GWNA, West Don Lands committees plan Cherry St. meetings

Mark your calendars for two important community meetings on the future of Cherry St.

On Feb. 1 speakers Joe Lobko and John Hillier will be having a public discussion of street design and the options for Cherry St. The meeting will be held at 70 Mill St. from 6 to 9 p.m.

On Feb. 17 a one-day planning workshop to explore and evaluate Cherry St. design options will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., location to be determined.

What is Cherry Street’s future? Do we see it as a traffic route or as a public place, the heart of the new West Don Lands community soon to develop around it? In order to accommodate all of the functions that the City would like to see, the WDL stretch of Cherry Street is proposed to be 35 metres wide – about the same width as Spadina Avenue. Is that what the community would like to see? Are there better alternatives that should be explored?

Right now, an Environmental Assessment is studying a transit route along Cherry St. from King St. to the railway embankment and, later on, into the port lands. The results of the EA will determine the ultimate design for Cherry Street. This is a critical opportunity for the community to work with the TTC, City and TWRC to develop the best plan for Cherry St.

On Feb. 1, urban designers will show us the components of streets, how different configurations enable and encourage various kinds of activity, with examples from Toronto and elsewhere. We will discuss the kinds of function and components we wish to see on Cherry St. and, if possible, formulate a few options for the design of the street to take forward to the charette on Feb. 17. There, with the help of urban design, transit and traffic experts, they can be workshopped in detail.

Detailed agendas for the two meetings will be posted as soon as available. Meanwhile, keep these dates free.

These meetings are sponsored by the West Don Lands Committee and the Gooderham & Worts Neighbourhood Association, with the support of Councillor Pam Mconnell, the Toronto Waterfront Revitalisation Corporation, and the TTC.