With plans to revitalize Toronto's waterfront slow to gain traction, Christopher Hume writes in today's Toronto Star about the benefits and lessons learned from Stockholm's push to redevelop its once industrialized harbor.
Waterfront rehab in Stockholm, planning for which began in 1990, already has attracted 7,500 new residents, according to Hume's report. City leaders project 25,000 new residents and 10,000 new workers by 2015.
So what does Toronto need to do join the waterfront revolution? Bury the highway and railroad tracks in subterranean tunnels and reconnect the central city to the waterfront; streamline governance; and establish financial incentives to attract developers, according to the article.
Unfortunately, efforts to rescue the waterfront from its industrial past suffered a setback with the news that a gas-fired power plant will be constructed on the shore of Lake Ontario, a highly questionable use for such rare and valuable land.
