications and contracts formalize how artists working with the users will be part of the design/construction process. The result of these interactions might be considered by some modern design minimalists to be somewhat “messy,” but to others a breath of fresh air. Sites are returned to places where kids and residents can learn ecological principles. Planting areas within sites are maximized with a network of access routes.

03

texture, with unusual material combinations, undulating forms, and varied topography, and were embellished with colour and artistic details. What was more impressive than the designs themselves was the process. All of these designs were developed and constructed in conjunction with the user groups who would eventually inhabit the site. Can you imagine how it might feel to be the children at these Berlin schools who were empowered to help shape the space, and invited to work alongside artists?

Ideas about participatory design, community building, and art integrated into the landscape are some of the ideals that no doubt inspired many of us to become landscape architects. The “All Hands in the Dirt” event brings together landscape architects, artists, educators, and sustainable design enthusiasts each year around these topics, with a particular focus on natural playground design/implementation.

Teichmann began her virtual tour by speaking about how the Berlin Wall coming down affected her emotionally, and how 04

01/

Willow arch in Berlin, designed by Birgit Teichmann.

IMAGE/

Teichmann Landschafts Architekten

02-03/

A Berlin schoolground before and after, designed by Birgit Teichmann.

IMAGES/

Teichmann Landschafts Architekten

04/

Galvanized stock tanks used as vegetable planters at Evergreen Brick Works.

IMAGE/

Ruthanne Henry

Up Front

The most interesting part of Teichmann’s presentation, for me, was seeing sites defined by eclectic and stimulating mixes of materials. Teichmann’s training as an engineer could be seen in the way that the demolished concrete rubble from the site’s previous uses was recycled into retaining walls. These retaining walls were a reccurring form throughout her designs, creating varied site topography for new experiences and views. I have always loved discovering the homes and gardens of doit-yourself builders where as many natural materials as possible are combined.

.17

site. Boardwalks across and along the ponds are without hand rails, painted stock tanks are used as vegetable planters, a bake oven combines brick and stone, and there are temporary structures of tepee tents and found wood debris. Art is integrated throughout the site. It almost feels like Europe.

TEXT BY RUTHANNE HENRY, OALA, A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, ARBORIST, AND ARTIST CURRENTLY WORKING WITH THE CITY OF TORONTO, URBAN FORESTRY, ON STRATEGIC PLANNING, POLICY, AND CAPITAL PROJECTS.

04

In 2007, the City of Toronto recognized an opportunity to use the new harmonized street furniture system to make streets more attractive through the appropriate placement of street furniture (transit shelters, litter bins, postering boards, etc.). As well, City Council determined that some of the revenue from the street furniture contract should be directed to a new unit that would take responsibility for street furniture as well as other public realm matters. This became the Public Realm Section. Parker was hired

Teichmann showed combinations of brick, brick alternatives to Grasscrete, and stone all used within one site as walkway surfaces. This was combined with wall surfaces of tile mosaics, recycled concrete and brick. She blends these surface materials with wooden bridges, dense plantings, and artwork, creating surprisingly diverse landscapes on small sites.

In the workshop component of “All Hands in the Dirt,” participants had the chance to get dirty while trying out some of these ideas about surfacing. Evergreen Artist-inResidence Ferruccio Sardella and landscape architect Heidi Campbell, OALA, set us loose with buckets of slate, crushed brick, limestone, and quartz to create our own mosaics. Sardella demonstrated how these individual or small group mosaics can be combined to accentuate connections of materials and patterns, forming a collective work of a larger scale appropriate for landscape installation. The resulting mosaics are durable enough for public use and stimulate the senses for all ages.

While it is possible that some of these repurposed materials might not survive as long as the concrete, asphalt, and steel currently favoured by North American municipalities and institutions, perhaps they should not. When the wooden bridges in Teichmann’s designs are ready for replacement, a whole new community momentum will likely be ready to reinterpret the site.

It is entirely appropriate that the Brick Works site, nestled within the Don River Valley, was the backdrop for Teichmann’s presentation at “All Hands in the Dirt.”

Evergreen and the City of Toronto are not shy about testing new materials on the

05 PUBLIC SPACE

toronto’s everyday urbanism Elyse Parker, OALA, is very interested in the “everyday urbanism” of Toronto’s streets— the ways that the smaller-scale aspects of the built environment, such as street furniture and signage, allow for the smoother and more logical flow of experience in getting around the city. As the first director of the newly formed Public Realm Section (PRS) in Transportation Services at the City of Toronto, she values smaller-scale landscape interventions that have the effect of signifying and dignifying areas within the public realm that would otherwise remain undervalued and forgotten.

I spoke with Parker about the achievements of the PRS; what it means to have a landscape architect in a lead role; and what it means to bring this approach to a city division that has been largely responsible for operational and maintenance matters related to city streets rather than aesthetics and placemaking.

to head this new section, and there are now three landscape architects and one architect/urban designer working exclusively on public realm issues.

Specifically, the Public Realm Section directs four areas: street furniture; neighbourhood improvements; pedestrian projects; and the new graffiti management plan. The neighbourhood improvement program has overseen projects across the entire city, including the transformation of an orphaned triangle at the foot of University Avenue into a place frequented by midday lunchers and people needing a spot to sit down. In another project, a nondescript entrance to the St. Clair West subway was renovated to include covered bike parking, encouraging a multi-modal lifestyle for TTC users and creating an attractive, identifiable place on that street.

A notable pedestrian project has been the development of the Toronto Walking Strategy, which garnered a Sustainable Communities Award in the Transportation category in 2011 from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. The Walking

Up Front

05

.17

05/

Beautification project along the Don Valley Parkway, Toronto.

IMAGE/

City of Toronto

06-07/

An unused area beside the entrance to the St. Clair West subway was transformed into a bike shelter.

IMAGES/

City of Toronto

08/

The North Vancouver waterfront is being revitalized through communitydriven design.

IMAGE/

Tavis Ford

06

Strategy provides a long-term, comprehensive set of actions for achieving the Official Plan’s objectives for creating a great walkable city. This grew out of the Toronto Pedestrian Charter (2002), which reflects the principle that the quality of our walking environment is a key indicator of the city’s health and vitality.

The PRS oversees many improvements in the design of Toronto’s streets and strives to ensure that all actions taken by other Divisions support a culture of walking.

Indeed, what makes this new section interesting and progressive is its culture of collaboration and compromise among landscape architects, engineers, urban designers, and planners from within the organization. As a result of this approach, the first “flexible street” was recently approved at Market Street, beside St. Lawrence Market. (According to Parker, a “flexible street” is designed to allow the space allocation of the right-of-way to change based on the demand of the users by varying the space for cars, pedestrians, special events, cafes, and retail activities according to the season, the day of the week, or the time of day.)

Parker feels strongly that these projects are key ingredients in the “everyday urbanism” and quality of life in the city. She remarks that “the public is entitled to have streets that are looked after. These ‘bits and pieces’ not under the purview of any one department become valuable when interpreted by landscape architects as aggregate public space creating a larger whole.” Indeed, when added together, streets and public rights-of-way comprise 27.4 percent of Toronto’s land area.

07

Parker feels that landscape architects are trained to have a broad focus and a unique holistic perspective of municipal space and its division and use. “There are different priorities between the disciplines involved in creating public space,” acknowledges Parker, “yet I feel that landscape architects are well equipped at managing the design among several (often) disparate user groups.” Within Transportation Services, Parker has a responsibility to bring justifiable and sustainable ideas and solutions to the table and must be accountable and mindful of the pressures of road operations and public safety.

Parker adds that the Public Realm Section views streets as connectors and places but acknowledges the challenges of accommodating all the various pressures inherent in the design and operation of a street. “The street is a living organism and is always changing,” says Parker, “and one needs to be strategic in making the work you do, count.” By bringing a stronger visual acuity and an “everyday urbanism” approach, Elyse Parker hopes that the work of the Public Realm Section is bringing more dignity to the city’s streets and to the citizens who traverse them.

TEXT BY TODD SMITH, A MEMBER OF THE GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD.

08 WATERFRONTS

navigating an urban threshold In early 2012, Waterfront Toronto and the City of Toronto initiated the development of a new masterplan for the Port Lands. The brownfield site, which lies conveniently close to downtown, has been a battleground for city council and Torontonians since Mayor Rob Ford unveiled his themepark vision for the area in early September, 2011. Ford’s proposal would have seen the city take control of the site from Waterfront Toronto and quash existing plans for a mixed-use neighbourhood.

Although Ford’s ferris wheel was rejected by city council, the future of the former industrial site remains undetermined. With an accelerated development plan expected to be presented to council this summer, now is an opportune time to reconsider what Toronto needs from its waterfront— and what the waterfront needs in order to be part of the city’s physical and conceptual landscape.

The contradictory nature of waterfront sites sets them apart from the rest of a city; they are part urban and part pastoral, part

Up Front

06

.17

Tyler Russell, owner of Café for Contemporary Art (directly adjacent to Lot 5, the former National Maritime Centre site), instigated a process of community consultation to develop an unsolicited proposal for the site. Russell collaborated with architect and interior designer Arata Hatanaka to illustrate The Dock, a proposal presented to city council on September 19, 2011, that envisions the transformation of Lot 5 into a mixed-use, transit-oriented cultural precinct that fosters cohesion among the local community and highlights the unique character of the region to visiting tourists. North Vancouver City Council pledged its support for Russell’s process and agreed to fund the continuation of his consultation initiatives. “Design jams” are being held in the Café for Contemporary Art throughout the spring of 2012, and visitors are invited to engage in discussion regarding the future of the waterfront.

working landscape and part recreational, and, most simply, they are part land and part water. The competing nature of these multi-faceted realities is highlighted by the ways we travel to, from, and through them. The waterfront is a juncture between modes of transportation, speeds, and vistas. It serves the waterborne needs of sailors, kayakers, cargo ships, cruises, and water patrollers alike, while providing terrestrial accommodations for pedestrians, cyclists, buses, streetcars, and automobiles.

The waterfront is the definitive intersection.

With all of these seemingly competitive uses, who and what should waterfronts be designed for? The picnicking family seeking a view of the horizon, the crew unloading the freights, or the tourist arriving by boat? Each possible use could not be successful without design consideration for the landscapes and for movement through those landscapes.

On the Café’s website (http://cafefor contemporaryart.wordpress.com/), Russell writes: “With visioning sessions and a flurry of proposals on the horizon, it is hoped that the past will be honoured and the present and future empowered, as one of Canada’s last sections of publicly owned, high-profile harbourfront is slated for re-development. We are the inheritors of a rich, complex and contested history with a future cultural and material possibility not shared by many others.”

Although Toronto has long suffered from the severance of its waterfront from its downtown, North Vancouver is fortunate to have an integrated, underdeveloped waterfront—a prime site for revitalization.

Plans to construct the National Maritime Centre on five acres of publicly owned waterfront land were developed under a three-way funding partnership between the local, provincial, and federal governments. When the province of British Columbia retracted its financial support in 2010, the city of North Vancouver was forced to cancel the multi-million-dollar project and begin exploring new possibilities for the formerly industrial site.

Although this was a major setback in the development process, the local community began to see this as an opportunity to create a space that would serve the needs of residents, business owners, and tourists alike.

This exceptional example of communitydriven design stands as a model for the redevelopment of urban waterfronts. As places of such intense interaction between various uses, views, paces, and modes of transportation, addressing the diverse needs of people who access these spaces is integral to their long-term success. The waterfront is a critical node between our landscapes and our waterscapes—a porous gateway into and out of the city skyline. It marks the convergence of people arriving by bus, bike, and foot from downtown and those arriving by boat from the waterways—all of whom are active participants in its vitality. The design of any waterfront thus necessitates that the space be acknowledged as a point of arrival, departure, and a main destination in itself.

TEXT BY KATE NELISCHER, A WRITER AND LANDSCAPE DESIGNER AT THE PLANNING PARTNERSHIP.

09

TRAILS

riding through snow Did you know that every winter, when snow abounds throughout the province, Ontario boasts the longest interconnecting snowmobile system in the world, with roughly 34,000 kilometres of maintained snow trails?

The history of Ontario’s vast snowmobile network dates back to the 1960s. In the early days, when groups of snowmobilers became interested in traveling longer distances on their machines, and in doing so legally, a number of groups formed clubs at the local level to develop and maintain networks of snowmobile trails. As the number of clubs increased across the province, their membership sought to connect clubs to one another to expand the network, and so it grew little by little. By the 1990s, interest in snowmobile tourism had grown along with the network. The trail system we know today is the result of a $21-million partnership launched in 1992 between the Province of Ontario and the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC), aimed at connecting Northern Ontario communities and bolstering the nascent snowmobile tourism industry.

It is not uncommon for snowmobilers to cover more than 100 kilometres in a single outing, planning their routes around multiple destinations in a single trip. Eric Hess, OALA, a Toronto-based landscape architect and snowmobiling enthusiast, has logged thousands of kilometres of travel throughout Ontario and Quebec, making the 1,500-kilometre journey from Parry Sound to Quebec City on more than one occasion to take part in Québec’s Winter Carnival festivities. According to Hess, snowmobiling has evolved from a predominantly local activity in the 1960s to a major recreational touring sport today.

The development and maintenance of Ontario’s snowmobile trails is overseen by the OFSC, a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization that acts as the coordinating body for organized snowmobiling in Ontario. To assist in fulfilling its mandate, the OFSC administers a user-pay system supported by Ontario law, which requires snowmobilers who use OFSC trails to display a valid snowmobile permit.

Up Front

07

.17

The mandate of Ontario’s trail system, known as the Trans-Ontario Provincial (TOP) Trail, is to create a trail system for touring snowmobilers that is well connected, mapped, and clearly marked. The network is a three-tiered system consisting of Trunk Trails, which act as the primary border-toborder (Quebec to Manitoba) snow corridors; Connector Trails, which connect Trunk Trail segments to one another; and Feeder Trails, which channel traffic onto Trunk Trails from communities and local trail systems, providing links to services and amenities, events, and other attractions.

Local snowmobile clubs are part of the OFSC, and club members have access to the network of trails through agreements with private landowners and public trails when possible. The OFSC’s staff and volunteers include expert snowmobilers with significant experience when it comes to planning and maintaining snowmobile trails. While some TOP trail segments have been newly carved through the woods, many others consist of existing trapper’s paths, abandoned rail lines, and old logging roads. When a bridge or culvert crossing is required over a water course, or a trail passes through an area that is considered ecologically sensitive, engineers and representatives from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources or local conservation authorities are called upon for expertise and approvals.

The OFSC’s Trails Committee is responsible for the development of the trail network, which is designed to meet multiple criteria, notably related to safety, the environment, and tourism: ° Trails are designed, signed, and maintained according to specifications and guidelines in order to identify and prevent hazards. ° In consultation with the Ministry of Natural Resources, the network is designed to avoid sensitive or protected areas, such as low-lying areas and wetlands. There is also a thrust to keep trails on land, particularly with the advent of large industrial trail-grooming equipment. ° Trails are designed to form part of an integrated network; that is, to link communities, offer services and amenities, and lead to points of interest.

10

Snowmobile trails are volunteer-built. Apart from Trunk Trails, many of the network trails are located on private lands, and access to these lands for trail development is negotiated through legal agreements with landowners. The challenges are numerous in this regard: approximately 60 percent of the trail system is temporary, with access agreements requiring that trail signs and stakes be installed and removed every fall and spring. Prior to the start of the season, volunteers have to make sure the trail is still accessible and free of debris and other hazards. A paid grooming fleet is equipped with tracking devices, allowing trail conditions to be communicated to the OFSC, for the purpose of providing trail status reports to riders.

Up until ten years ago, trail network operation and maintenance was entirely volunteer-based. However, with the increased value of tourism, paid grooming now takes place on a vast portion of the network. The network costs approximately $20 billion dollars per season to operate, while the tourism value of the network has blossomed to roughly $1 billion dollars annually, according to OFCS figures.

This year, the OFSC’s main challenge is the snow itself, or lack of it. With the late start to the season, some snowmobile clubs are asking their members to be patient and avoid running their machines without an adequate snow base in place. In a press release to members of one district, the OFSC reminded snowmobilers that riding on closed trails is dangerous, as there may be

harmful debris under the ungroomed snow, wetter areas may not yet be frozen, and the clubs may not have had a chance to ensure that their stakes and signs are still standing. There may also be a risk of damage to the land itself or pre-planted crops on farmer’s fields.

Ontario’s snow trails network is a unique amenity. Snowmobilers are unanimous in expressing the joy they derive from discovering remote parts of the winter landscape that would otherwise be inaccessible, a fact most landscape architects can certainly appreciate. The hard work it takes to operate the network on a seasonal basis is also a testament to the OFSC’s ability to leverage the enthusiasm and commitment of its membership to contribute to trail implementation and maintenance year after year.

Perhaps landscape architects can draw lessons from this model when it comes to implementing other types of recreational amenities in circumstances where funding may be limited.

TEXT BY JENNIFER MAHONEY, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL INTERN, A MEMBER OF THE GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD.

09/

Urban waterfronts, such as the Toronto Harbour, are often sites of interaction between many different uses.

IMAGE/

Richard Peat

10/

Snowmobile trails make it possible to explore remote parts of the winter landscape.

IMAGE/

Brandon Legacy

Streetwise

08

.17

Ryan Whitney, a researcher with the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation, and Netami Stuart, OALA, in conversation about the growing “complete streets” movement and what it might mean for communities in Ontario

01

01-02/

Yonge Street in Toronto, revisioned as a “complete street,” before and after.

IMAGES/

Toronto Centre for Active Transportation and Chris Hardwicke

03/

Two different allocations of public space on Yonge Street in Toronto, showing current use and “complete streets” model.

IMAGE/

Toronto Centre for Active Transportation and Chris Hardwicke

02

Streetwise

09

.17

Netami Stuart (NS): What is a complete street?

Ryan Whitney (RW): A complete street is a street that is designed for all users—that includes cyclists, pedestrians, transit users, and drivers—regardless of the mode of transportation they might be using and regardless of age or any disabilities they might have. It’s an inclusive model of design for everyone.

NS: We have a hierarchy of transportation facilities such as feeder roads and regional roads, and we know that some are designed to carry more vehicle traffic than others. Can any size of street be a complete street? Or does it have to be a certain design for a certain traffic flow?

RW: In my opinion, any sized street can be a complete street. You definitely come up against certain barriers with different sized streets. It’s not a one-size-fits-all model.

Rather, a complete street can mean different elements and features depending on the context—everything from streetscaping to the elements you actually include on the street such as sidewalks and accommodation for cyclists. Difficulties do come up with regional roads or provincial roads because there is different legislation and policies that guide the use of those roads, but we are hoping in the future that those guidelines will be updated so that we can have an entire network of complete streets.

NS: Where can we find complete streets in Ontario? Who is designing them and why?

RW: I work with the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation, and we have a complete streets project. We are currently researching

03

Ontario policies and eventually we will be looking at the entire country. I am in the process of completing a research project that looks at the official plans of the largest cities in Ontario for complete streets language. In addition we sent a survey to engineers, advocates, and planners from the same communities across the province to establish what the barriers and opportunities are for complete streets in their specific communities. The best complete streets policies that currently exist in Ontario, in terms of the larger cities, include Waterloo, which has a solid complete streets policy; in Hamilton’s Official Plan there is quite a bit of complete streets language. It’s also mentioned in St. Catharines, Peterborough, Sudbury, London, Mississauga, Oakville, and Thunder Bay. NS: Can we go to those communities to walk down a complete street?

RW: Yes, there are examples of complete streets from across the province, including these communities. For example, in the Toronto context I think College Street is a great example, even though it wasn’t designed under a complete street policy.

There are examples all over the province where complete streets policy hasn’t been used to produce a complete street. But the point of a policy is that it can be applied to

the entire network of streets and can help ensure that all our roads become “complete.”

Specific street designs that have been implemented under a complete streets policy approach, which is a very new concept for Canada, include Waterloo, which passed the first policy last year. They have done a lot on Davenport Road. The initiative on this started before the complete streets policy was passed, but a lot of complete streets supportive elements have been incorporated into it.

Another good example with a more regional approach to how streets should be designed is King Street in Kitchener. IBI was responsible for designing that street.

Landscape architects play a very large role in the complete streets process. For instance, in the American context, which is where the complete streets movement originally comes from, they have the American Society of Landscape Architects on their steering committee and they have been monumental in the success of this movement by taking complete streets principles and applying them to actual streets.

Landscape architects have a number of key elements they can focus on when they are developing complete streets. The first would

Streetwise

10

.17

RW: Definitely. I think that one of the successes of the complete streets movement is its ability to bring in people from a variety of different perspectives, including landscape architects, planners, designers, advocates, seniors groups, or climate change activists.

In the future I would like to see the OALA become more involved.

NS: You have recently completed a GAP analysis in terms of complete streets policy.

What kind of barriers and opportunities have you identified?

04

05

06

04/

Davenport Road in Waterloo incorporates many “complete streets” elements.

IMAGE/

GSP Group

05/

Original cross-section of Davenport Road, prior to redevelopment.

IMAGE/

Paradigm

be the qualitative elements of the street.

Landscape architects are experts at this, with their ability to plan and provide different elements for pedestrians and other street users. The second element is the pedestrian experience, which takes into account the experience of the users. The third element is the infrastructure itself, the greening of the street, storm-water management. It is important for landscape architects to be integrated from the beginning of the process. It often happens that an architect or engineer or somebody designing the street will bring in a landscape architect after the design process, so there is a missed opportunity for integrating these green features like storm-water management at an early stage.

NS: You mentioned the involvement of the American Society of Landscape Architects in developing a policy. Has there been or would you advocate for the involvement of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, or could you see a role for the association in developing or contributing to a complete streets policy for Ontario?

03

07

RW: I did the analysis in two sections. The first was the policy analysis and the second was more of an implementation analysis based on the survey. For the policy analysis, I adopted the policy rubric that is used by the complete streets coalition in the U.S. and I changed it for the Ontario context to look at larger policy documents like official plans. It is much more difficult to apply that structured rubric to such a comprehensive document. So within that there are ten key elements that you have to consider when you are making a complete streets policy. In terms of language, for example, you need to ask: is it very strong, is it saying that we “must” consider cyclists, we “must” consider pedestrians, or is it saying weaker things like “we may consider”? We are really looking for strong language. On issues such as connectivity, we’re looking at questions such as: does it state that we need to create integrated comprehensive networks?

Another example would be design: does it specifically mention design guidelines or urban design guidelines for actually implementing complete streets? This would be a great example of where landscape architects could be involved with the design guidelines. Maybe we should make complete streets green streets as well: what does that infrastructure look like, how should the street be laid out in order to create a positive experience for cyclists, pedestrians, transit users, people who are using this corridor on a daily basis? I think that would be a great place where landscape architects could jump in.

In terms of barriers or opportunities identified in the survey, I will give you a few examples. One that came up a lot is implementing policy that is already in

Streetwise

place. That’s a big problem for cities like Toronto, where the policy is quite decent and it does cover a lot of different elements but that policy isn’t necessarily turning into practice. Other things involve developers.

How does the city ensure that when developers come into a community and want to develop, say, a subdivision, they are going to apply complete streets principles? This varies across the province; so for communities in northern Ontario which aren’t growing quickly or are declining in some cases, how do they get developers to buy into complete streets when the developer would argue that there is no money in it?

08

Another issue that often came up in the survey is budgets. How do you fund complete streets? Where does the money come from? We are looking at developing tools for this, for our upcoming complete streets Canada website, but a lot of this is also looking at the budget that you currently have and how you can allocate this on the street. Maybe you reduce lane widths to fit in a bike lane or maybe you take the right-of-way that you already have and adjust it a little bit and take what you can from that. The problem is that not a lot of guidelines exist to allow engineers to do this, or they may not have the confidence to do it because they are not backed up by strong policy or guidelines.

Hopefully in the future this will change.

wonderful work around complete streets, really integrating the idea at all levels of policy. Currently, they are in the process of coming out with complete streets guidelines that are actually redefining right-ofways in the city so that complete streets can be implemented in all these different types of roads we are talking about. That will be a great resource when it comes out because landscaping considerations and greening infrastructure will be considered as part of this. Our upcoming complete streets Canada website, which launches in late April [2012], will address these issues and include more resources such as a Complete Streets by Design project that will imagine five “incomplete streets” in Toronto as complete streets. The domain is www.completestreets.ca.

NS: It is important for landscape architects to have the knowledge and vocabulary to speak confidently and convincingly about the value of complete streets. Where would you suggest that Ontario landscape architects go to find more information about how to design complete streets?

RW: In the U.S., the National Complete Streets Coalition has come out with a best practices complete streets manual that shows different implementation contexts and how you would implement complete streets on roadways. The manual includes some design elements, so that would be one place to start. Calgary is doing some

11

.17

NS: Can you describe some of the details of what makes a complete street?

RW: Returning to the College Street in Toronto example, one thing that makes it nice is that, in many locations, it provides for all users. So, for instance, you have ample space on the sidewalks for pedestrians; and the sidewalk is significantly wider than a lot of other sidewalks in Toronto, something that provides ample space for that pedestrian experience. Next to that you have sharrows or bike lanes for bicycles, which provide them space and legitimize their presence. You have parking, which is a bit of a controversial issue. If cyclists are located closer to the curb and then parking protects them, as opposed to cyclists protecting the parking, I think that can often be a better approach. In terms of streetcars,

09

there is the transit presence where transit users can get on and off streetcars easily.

You also have cars, so this is integrating all these modes. In terms of access for the elderly and disabled, the sidewalk is wide, which creates ample space so that people of different abilities and ages can pass if there are faster walkers or slower walkers.

So this is just one example of how a complete street can create an experience that is based on everyone’s needs.

BIO/ NETAMI STUART, OALA, IS A MEMBER OF THE GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD. RYAN WHITNEY IS THE COMPLETE STREETS RESEARCHER AND PROJECT MANAGER WITH THE TORONTO CENTRE FOR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION, A PROJECT OF THE CLEAN AIR PARTNERSHIP. WITH THANKS TO CARL NOVIKOFF FOR TRANSCRIBING THIS CONVERSATION.

06-07/

Davenport Road in Waterloo, before and after redevelopment.

IMAGES/

City of Waterloo

08-09/

Davenport Road, in summer, before and after redevelopment.

IMAGES/

City of Waterloo

Round Table

.17

Our panel of experts explores the issue of urban mobility and safe streets for all

01/

The VIVA bus route extends across the north end of the Greater Toronto Area and has been a very successful rapid transit project.

IMAGE/

IBI Group and VIVA

12

Round Table

13

.17

MODERATED BY TODD SMITH AND VICTORIA TAYLOR, OALA BIOS/

YVONNE BAMBRICK (BA IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND URBAN STUDIES; MA IN COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT) IS COORDINATOR OF BOTH THE KENSINGTON MARKET AND FOREST HILL VILLAGE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT AREAS (BIA), AND IS WORKING ON A VARIETY OF NEIGHBOURHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS IN BOTH COMMUNITIES. HAVING RECENTLY SERVED AS THE FOUNDING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE TORONTO CYCLISTS UNION, SHE CONTINUES TO APPLY HER EXPERTISE AS AN URBAN CYCLING CONSULTANT. AS THE MANAGER/GARDENER OF KENSINGTON'S BELOVED GARDEN CAR [SEE GROUND 13, PAGE 42] AND COORDINATOR OF PEDESTRIAN SUNDAYS IN KENSINGTON MARKET, A FORMER COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER / PHOTOGRAPHER FOR JANE’S WALK, THE ORIGINAL COMMUNITY ANIMATOR AT THE CENTRE FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION, AND A PAST DIRECTOR ON THE KENSINGTON MARKET ACTION COMMITTEE, YVONNE HAS BEEN A CONTRIBUTOR TO SOME OF THE MOST EXCITING SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORTATION / TRANSFORMATION PROJECTS TO EMERGE IN DOWNTOWN TORONTO SINCE 2003. AS AN EVENT AND PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER, SHE IS A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR TO PRECEDENT, DANDYHORSE, MOMENTUM, AND SPACING MAGAZINES, AND HER WORK HAS ALSO APPEARED IN A WIDE VARIETY OF WEBSITES AND BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS. CHRISTINE KARCZA IS A CONSULTANT WITH MORE THAN 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN DISABILITY MANAGEMENT, TRANSFORMING ORGANIZATIONS INTO BANNER DESTINATIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. HER “I CAN DO THIS!” ATTITUDE, SHAPED BY MANAGING THE CHALLENGES OF HER OWN DISABILITY, INSPIRES OTHERS TO FIND INNOVATIVE YET REALISTIC SOLUTIONS TO OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO FULL, MEANINGFUL, AND MEMORABLE PARTICIPATION THROUGH CONSULTING FROM THE CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE, TRAINING, AND INTERACTIVE PRESENTATIONS.

01

TREVOR MCINTYRE, OALA, DIRECTOR OF IBI GROUP, LEADS THE IBI GROUP URBAN DESIGN AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE + PRACTICE IN TORONTO AND INTERNATIONALLY. HE HAS MORE THAN 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE LEADING MULTI-DISCIPLINARY DESIGN TEAMS ON COMPLEX URBAN PROJECTS INCLUDING MOBILITY HUBS AND STATION AREA PLANNING. RECENT PROJECTS INCLUDE THE METROLINX MOBILITY HUB GUIDELINES; AND THE MASTER PLAN, DESIGN, AND CONSTRUCTION OF KING STREET IN KITCHENER, WINNER OF THE DESIGN EXCHANGE GOLD AWARD IN THE URBAN DESIGN CATEGORY FOR 2011.

GIL PENALOSA, MBA, IS AN INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED LIVEABLE CITY ADVISOR AND SOCIAL MARKETING STRATEGIST. HE ADVISES DECISION-MAKERS AND COMMUNITIES ON CREATING VIBRANT AND HEALTHY CITIES FOR ALL. AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CANADIAN-BASED NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION 8-80 CITIES AND FORMER COMMISSIONER OF PARKS AND RECREATION IN BOGOTA, COLOMBIA, HE WORKS TO ENCOURAGE WALKING AND CYCLING AS ACTIVITIES AND THE RE-CREATION AND USE OF UNDERPERFORMING PARKS AND STREETS. GIL ALSO WORKS AS SENIOR CONSULTANT FOR THE RENOWNED DANISH FIRM GEHL ARCHITECTS AND SERVES ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF CITY PARKS ALLIANCE. DAVID SAJECKI IS A SENIOR ADVISOR AT METROLINX, SERVING AS CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE AIR RAIL LINK. DAVID HOLDS A MASTER OF REGIONAL AND URBAN PLANNING AND A BACHELOR OF APPLIED SCIENCE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING FROM QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY, AND HAS WORKED ON KEY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS WITH BOTH METROLINX AND THE PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. TODD SMITH, MLA, IS A LANDSCAPE DESIGNER WITH 15 YEARS OF INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE. FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, HE HAS OPERATED TODD SMITH DESIGN. WITH A FOCUS ON MULTI/RESIDENTIAL, GREEN ROOFS, AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY PLANNING, TODD BELIEVES THAT SITE-SPECIFIC DESIGN ALONG WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ENSURES A BETTER PUBLIC REALM EXPERIENCE. VICTORIA TAYLOR, MLA, OALA, DESIGNS PRIVATE AND PUBLIC LANDSCAPES. SHE IS A LANDSCAPE CRITIC AT THE WATERLOO SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND A MEMBER OF THE GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD. SHE HAS DEVELOPED AN 1800-SQUARE-FOOT EDIBLE GARDEN ON THE ROOF OF THE TORONTO RESTAURANT PARTS & LABOUR (HTTP://PARKSRECROOF.BLOGSPOT.COM), AND SHE RECENTLY PRESENTED "CONCRETE BLOOM BURSTS," A TEMPORARY INSTALLATION, AT CANADA BLOOMS, 2012.

BRENDA WEBSTER M.ARCH, PMP, TRAINED AS AN ARCHITECT AND HAS DEVOTED HER PRACTICE TO VARIOUS SCALES OF URBAN RENEWAL PROJECTS THAT EMPHASIZE SUSTAINABILITY. BRENDA BRINGS INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE TO HER CURRENT ROLE AS MANAGER OF THE LOWER DON LANDS URBAN ESTUARY PROJECT (WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/SUSTAINABLEURBANDESIGN), HAVING PREVIOUSLY WORKED ON URBAN RENEWAL PROJECTS WITH ROGER STEPHENSON IN MANCHESTER, U.K., AND SAUERBRUCH HUTTON IN BERLIN, GERMANY. SHE CONTINUES TO FORGE A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE WORLDS OF PRACTICE AND ACADEMIA, AND HAS SAT ON ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE REVIEWS AT UNIVERSITIES SUCH AS COLUMBIA, CARLETON, LIVERPOOL, BAUHAUS, DALHOUSIE, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO. SHE IS CURRENTLY A REVIEWER FOR THE PORT LANDS STUDIO AT PENN STATE AND CONTINUES TO LECTURE, MOST RECENTLY AT THE BRACKEN LECTURE SERIES, AND THE ECOCITY WORLD SUMMIT.

Round Table

.17

14

02

Todd Smith (TS): As designers we think of mobility on a design level, but in this Round Table discussion we also want to talk about the policy level and the implementation level. Unless a good idea has the policy that backs it up and an implementation plan, it’s not going to happen. Who needs to do what, when, so that you can move from a great idea or concept for a streetscape to something that the public actually sees on the ground and that feels great to the user?

Brenda Webster (BW): The word “concept” is really critical to any discussion—you need to get everyone to believe in the concept right from the start. The sooner you get everybody in on the discussion, the better the design flows. One of the first things we did with the Lower Donlands, which I think gave us such great success at the end of 2010, was that we started with something and there was a great deal of hesitance, because people don’t want to start with the concept, they want you to come when things are all done and then they can decide whether it works or not. When you come in at the concept level you start by saying, “the first thing we are going to do is in issues of identification or a verification study.” It took us a month to agree on the wording we were going to use for the study because everybody was very nervous. We

03

ended up with “issues of identification”— in other words, “okay, we are just telling you what we think the issues are.” And we made the exact same presentation to sixteen different stakeholder groups, asking them what they think the issues are. And the beauty of it was that everybody felt they were engaged, that they belonged, that they had a say.

Trevor McIntyre (TM): For the King Street project in Kitchener, we started in much the same way as you’re describing for the Lower Donlands. We said, “okay, you want to do a Complete Streets program, you want to revitalize the downtown, you want to improve the business, make it safer, make it more accessible, and you want to spend public money fixing something so that it then sparks private business.” We brought everyone together and said, “okay, what are your issues?”

Our visioning exercise was really about creating some choices. We prioritized our choices into a series of categories. We called one “Pedestrian First,” and we said okay, “Pedestrian First” means we will not compromise the pedestrian realm, it’s number one. If we have to lose parking, we lose 04

parking, if we lose trees, we lose trees, but, pedestrians first. And then we said, let’s do a “Business First,” and “Business First” means never losing a parking space. And then we went to a “Sustainability First” principle, which meant looking at tree planters that act as bio-swales and what not, and let’s green out more things, but let’s not worry about the pedestrian realm, and let’s take away parking and add a lot more trees, and we said, this is what it would look like. In the end, they looked at them all and they said, “Well, we like this and we don’t like this.” They could pick and choose, and they came down to some common themes.

The business people would not back down on the parking, but they admitted that if money was spent on improving the streetscape to be safer and more comfortable, then it would draw people, and it would actually increase the business. We ended up with a scheme and one of the innovations in that scheme was the flexible parking, which means that the bollards can be moved. We have wide-set patios in the summertime, and in the winter we have more convenient parking. Implementing that concept was challenging, but I give a lot of credit to the civil engineers because they got on side. The success of the project in

Round Table

terms of design is really quite interesting. It’s been very well accepted and it’s won some good awards and such. But the real success is that businesses have accepted it. The businesses have seen roughly a 33 percent increase in pedestrian traffic. There are twelve new businesses that have re-invested in the area. Cory Bloom, the economic development manager for downtown Kitchener, has been collecting data on what our business results were, as a result of investing eleven million dollars.

That’s a performance-standard measure that really helps.

Christine Karcza (CK): I think it’s important that you bring in your users to test things out, to see if it really does work. Something that looks good on paper does not always work. Especially when you are talking about people who have challenges in terms of mobility or sight, or hearing. The concept of universal design is really important, but we still have a lot of educating to do around what universal design means. Basically, universal design is good for everybody. So we talk about people with disabilities who are using scooters and wheelchairs, but that’s also good for people using baby-carriages and carrying parcels. The most important thing is to test it. We tested surfaces at the Royal Ontario Museum, and we did a layout of the actual new entrance, during the planning of the new addition. I remember observing, “There isn’t enough space between the front door and the inside door for a person using a mobility aid to manoeuvre.” So they changed it. By testing it out, we made sure the concepts worked in reality, so they didn’t have to go back and fix it later.

David Sajecki (DS): I completely agree that establishing the buy-in right from the beginning is absolutely critical. Our projects are unique in that for a mobility hub, we look at the immediate station area, but then we take it out quite a bit farther to look at development potential and how that can support transit within a larger radius up to, say, 800 metres. We have authority over the lands that we own, but when you are looking at redeveloping the community, you are looking at zoning, and that’s municipal responsibility. So without establishing a vision right from the beginning that we can all agree on, then we wouldn’t be able to

15

.17

accomplish any of the goals we are setting forth. So we set out a technical working group that’s comprised of the local transit authorities, community planning, transportation planning, transportation services, and we bring them in. Plus, we do a lot of consulting with different community groups.

Yvonne Bambrick (YB): When you’re working with public money and figuring out what you can do, I think it’s crucial to have a commitment to all the users and not let anyone fall off the table at any point. Pedestrians and those moving about on their own with the assistance of devices, those are the people that public spaces must serve first, I think. And they are often the ones, traditionally, who are left out. One of the examples that drives me nuts is the Bloor Street re-design. For the most part, they did a nice job; it’s a nice pedestrian realm but there are two things that I think left a user group out. One of these are the planters and the space that is lost between the outer edge of the planter and the edge of the sidewalk. Had they redesigned it slightly to reduce this space and in turn broadened the roadway, they could have incorporated a bike lane. But there was no will locally to do that, obviously. But then, subsequent to that, this stretch had no bike parking for quite a while. When they did finally put in bike parking it clearly hadn’t been tested.

They’re just these very narrow… sort of pillars that actually, I think, when there’s no bike attached to them, are probably almost invisible. They’re quite small and hard to see at night, though I think the lighting has been improved. But in addition to that, the bikes that are parked to them have often fallen over due to the design, and so I think they did everybody a disservice, pedestrians and cyclists, by not thinking more broadly about how the design would work in-situ.

Proof and Consequences BW: One of the biggest issues we came across in the Lower Donlands when we were bringing everything through for our environmental assessment is that we had to show proof, we had to show numbers, we had to show what the money would get you. There is such great software to measure cars, and it spits out these numbers about how fast the car can get through, how many people you’re moving.

You’re not moving people, you are moving these gigantic cars with a person in them. If the software gets more fully developed for cycling and for pedestrians, then we have an apples to apples comparison.

Gil Penalosa (GP): But I don’t think that landscape architects should get into the trap of software to measure pedestrians. I don’t think this is an issue of mathematics. People say, always, “how wide should the sidewalks be?” That’s not an issue for an engineer. Of course, maybe you have a twometre-wide sidewalk on Bloor, and people can fit. But maybe you have a four-metrewide sidewalk, and then people make friends, have fun. Or an eight-metre sidewalk, and people have a party. This is not a technical issue. It’s a political issue. If you provide more space for cars, you’re going to have more cars; if you take away space from cars, you’re going to have fewer cars.

So, it’s not a technical issue in that sense.

One of the things we have to realize is that when we look at any city, the biggest public spaces are the streets, and by public space, I mean the space that belongs to everybody, young and old, rich and poor, men and women, everybody. So the issue is, how are we going to use that public space?

That is the key issue; it’s not only about mobility, it’s about how we want to live. And how are we going to use that public space that belongs to all of us? I find that a lot of architects and planners give in too easily.

When I talk to students at university, I say, “I hope you have a little activist in your heart.”

You might take everybody into consideration, but change is not unanimous. Times Square in New York did not become a pedestrian zone by consensus.

BW: When we speak to politicians, they say, well, we’d love to be able to accommodate a lot of your ideas, but our city is going to double in size so we have to double the road width and we need to bring the cars through and we need to get people to their jobs and we don’t want to stop the trucks from delivering the goods because people

02-03/

One of the innovations in the “complete streets” design of King Street in Kitchener is the use of moveable bollards.

IMAGES/

IBI Group

04/

For the Lower Donlands project, Waterfront Toronto conducted extensive community consultation.

IMAGE/

Waterfront Toronto

Round Table

need to eat. So you really need to be able to balance that by saying, actually a person doesn’t take that much room, a car takes a lot of room, and a person doesn’t take that much room. On the lower Donlands, we were able to argue that by increasing the density in our downtown, we are saving the cost of those highways and the cost of those subdivisions and the cost of that infrastructure.

GP: We have to measure different things.

There is no city in the world the size of Toronto that has solved the issue of mobility through the private car, not one. So we need to go for transit…

DS: One of the tools that we are using on Eglinton—and we are working closely with the TTC on this—is the modeling of how people are getting to the TTC. How many people are coming by bus? How many people are coming by subway, how many people are coming by other forms of rapid transit? How many people are walking, how many people are driving? This is not an exact science. If you change the built form, if you change the way people get around by making it easier to walk, then all of a sudden those numbers are going to change.

But how do you change the opinion of the engineers who are actually building this?

BW: I’ve lived in London and Berlin and many other cities, and Toronto is so easy to move around in compared to most cities, and yet it suffers from that on many levels.

There isn’t that joy of being slowed down, of being integrated and becoming part of the “soup of the city.” It is a critical point for Toronto right now. We are either going to just keep going down the road we’re on, and I have no idea where that’s going to lead, or we are going to stop and think.

CK: Except there has to be special considerations for the population that cannot easily find its way. And that’s what we can’t forget.

BW: All pedestrians can’t find their way at the moment. Accessibility is ultimately the most important consideration, and then I would go down from there.

CK: Seventy percent of disabilities are hidden. Most people don’t know that. And so, when we think of access, or when we think

.17

of movement, we often only think of people who use wheelchairs, and then we stop.

People with disabilities spend $25 billion dollars a year, according to figures from the Royal Bank. You put that in front of a business person; that’s the argument for making places accessible.

BW: I heard a German statistic: for every dollar they spend on active transportation, whether it’s widening the sidewalk or extending the train line, etc., they get three dollars back from healthcare. The problem is that there are silos, so health is over here and transportation is over there.

Maybe these people in health can help us in transportation!

YB: What it often enough comes down to, though, is that people in this silo say, why should my budget go towards that? If I invest over here, and you are getting the benefit over there, well…

GP: We need the mayors of cities to take some kind of leadership. In Toronto, every three and a half hours, a pedestrian gets hit by a car. Every seven hours and ten minutes, a cyclist gets hit by a car—and these are just incidents reported to the police; there are many, many more not reported.

These numbers should be an obsession for everybody—how to make it safe for pedestrians and cyclists when it clearly is not.

Access for All YB: I want to go back to the point about the private automobile not being found as a mobility solution in any major city. The efficiency of movement that the bicycle allows is something that we can’t diminish, as we look at our population increase and the limited space we have. You’re adding capacity to the roadways by adding bike infrastructure. So if we’re looking at population increase and the negative financial impact of people being stuck in traffic and not getting to work on time, and the productive hours lost, and all of those things that the Toronto Board of Trade in particular has reported on recently, bicycle infrastructure has got to be one of our priorities moving forward.

TM: All the population increases are in urban environments. Everyone’s moving into

16

the city, and it’s changing… The interesting thing is that the Baby Boomer generation is refusing to accept the fact that they are getting older. We have to think about what’s going to happen when this cycle catches up, because the numbers are going to really press decision-making.

CK: A lot of cities have got committees that have been looking at developing agefriendly communities, which is the same as accessible communities. There is some sensitivity against being labeled as “disabled” by the older population. From my perspective, it doesn’t matter what it is called, as long as we can move towards increased access for all people, because access challenges are going to be a major issue for many of our aging population.

Examples on the Ground GP: To have a bicycle-friendly community I think there are some must-haves, some nice-to-haves, and some things that won’t fly. The must-haves are only two things.

One, we need to lower the speed limit to below thirty kilometres per hour (kph) in all neighbourhoods. And on the arterials, those with speed above forty kph or more than 5,000 cars per day, we should have bikeways that are physically separated from the pedestrians and from the cars. There is no other way. Take Seville, Spain, as an example. Four years ago, no one biked in Seville, no one! People said it’s too hot in the summer, who’s going to bike at forty degrees or whatever? About 0.2 percent biked; that’s nothing! All of a sudden they built a network of 150 kilometres of physically separated bikeways, and it went from 0.2 to more than 7 percent! That’s more than any city in North America, and their goal is to go to 15 percent by 2015.

To lower the speed to below 30 kph should be a priority. It’s good for people with physical or mental issues, it’s good for children, it’s good for the hundred-year-olds, it’s good for everybody. It’s not about zones.

It’s not about just lowering the speed limit in front of schools, where accidents happen.

Do we want our children to be safe for two or three blocks in front of the school or do we want our children to be safe everywhere? So it’s not about creating agefriendly communities, but no, the whole city! This fifty percent growth that we are

Round Table

17

.17

05

06

going to have in the next twenty years, all of the fifty percent should be age-friendly communities, everywhere we live should be age-friendly communities.

of our questions: how do we educate and nurture real leadership at the municipal decision-making level when it comes to our city?

they find they are zooming past traffic, so the next time, instead of sitting in their car they say oh, we should try that. The project took off.

We need to educate the community and the councillors. We know that if a car hits you at 30 kph, there’s only a 5 percent probability that it will kill you. If it is going 50 kph, it’s 85 percent probability. There are hundreds of reasons why we need to have neighbourhoods with speed limits below 30 kph. In some places in Europe where they are already making whole cities and towns 30 kph, almost 70 percent of the car drivers agree, because at some point they are also pedestrians. When we talk about pedestrians, everybody is a pedestrian.

You walk to your car, you walk to your bike, you walk to transit, you walk to work.

We are investing billions in transit all over Canada but eventually transit will never work to its optimum if the cities are not walkable and bikable. How are people going to get to transit? This has to be totally in sync.

DS: I’ve been traveling in China for the past fifteen years or so, and my first couple of times there, I was just amazed by the number of bikes. But in the last few years I’ve seen a dramatic change in the number of people driving, and the congestion…

QuickStart was a test. It was an attempt to create a change in mindset—to get people out of the car and into a bus.

YB: Yet in Toronto, we have three more years with a mayor who believes that the last seven years of on-the-ground adaptations have been a “war on the car.” That’s the reality in the city of Toronto that is growing in population by leaps and bounds every year. So this has to be one

TM: One example that is a little closer to home is the VIVA example. VIVA is a bus rapid transit route that goes across the entire east-west at the north end of the GTA, in Vaughan, Markham, and Richmond Hill.

When we started VIVA, it just seemed like a huge uphill battle, and there was tremendous resistance because transit was taking away the middle couple of lanes and replacing them with a dedicated bus quarter, which was affecting turn lanes.

People had an issue with that. And so we started a program called QuickStart. We showed people how they could actually start using the buses and have good quality transit shelters that are warm. We told people when the bus is coming, and you could buy your card right there, you could see your route and it’s all very friendly and comfortable. People then started getting on the transit, and it’s a quiet bus and it’s very comfortable and it is no different than being in a streetcar or subway, and they sit there and

BW: There are so many examples in America, good examples of shelters that actually contain people, have warmth, have information. You go there, and you feel a certain level of comfort. That does not exist in Canada. To me, that seems like a huge game changer because you are putting your money into the shelter, so you don’t have to put your money into expensive subways, and you’re getting the same result.

You’re getting people switching because they are warm and comfortable; that’s what it’s all about.

Design and Politics Victoria Taylor (VT): What is the designer’s role in terms of the political agenda? Instead of just waiting for the RFPs to come and responding to them, what can we, as designers, do?

05-06/

Accommodating dedicated bus lanes in the VIVA project involved extensive redesign of the streetscape.

IMAGES/

IBI Group and VIVA

Round Table

.17

who doesn’t care about transportation but who cares about public health, so we talk about public health, and say “Oh, by the way, mobility is a means not an end, the end is public health.” Another councillor cares about the environment… So we need to have five, six different cards in our pocket. You can have different arguments for different people.

BW: Designers have an incredible talent to describe what is being discussed visually and to actually draw what the ideas mean in terms of what a city would look like. It’s not strictly design; it’s information imaging.

I think designers have a huge ability to communicate and change the world— making the case by showing what the future holds as a result of financial and political decisions being made today.

DS: I think for landscape architects, too, what would be really valuable is to show folks how you can make the trip more enjoyable, both aesthetically and physically.

I’ve talked with people about why they drive.

My uncle says he drives because it is much more comfortable than taking public transit, than walking. I think there is a huge opportunity for landscape architects to make the journey much more pleasant.

GP: We’ve got to be bold; we’ve got to be ambitious. I’m thinking of something that happened in South Korea. They built a highway right in the middle of the city and it got full. When it got full, they built a second floor.

It got full, and they considered taking it up to a third floor. The mayor said, “you know instead of building another floor, I’m going to tear down all of it.” And he tore down thirteen kilometres of elevated highway.

Of course, many people were against it, especially the businesses. But now, people are so happy that the mayor was elected president of South Korea.

YB: And the more pleasant it is, the more people we have on the street, and the more people we have on the street, the safer the communities we create become.

In Paris, they recently started Auto-Lib [an auto-share program similar to the bicyclesharing program in Paris called Velib]. To set up the stations, they had to eliminate five thousand car parking spots. There are many people who are not okay with this, but at some point you have to have the leadership to say, “look, this is in the general interest and it must prevail over the private one.”

TM: I was at a design charrette a couple of months ago with the Landscape Architecture Foundation and they’ve just launched a new website that is about exchanging information on performance standards and collecting success stories. I think it’s probably a good idea to make sure that we, the CSLA and OALA, are actually piggy-backing on that.

CK: In terms of doing the educating, could we take it to another level and say, what happened to those thousands of cars?

People need to know what the advantages are of the different options. Because if you tell me that 7,000 cars are eliminated and the way I get around is by driving, I say, “What happens to me? I’ve totally shut down, I’m not even going to listen to you.”

If you say the 7,000 cars are gone, here’s what happened to them and here’s the new city and this is why it’s better, then I might listen to you and say, “I’m going to start thinking about that.”

Rethinking Priorities TS: What are the implications, for land use, that arise from thinking about transit and transportation as the armature and not a highway?

BW: There’s a really interesting study called “The Value of Open Space” that was done

GP: I think that landscape architects have to realize that mobility is not just about taking someone from A to B; it has to be a lot more. We have to realize that for city councillors, mobility is not the number one priority. So maybe we talk to a councillor 07

18

roughly five years ago. It’s got a balance sheet in it that shows that leaving 20 percent of a development for parks and open space makes the land more valuable. We all know how valuable property is next to a ravine, but we can hook that in to the mobility question by saying, okay, we are going to widen this and give it to the pedestrians; but it’s not about giving it to the pedestrians, it’s about making your land more valuable.

YB: I think we have to reconsider the valuable property along transportation routes that has been given over to parking. If you talk to merchants, many still think, “my customers have to have parking right at the front of my shop.” But thankfully, there’s been some localized research done by the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation that looks at how customers are arriving in street-level shopping districts. Their research indicates that the majority of these people are coming on foot or by bike. So if we look at improving on-street walking and cycling conditions, we now have local research that shows customers will spend their time and money in these pedestrian- and bikefriendly shopping districts. Take, for example, the model of Pedestrian Sundays in Kensington Market, when it’s closed to cars once a month from spring to fall. The area attracts thousands of visitors, and although some merchants do better than others on those days, most folks realize that these temporary pedestrian zones have been good for the neighbourhood and helped in its recent revitalization.

TM: You need to have a hierarchy. There’s nothing wrong with having some convenient parking for people with mobility issues close to the door, for electric car charging, and for Smart Car or Auto-Share. But you cannot

Round Table

19

.17

have private individual parking close to the door; it has to be farther away. We should actually start to prioritize, so that parking isn’t just parking that anybody can use.

BW: There is a town in Germany where they have no cars.

CK: So if there are no cars, no transportation, how do I get there as a person with a disability? We need to be creative about inclusivity for everyone.

GP: One of the things they are doing in some small cities in Holland is that you can get anywhere by car, but not directly. You park at the back of the building, but not directly. The shortest distance is for the pedestrians and for the cyclists, you can also go by car but it’s not direct.

Connectivity DS: We need to talk about regional connectivity, too. People are living in one city and commuting to another city. How do you serve these employment centres by transit? You cannot do that without having regional connectivity along those transit lines, whether it is universal fare access or a regional carrier. Where do you put those employment centres, protecting for future transit quarters? Where do you create your mixed-use?

GP: The reality is that people are not going to use transit, walk or cycle unless there’s a good option. So, it cannot be just because we bought big buses, etc. No. If the bus stop is not better, if the crossroads are not safe, if we don’t plough the sidewalks, people are not going to use transit. People are not going to get out of their cars. It has to be either faster or cheaper or convenient or all of the above. Every two years, they do a huge survey in Copenhagen about why people bike, and 1 percent of people bike for environmental reasons; 6 percent bike for financial reasons; 19 percent for health; but the rest bike because it is easy, fast, and convenient. Let me give you a local example in Oakville, at one school, Abbey Park. The number one reason why they don’t bike is because of vandalism. We’ve done a lot of research in schools all over Ontario, and when you go to those schools they have very few bicycle racks. At Abbey Park, they

08

built the bicycle racks in front of the school, in front of the principal’s office. Fantastic.

Location is critical. This school has 20 percent of the kids going to school by bike.

The other high schools in Oakville have less than 3 percent of the kids cycling to school. You need bike parking to be very visible, in front of windows, not on the sidewalks. Sidewalks are for pedestrians.

Those are the kinds of simple things that landscape architects should be thinking about: “how are we going to design this parking lot so that it is not only nice to look at but that it is useful?”

CK: How do we convince landscape architects that they should be doing some of the education, that they should be out there advocating when it is a political issue? It’s everybody’s responsibility. The message has to be really clear that everybody is responsible for making it a better city, a better province, wherever we are.

YB: We’re all citizens first and foremost.

TM: Landscape architects are actually the only profession that understands enough about built form, enough about architecture, enough about civil engineering, about drainage, about people movement, about planning issues, that they can actually put everything together. They are not the only ones, but they are trained to do it.

And it’s not saying they can solve all the problems but usually they can come up with a good approach that then with other specialists coming in and helping solve those specific problems, you can come up with good solutions.

BW: The thing about landscape architecture (even as an architect, I am willing to say this) is that landscape architects are dealing with weather more than any other profession and we are in a time now where we have the age of cities and climate change coming together and it’s a dynamic environment and landscape architects are trained to deal with dynamic rather than static environments.

There’s an incredible map that came out, it was a map of the city of Toronto, and it was called “Mapping diabetes.” In downtown Toronto (in other words the closer you lived to the subway), the less cases there were of diabetes. And this is the direct relationship between mobility and health.

GP: They just finished a study in Victoria State in Australia. In Victoria, people who use public transit, on average, they do fortyone minutes of physical activity per day.

The people who use cars, eight minutes per day. And the World Health Organization says that you should do thirty minutes a day.

So people who take public transit, they not only do thirty, they do eleven minutes more.

It’s not only about mobility, it’s about public health.

WITH THANKS TO DALIA TODARY-MICHAEL, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL INTERN, FOR TRANSCRIBING THIS ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION.

07/

The streets of Kensington Market are closed to cars once a month for Pedestrian Sundays.

IMAGE/

Yvonne Bambrick

08/

Placing bike racks in a visible location at Abbey Park school in Oakville reduces bike theft and encourages cycling.

IMAGE/

Gil Penalosa

Parkway in a Prairie

20

.17

Re-imagining an Ontario highway as a ribbon of green

TEXT BY LESLIE MORTON AND NETAMI STUART, OALA

In almost every way, the Windsor-Essex Parkway (WEP)—an 11-kilometre extension of highway 401 from its current western terminus at the edge of Windsor, Ontario, through the middle of the city, leading to a new Canada Customs plaza and a new bridge to the United States—is an exception to the usual ways of designing, funding, and constructing highways in Ontario. Largely as a result of the meaningful involvement of landscape architects from the earliest stages of its planning, the highway will include 20 kilometres of multi-use trails, 11 green roofs over the parkway, and 300 acres of ecologically restored open space. It is an example of collaboration between landscape architects and ecologists, engineers, and planners to build the largest highway project Ontario has ever undertaken.

With a goal of accommodating the 40,000 to 60,000 vehicle trips that are currently made along the route, the project began with a complex environmental assessment to establish the preferred route for the parkway and to define the impact of the parkway and how that impact could be mitigated. The WEP is unique in Ontario because, following the environmental assessment, Infrastructure Ontario decided to complete the project using an alternative financing and procurement (AFP) model—a public-private partnership delivery method. This means that the entity responsible for the design will also be constructing and maintaining the WEP for the next thirty years.

The role of landscape architects in this project is very different from the normal role they play in Ontario highway projects. For the WEP project, landscape architects have had important roles in the environmental assessment process; in the selection of a design-buildoperator; in landscape, urban, and ecological restoration design; and in monitoring compliance to the province’s requirements. The landscape architectural consultant during the environmental assessment phase of the project—PMA Landscape Architects— studied and provided input into the aesthetic impact of constructing highway 401 through Windsor. The scale and significance of the project and its location in a highly populated area meant that

Parkway in a Prairie

21

.17

01

The role of landscape architects in this project is very different from the normal role they play in Ontario highway projects.

01-02/

Landscape architects were involved in the planning of the Windsor-Essex Parkway right from its earliest stages.

IMAGES/

Trumble Studios, courtesy of Windsor-Essex Mobility Group

02

Parkway in a Prairie

22

.17

PMA assisted in developing the vision, design principles, and ecological restoration approach in a series of conceptual plans and landscape types that helped project team members and the public understand the vast scale of the landscape work to be done.

04

03

Parkway in a Prairie

03-04/

The highway design includes 300 acres of ecologically restored open space.

IMAGES/

Trumble Studios, courtesy of Windsor-Essex Mobility Group

23

.17

public consultation and input was very important to the success of the project. Much of PMA’s work consisted of interpreting the visual and ecological impact of the highway for community members by creating renderings of the highway landscape. PMA assisted in developing the vision, design principles, and ecological restoration approach in a series of conceptual plans and landscape types that helped project team members and the public understand the vast scale of the landscape work to be done. PMA continued as consultants on the technical advisory team, developing the performance standards and output specifications (PSOS) documents.

As well, PMA participated as members of the evaluation consultant team in the review of the bidder presentations and submissions during the procurement stage.

The huge scale of the WEP has required an exceptionally skilled (and exceptionally large) team of landscape architects. Eha Naylor, OALA, is leading the landscape and urban design team of the WindsorEssex Mobility Group, the successful proponent and international consortium. Naylor’s team includes twelve landscape architects from Dillon Consulting Ltd. Their 60-percent design drawing set included more than 150 pages, and required working in an advanced CAD

Parkway in a Prairie

24

.17

05

software called InRoads that allows multiple offices to work on the same file remotely, with the software recognizing the changes.

“It shows the level of sophistication that you need to have in order to participate in this project,” Naylor explains.

The Windsor-Essex Parkway design includes a number of unique landscape design elements for roadways in Ontario. The palette and themes are drawn from the local context and environment; the design of the noise barriers, retaining walls, tunnel portals, gateways, site furnishings, and lighting standards will be selected and designed to reflect the natural heritage theme of grassland and oak savannah—rare ecosystems, remnants of which are found in the surrounding landscape. Naylor’s approach to the aesthetic design principles is simple and elegant, considering the experience of the drivers, the pedestrians using the open spaces, and the adjacent residents.

According to Naylor, one of the most exciting landscape features are the green roofs that will be planted on top of the tunnels.

“They are 11 very complex rooftop gardens that have to do a lot of things. They’ve got to support municipal roads, we’ve got to get utilities across them, and they are public greenspaces. The scale of them is unbelievable. You are standing on top of a big highway, and yet I don’t think you’ll get the sense of being above a highway.”

The landscape architecture team is also charged with the urban design of the various municipal roads that intersect and interact with the WEP. This includes designing the cross-sections and choosing the furniture and lighting of many of Windsor’s streets as they cross the new highway. The WEP also includes a system of more than 20 kilometres of multi-use trails that can carry cyclists

06

05/

The rooftop gardens over the highway serve many functions, particularly as community greenspace.

IMAGE/

Trumble Studios, courtesy of Windsor-Essex Mobility Group

06/

Elevation and section plans of the highway noise barriers.

IMAGE/

Trumble Studios, courtesy of Windsor-Essex Mobility Group

07/

The 20 kilometres of multi-use trails are expected to be a major resource for Windsor.

IMAGE/

Trumble Studios, courtesy of Windsor-Essex Mobility Group

Parkway in a Prairie

25

.17

“They are 11 very complex rooftop gardens that have to do a lot of things. They’ve got to support municipal roads, we’ve got to get utilities accross them, and they are public greenspaces...”

and pedestrians from one end of the facility to the other without ever crossing a street or highway at grade. As Naylor notes, “these trails will become a major resource for Windsor.”

Due to the scale and significance of the WEP, ecological restoration of hundreds of acres of land was mandated to mitigate the impact on the flora, fauna, and ecological systems of Windsor. The mitigation requirements were developed by natural heritage biologists during the environmental assessment stage of the project; however, landscape architects have designed the form they will take, their methods of installation, and the design for repeating structural elements such as abutments and noise barriers.

Construction for WEP began in August 2011 and continues to develop on an aggressive schedule. North Talbot Road Bridge construction is underway, with other tunnels and bridges to follow shortly.

Prescribed burns as part of the prairie habitat restoration and environmental management strategy for tallgrass prairie areas are slated to take place between March and April 2012 over two days.

07

For Naylor, the sheer size and range of engineering and logistical complexities presents both a challenge and an opportunity: “As landscape architects, you have a responsibility when you have such a large infrastructure project to ensure that the project not only provides the utility it needs to provide, but that it’s also a community-building project. I think what landscape architects do well is that we can see the potential of how these large infrastructure projects can be community-building projects.”

BIOS/ LESLIE MORTON WORKS AT PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS. FOR THE WEP PROJECT, SHE REPRESENTED PMA AS THE LANDSCAPE AND URBAN DESIGN CONSULTANT ON THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY TEAM AND PARTICIPATED IN THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OPEN HOUSES. NETAMI STUART, OALA, CURRENTLY WORKS FOR THE CITY OF TORONTO. PREVIOUSLY SHE WORKED FOR PMA, WHERE SHE WAS INVOLVED WITH THE WEP PROJECT.

Letter From…

Paris

26

.17

Exploring an industrial gem in the City of Lights

TEXT BY LORRAINE JOHNSON

01/

Some sections of the disused rail line are being used for food gardens.

IMAGE/

Lorraine Johnson

02/

In one section where the rail line has been removed, a nature trail is open as a public amenity.

IMAGE/

Lorraine Johnson

03/

For much of its 32-km length, the Petite Ceinture exists as a somewhat hidden feature of the city’s industrial past.

IMAGE/

Lorraine Johnson

Paris, France, is known for many things—the beauty of its architecture, the ubiquity of its cafes, the allure of its gastronomy— but rarely is its industrial heritage touted as a particular pleasure of the place. Yet for Toronto-based academic Jenny Foster, RPP, an Associate Professor and coordinator of the Urban Ecologies certificate in York University’s Faculty of Environmental Studies, industry is what brought her to the City of Lights as part of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded “Rubble to Refuge” project. During a recent trip to Paris, I had the good fortune to accompany Foster on an exploratory walk through one particularly intriguing and contested industrial site.

Foster is researching the Petite Ceinture—a 32-kilometre-long disused railway line that encircles Paris. Built between 1841 and 1845, the Petite Ceinture served as an industrial transportation corridor, linking the radial rail lines that run into and out of Paris, dispersing goods—everything from livestock to car parts to wine—throughout the city. The last time a train chugged along the route was in the 1990s and since then, apart from a small section where the track has been removed and a nature trail constructed, the Petite Ceinture remains as an intact, though crumbling, ring of industrial infrastructure circling the city. “The fact that there is a long, circular, virtually unmanaged corridor in the cultural capital of the world, and the fact that it’s pretty much invisible in most people’s conception of Paris, is fascinating,” says Foster. “In many ways, the Petite Ceinture is a hidden monument to Paris’ industrial heritage.”

Foster is careful not to use the term “abandoned” to describe the rail line. Though it is disused in terms of its original function, it is in fact used for many purposes. People have built shelters in the old tunnels, stations, garages, and tool depots; artists have created pieces and animated spaces with imaginative works; social service agencies work with marginalized groups to help people acquire gardening diplomas and complete paid internships on the tracks; neighbourhood groups have spearheaded naturalization projects along a few sections of the corridor; and community gardeners have cultivated highly productive food gardens along parts of the line’s impossibly steep embankments. (During a visit to Paris a few summers ago, I encountered a group of gardeners having a dinner party along the tracks, their elegantly set table arrayed with a local harvest of food.)

01

Letter From…

Paris

27

.17

02

“What I find interesting about the Petite Ceinture,” says Foster, “is that it exists between legitimate, or legitimized, uses. Its ‘inbetween status’ makes it invisible and allows other things to happen.” That openness, explains Foster, means that “it doesn’t fit into the dominant logic of urban development. A lot of the uses are clandestine uses, and many of these are highly innovative.”

The unplanned nature of the site’s cultural and social uses is mirrored in the flourishing of its—literally—unplanned nature.

Interesting species associations have developed, with seeds no doubt brought in through rail transport; unique ecologies have thrived. Bat colonies, foxes, hedgehogs, and lizards are just some of the animals that make adventitious use of the habitat.

As an urban ecology specialist, Foster is deeply engaged in the philosophical debates that attach to issues such as attracting animal species to brownfield sites. She explains that one of the most interesting things about the Petite Ceinture as a research project is, indeed, the way that it “forces us to confront how we define sustainability.” For example, would a sustainable future for the site be 03

Letter From…

Paris

04/

Signs of inhabitation can be found throughout the Petite Ceinture.

IMAGE/

Lorraine Johnson

05-06/

A productive community garden flourishes on a steep embankment.

IMAGES/

Lorraine Johnson

28

.17

04

07

08

to return it to transportation uses? Or a new kind of urban park? Or public housing and community centres? Or should it be left as is, as a thriving ecological corridor with limited human access? As Foster notes, “talking about the future of the Petite Ceinture leads to some prickly questions about what we mean by urban sustainability.”

05

07/

Social service agencies work with marginalized groups to help people acquire gardening diplomas and complete paid internships on the tracks.

IMAGE/

Lorraine Johnson

08/

Experiments using various restoration techniques are conducted in Le Sentier Nature, a section of the Petite Ceinture that has been converted to a trail.

IMAGE/

Lorraine Johnson

Appropriately enough for a city like Paris, what lurks in the background of unresolved prickly questions is the notion of pleasure— the unmistakable pleasure of finding a treasure like the Petite Ceinture in the middle of a city so densely packed and layered. As an academic who is exploring the complicated nature of these layers, Foster is perhaps more uniquely qualified than most—she lived in Paris though her teens and spent long hours on the tracks with friends. “We went there looking for refuge, a place to be private. Some streets were ‘no go’ zones, but nobody bothered us.”

As an adult, returning to the Petite Ceinture to do research, it’s still 06

Letter From…

Paris

29

.17

12

11

possible to hear a teenager’s sense of open possibility in Foster’s description: “As an unregulated space, it permits so much that would otherwise not be possible in the city.”

09

As for its future, Foster notes that there are lots of competing demands for the space: “But as it stands now, it’s a totally selfsustaining place, and what crops up are really creative and spontaneous forms of inhabitation, with high levels of ecological and cultural adaptations. It doesn’t need one particular future, and that’s what makes it a fascinating case study.”

BIO/ LORRAINE JOHNSON IS THE EDITOR OF GROUND.

09/

Le Sentier Nature trail in the Petite Ceinture.

IMAGE/

Lorraine Johnson

10/

Much of the infrastructure has been left as is.

IMAGE/

Lorraine Johnson

11/

Signage for the nature trail.

IMAGE/

Lorraine Johnson

12/

The tunnels are home to many people.

IMAGE/

Lorraine Johnson

10

Plant Corner

.17

30

Alternatives to conventional lawn grasses

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY TODD SMITH

The carpet of lawn in the cultivated landscape certainly has value—everything from providing tiny tots with a soft surface to play on; a mid-summer picnic place in a favourite park; the public entrance to commercial and institutional buildings; the default cover for industrial developments; and erosion control for constructed highway slopes.

As a landscape architect, your choices in specifying lawn species go beyond Kentucky bluegrass. Not only are the following alternatives for the Great Lakes- St. Lawrence ecozone becoming more available commercially, many are also a part of the ecosystem in which they grow and they add biodiversity, habitat, carbon sequestration, and stormwater-management value to the landscape.

CAREX PENSYLVANICA COMMON NAME: Pennsylvania sedge HEIGHT: 10-15 cm PLANTING: Seed or plug SUN EXPOSURE: Moderate shade to full sun SOIL: Dry soils, especially oak woods HARDINESS: Zone 4-8 BLOOM TIME: Early spring BLOOM COLOUR: Brown to reddish purple DESCRIPTION: Perennial with tufting habit, spreads by stolons; will form a soft, low turf in full sun on dry soil; dark green grass-like leaves; appropriate for residential, commercial, and recreational applications

FESTUCA RUBRA SUBSP. COMMUTATA COMMON NAME: Chewings fescue HEIGHT: 2-20 cm (can be mown to 10 cm) PLANTING: Seed or sod SUN EXPOSURE: Full sun to full shade SOIL: Well-drained soils HARDINESS: Zone 3-10 BLOOM TIME: Summer BLOOM COLOUR: Green flowers on spikelets DESCRIPTION: Red fescue is the most common cool-season turf used in dry, shady, and drought conditions; often found in combination with perennial ryegrass and bentgrass in turf mixes; unmowed, takes on meadow appearance; performs well in low-nutrient soils; appropriate for residential, commercial, recreational, and industrial applications

Plant Corner

31

.17

WALDSTEINIA TERNATA COMMON NAME: Barren strawberry HEIGHT: 15 cm PLANTING: Seed or plug SUN EXPOSURE: Full sun to part shade SOIL: Well-drained soils, slightly acidic HARDINESS: Zone 4-8 BLOOM TIME: Late spring BLOOM COLOUR: Bright yellow DESCRIPTION: Perennial with glossy green leaves; spreads by rhizomes to form a thick carpet; appropriate for residential, commercial, and recreational applications

LOLIUM PERENNE COMMON NAME: Perennial ryegrass HEIGHT: 10-90 cm (can be mown to 10 cm) PLANTING: Seed or sod SUN EXPOSURE: Full sun to full shade SOIL: Well-drained soils HARDINESS: Zone 3-10 BLOOM TIME: Summer DESCRIPTION: Ryegrass is an important pasture and forage plant as well as a common turf species; one study justified its use in municipal overseeding budgets as part of an Integrated Pest Management program (Elford, 2006); appropriate for residential, commercial, recreational, and industrial applications

THYMUS SERPYLLUM Creeping thyme HEIGHT: 10 cm PLANTING: Seed or plug SUN EXPOSURE: Full sun SOIL: Well-drained soils, tolerates dry conditions once established HARDINESS: Zone 4-8 BLOOM TIME: Summer BLOOM COLOUR: Pinkish-purple DESCRIPTION: Creeping perennial herb with tiny medium-green foliage; forms a walkable mat; appropriate for residential, commercial, recreational, and industrial applications COMMON NAME:

SEDUM TERNATUM COMMON NAME: Woodland stonecrop HEIGHT: 15 cm PLANTING: Seed or plug SUN EXPOSURE: Full sun to part shade SOIL: Well-drained moist to dry, loamy soils HARDINESS: Zone 4-9 BLOOM TIME: Early summer BLOOM COLOUR: White DESCRIPTION: The most widespread native Sedum species in Ontario; useful for dry and rocky areas and adapts well to medium-scale garden use; appropriate for residential, commercial, recreational, and industrial applications

Plant Corner

ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM COMMON NAME: Common yarrow HEIGHT: 15-50 cm (can be mown to 15cm) PLANTING: Seed or plug SUN EXPOSURE: Full sun SOIL: Well-drained, tolerates poor or dry soils HARDINESS: Zone 4-9 BLOOM TIME: Summer BLOOM COLOUR: White DESCRIPTION: Perennial herb with aromatic grey-green foliage; spreads quickly; tolerates foot traffic and mowing; appropriate for residential, commercial, recreational, and industrial applications

.17

ASCLEPIAS VERTICILLATA COMMON NAME: Whorled milkweed HEIGHT: 15-50 cm PLANTING: Seed or plug SUN EXPOSURE: Full sun SOIL: Well-drained soils; can tolerate some periodic wetness HARDINESS: Zone 3-9 BLOOM TIME: Mid-summer BLOOM COLOUR: Creamy white DESCRIPTION: Native to prairies, meadows, open woods, and roadsides of Ontario; can be used instead of the invasive nonnative crown vetch along highways for erosion control; appropriate for residential, commercial, recreational, and industrial applications

32

ANTHEMIS NOBILIS COMMON NAME: Chamomile HEIGHT: 15-40 cm PLANTING: Seed or plug SUN EXPOSURE: Full sun SOIL: Well-drained soils; can take sandy and gravelly conditions HARDINESS: Zone 6-8 BLOOM TIME: Summer BLOOM COLOUR: Yellow, with white rays DESCRIPTION: Perennial herb that, if sheared regularly, will form spreading, tight clumps; feathery, green, fragrant foliage; appropriate for residential, commercial, recreational, and industrial applications

Plant Corner

33

.17

GALIUM ODORATUM COMMON NAME: Sweet woodruff HEIGHT: 10-25 cm PLANTING: Seed or mat SUN EXPOSURE: Full to part shade SOIL: Well-drained soils HARDINESS: Zone 4-7 BLOOM TIME: Summer BLOOM COLOUR: White DESCRIPTION: Great alternative to turf under trees and shrubs and in shady parklands; spreads by stolons; tolerates foot traffic and recreational use; appropriate for residential and recreational applications

TRIFOLIUM REPENS COMMON NAME: White clover HEIGHT: 5-20 cm PLANTING: Seed SUN EXPOSURE: Full sun to part shade SOIL: Prefers clay-based, moderately drained soils; will tolerate sandy soils HARDINESS: Zone 3-9 BLOOM TIME: Summer BLOOM COLOUR: White DESCRIPTION: White clover grows naturalized amongst turfgrass and is a good broadleaf addition to seed mixes; can be invasive in small areas; nitrogen fixing ability makes for a good cover crop in open areas; useful for over-seeding; appropriate for residential, commercial, recreational, and industrial applications

SPOROBOLUS HETEROLEPSIS COMMON NAME: Prairie dropseed HEIGHT: 20-80 cm PLANTING: Seed or plug SUN EXPOSURE: Full sun to part shade SOIL: Prefers clay loam soils; will tolerate dry conditions HARDINESS: Zone 2-7 BLOOM TIME: Late summer BLOOM COLOUR: Rusty-tan DESCRIPTION: This prairie grass is native to Ontario and used primarily in prairie restoration; good indicator of ecosystem strength; useful as a large-scale groundcover; appropriate for residential, commercial, recreational, and industrial applications BIO/ TODD SMITH, MLA, IS THE PRINCIPAL OF TODD SMITH DESIGN, A TORONTO-BASED COMPANY.

Notes

34

.17

Notes: A Miscellany of News and Events

new members The Ontario Association of Landscape Architects is proud to recognize and welcome the following new full members to the Association:

02

trees An interesting exhibit on the urban forest of Ottawa, Six Moments in the History of an Urban Forest, curated by Joanna Dean, recently opened at the Bytown Museum in Ottawa and runs until May 27, 2012.

conference

01

awards The Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation (LACF) recently announced the recipients of its 2012 grants in support of research, communication, and scholarship. Ground Editorial Board member Victoria Taylor, OALA, who, with colleague Katie Mathieu, created an 1,800-squarefoot organic farm on top of a Toronto restaurant, was awarded a grant to compile their experiences with the farm into an online information source. For more information on the project, see www.partsandlabour.ca/parks-and-rec.

The Toronto Centre for Active Transportation, a project of the Clean Air Partnership and the Share the Road Cycling Coalition, is holding its annual conference from April 23-25, 2012, in Toronto.

For more information, see www.tcat.ca/completestreetsforum2012.

plants Horticulturist Henry Kock, who until his untimely death in 2005 worked at the University of Guelph Arboretum, where he inspired many landscape architects and spearheaded the Elm Recovery Project, was recently memorialized in a most fitting way. A newly discovered lichen that forms elegant black tresses on the branches of old-growth trees has been named Bryoria kockiana in Henry Kock’s honour.

Yasmine Abdel-Hay * Andrea Bazler* Lorie Black* Alison Bond Tanya Brown* Simon Dold* Yun Liu* Jennifer Lockhart* Michael McCallum Jonathan Meyer Michelle Moylan Lynnette Postuma* Asterisk (*) denotes a Full Member not having custody and use of the Association Seal.

transportation Evergreen and the Institute Without Boundaries are hosting a series of five annual public expositions at the Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto. The first in the series, MOVE, which runs from May to October 2012, will explore the past, present, and future of transportation in Toronto and in cities around the world, through large-scale exhibits, multi-media and interactive technologies, and life-sized physical displays. A wide range of related programming and events will accompany the exposition. For more information, visit www.evergreen.ca.

01/

Victoria Taylor was awarded an LACF grant for her work on a rooftop organic farm.

IMAGE/

Courtesy Katie Mathieu

02/

Poster for the exhibition Six Moments in the History of an Urban Forest.

IMAGE/

Courtesy Joanna Dean

Interested in being involved with Ground: Landscape Architect Quarterly?

17

The OALA Editorial Board is looking for volunteers who can help out with various tasks, such as research, transcription, and writing. Any level of commitment is appreciated, from researching upcoming events for the Notes section to transcribing Round Table discussions...

Fun, satisfying work—and the best part, no need to attend meetings!

To get involved, please e-mail magazine@oala.ca.

Artifact

42

.17

01

A radical proposal for the Don Valley TEXT BY DENISE PINTO

When prompted by the words “Don Valley,” the average person in Toronto will think firmly and without hesitation of a highway.

Imagined during the 1950s as a scenic vehicular meander through the city’s premier river corridor, the expressway now boasts more single-occupancy vehicles than its infrastructure can stand, and planners and public servants alike are scrambling to invest in its upkeep.

A team of landscape architects, urban planners, architects, and environmental scientists have created a bold vision for reclaiming the Don River and for responding to the conflicts between the highway location and the natural systems critical to the city’s long-term vitality.

01/

At-grade integration of the Don Valley Parkway is shown here as a dedicated busway, bikeway, and linear park offering access to the river valley at regular intervals.

IMAGE/

Ruwayna Ghanem

02/

The linear park connects to strategic areas of programming; shown here is the “metro melt,” a major snow dumping ground adjacent to the river, which is transformed into a series of constructed wetlands where meltwater is attenuated and cleaned.

IMAGE/

Karen May

02

The team has reinterpreted the use of the valley as a much more robust civic amenity, configuring new corridors to move goods and people with generous swaths of programmed and preserved space interspersed to attend to the city’s burgeoning population.

Meant to stimulate discussion about a feasible, phased plan for dis-use of the highway infrastructure by vehicles, the team has repurposed the concrete decking as a linear park and public transportation corridor.

Come see this project, and many others, at the Evergreen Brick Works, in Toronto’s Don Valley, beginning July 2012.

(For more information, see NOTES, page 34.)

BIO/ DENISE PINTO, A GRADUATE OF THE MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, IS CURRENTLY A CHARRETTE FACILITATOR AT THE INSTITUTE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES AND A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL INTERN AT HOK.