THANK YOU
Thank you to all the stakeholders, community members, and partners who provided crucial feedback and input for the Under Gardiner Public Realm Plan.
The Under Gardiner PRP Engagement included:
- 8+ Technical Advisory Meetings
- 10 District-Specific Stakeholder Consultation
- 2000+ Visitors to the Under Gardiner PRP Website
- 150+ Unique Comments on Interactive Online Map (spring 2022)
- 120+ Open House Participants (four sessions 17 Jan – 7 Feb 2023)
- 270+ Comments and feedback notes provided at Open House sessions
- Ongoing Relationship Building efforts with Indigenous and Unhoused communities
- Consultation with City Departments (ECS, Real Estate, Toronto Water, etc.)
Your input is so important. We were happy to be able to take feedback from the community and inform the development of the Under Gardiner PRP. For a detailed overview of what we heard, please take a look at our Consultation Summary Report.
PAST EVENTS
May 27 & 28, 2022 @ The Bentway
A two-day event hosted at The Bentway’s Strachan Gate challenged traditional understandings of city streets and asked how we could create a more inclusive, equitable, and joyful public realm.
Explore some of the conversations had at The Street Summit via Frontier’s Live Magazine.
January 17 to February 7, 2023 @ the Bentway Studio
Following eight months of online surveys and a-synchronous engagement, we hosted an Under Gardiner Public Realm Plan Open House at the Bentway Studio to share the preliminary recommendations and emerging opportunities. Community members were invited to explore an immersive installation and provide comments on the direction of the plan at the midpoint of our consultation process.
September 18, 2023 @ Bentway Staging Grounds
The Bentway Staging Grounds is a site of active, environmental learning that continues The Bentway’s creative work along the Gardiner Expressway. It is a temporary installation that unlocks an expanded public realm and programming opportunity for the CityPlace/Fort York neighbourhood. Transforming underutilized space below the Gardiner Expressway into a laboratory, the project responds to the dynamic conditions of the site and educates visitors about urban ecology and rainwater management.
September 26, 2023 @ the Bentway Studio
For the past two years, we’ve been speaking with local residents, businesses, civic leaders, and partners to explore: How can the spaces under the Gardiner Expressway better serve our city?
In partnership with the City of Toronto, we presented key findings, proposed outcomes, and shared details from the two-year engagement process that informed the Plan. The Showcase grounded the report’s long-range, ambitious recommendations in real-life examples, including recently completed public space projects and pilots along the corridor.
Timeline
This diagram highlights the major milestones of the Under Gardiner PRP process. It is important to note that public consultation is not limited to a specific phase or window in time, rather, our standing process is informed by, and with, our program users, site visitors, and extended network of community partners. The very existence of The Bentway is an ongoing working relationship with City Staff and other partners. We are always looking to learn from and with our community partners.
