Gardiner Expressway/Lakeshore Boulevard Internaitonal Design Competition
Toronto
Guiding one of the largest urban renewal projects currently underway in North America, Waterfront Toronto is forging an innovative model in city-building that will place Toronto at the forefront of global cities in the 21st Century. In 2010 Ken Greenberg was part of a team led by KPMP Architects selected by Waterfront Toronto to enter an international competition to develop innovative design options for the Gardiner Expressway and Lakeshore Boulevard configuration. The successful revitalization of the waterfront requires a convergence of factors – state-of-the-art approaches to sustainable development, excellence in urban design and high quality public infrastructure, including parks, promenades, boulevards and other amenities needed to generate urban success.
The elevated Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway has been a controversial element of the Toronto skyline since it was completed in 1966. In recent years, public debate has been intensifying over whether its future should be a renovation, relocation, or complete removal. At the same time, progress on waterfront revitalization has made clear that the elevated structure and the at-grade roadway beneath, if they are to remain, must be integrated with the new waterfront districts currently being developed. While many plans and proposals have been put forth over the years, none have produced a sufficiently compelling vision for a new urban identity and truly functional transportation system. The goal of the Innovative Design Competition was to produce a bold solution or series of bold solutions that can generate broad consensus on the best way forward for the eastern portion of the elevated Gardiner Expressway. These solutions must harmonize and unify several development plans for this area, including the already approved East Bayfront Precinct Plan and the nearly-completed North Keating Precinct Plan – both of which may be affected by plans for the Gardiner. The completion solutions are now being considered in the context of an ongoing Environmental Assessment.
FOR THE GARDINER EXPRESSWAY FOR THE GARDINER EXPRESSWAY AND