Answer to Humber Bay Shores quiz question (Peter Riedel)

The following comment from Peter riedel is a follow-up to an earlier question.

A supplementary question from Ruth Grier has received an answer.

Peter Riedel comments concerning his original quiz question

A couple of weeks ago I asked: “Can anyone name one other area along the northern shoreline of Lake Ontario waterfront that is to be as dense with condo development as Humber Bay Shores?”

The Answer: There is none. No other area that comes even close to this 1500 metre stretch of South Etobicoke.

If you Google map Lake Ontario and look from Kingston westward to Burlington, the fact is that, there is no other stretch of shoreline (or that comes even close!) that is presently as dense or as high as that which is to be found on the 1500 meter stretch of Humber Bay Shores, no, not even downtown Toronto has done this to its waterfront!

And it is nowhere close to being finished!

I have also heard it said that “the community voice appear reasonable and willing to work with the landowner:  While it is important that we voice our concerns, we should not appear as NIMBY’s.”

Really?! I have heard this number of times now that we should not appear as NIMBY’s in all this condo construction but I ask, name ONE other ‘backyard’ such as we have on Humber Bay Shores, name one other community that this can compare to?

Or even comes close?

I have asked numerous people a number of times simple questions that have yet to be directly answered: What, if any, height restrictions are there for these condos in Humber Bay Shores? How many are projected, the final number?

“You don’t have to spend a very long time exploring the recent developments along and nearby the Humber Bay shoreline to realize the evolution of the vertical suburb that is emerging there. The massing, height and distancing of the condominiums along that stretch of waterfront conveys an impression of a building storage depot where towers are temporarily placed and awaiting shipment to other locations in the city. Unfortunately that’s not the case. What you see is what you get: a mass of residential towers plunked in what looks to be a random fashion along the waterfront. What’s more, there is little in the way of retail development to serve the growing population in the area.” P. Riedel

Citizens should ask themselves about what is best for the long term, and demand that development be about city-building, and not about “development.”

The city gets stuck with this kind of development for a number reasons. Unbridled development, poor planning, lack of political will and a populace unsure about what to do and in no way united on a way to proceed. That said, city planning should never be left to developers solely interested in marketing lifestyle and making a profit selling units. In turn, city planners should take responsibility to push developers to recognize the qualities that contribute to creating engaging neighbourhoods (Toronto has some very nice examples to emulate), and some of those planners should reacquaint themselves with the necessary elements of good planning for people and sustainable communities.

Peter Riedel