More of us, living better
Jun. 16, 2006. 05:16 AM
KERRY GILLESPIE
QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...le&cid=1150408211191&call_pageid=968332188492
Say goodbye to sprawling suburban lots with two-car garages and hello to denser and more tightly packed neighbourhoods where you can walk to the corner store for milk and kids can take a bus to their summer job.
Today, the province will announce its plan to make sure population growth doesn't mean endless kilometres of traffic-clogged roads and urban sprawl housing taking the place of precious farmland.
Nearly 4 million more people are expected to make southern Ontario their home in the next 25 years, bringing with them 2 million new jobs.
Without action now, the government will argue, that growth would lead to dire results, including further commuter hell, unacceptable loss of farmland and an increase in smog.
The "Places to Grow" plan sets out lofty goals and specific targets for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, an area that stretches from Niagara through the Greater Toronto Area to Peterborough and north as far as Collingwood.
Among the key goals:
To protect farmland, 40 per cent of all new growth must be contained within existing built-up areas by 2015.
The growth that will still occur on undeveloped land must meet minimum targets — about twice as dense as traditional sprawl.
To better use existing infrastructure, like roads and water lines, minimum densities have been set for 25 city centres, effective in 2031.
Cities must promote more compact living and build "complete communities" where people can live, work, shop and play without needing a car.
Municipalities and regional governments have three years to amend their official planning documents to show just how they'll do all this.
The province says cities — many of which are already choking on traffic congestion and have discovered how expensive it is to provide services to far-flung housing developments — want to make this work.
The province has a bag full of sticks and carrots just to make sure.
To start with, the province is vowing it will put its infrastructure money — $3 billion to $4 billion a year — only into communities reaching their targets.
"This is the guiding vision for how we're going to live tomorrow," said David Caplan, minister of public infrastructure and renewal, who is responsible for this plan.
"It's about kids having places to play, moms and dads having places to work. It's about building great communities where you can actually get around and you don't have to spend hours and hours in the car. It's about all those things and so much more," Caplan said in an interview.
While that vision sounds good in the abstract, turning it into reality won't be easy. Residents tend to ferociously fight any moves to bring more people, and the cars they bring with them, into their neighbourhoods.
Developers also often oppose government moves to tell them where and what they can build, saying they just build the homes people want to live in.
So what will the region look like in 25 years, with 11.5 million people — up from 7.8 million now — packed more tightly together?
Better, says Caplan.
Bringing more people into an area can turn car-dependent strip malls, like those on Kingston Rd. in Toronto, into lively neighbourhoods like Bloor West Village.
It can revitalize derelict downtowns, like Oshawa's, making them places to live as well as shop and do business.
Future subdivisions won't be just cookie-cutter houses on dead-end roads, but a mix of housing: smaller lots, townhouses and mid-rise condo and apartment buildings.
There will be more high-rise towers on major roads near existing transit lines.
While it's up to cities to decide how to accommodate 40 per cent of the new growth in existing built-up areas, the province has set specific density targets for 25 downtown or central districts, which already have the roads, transit and other infrastructure in place to handle rapid growth.
The five centres in Toronto must meet density targets of 400 people and jobs per hectare. That's the minimum number of people required to support a subway.
The Bay St. corridor from Bloor St. to the lake, by way of comparison, is about 1,000 people and jobs per hectare.
Toronto's popular Annex neighbourhood, with a mix of detached homes, semis, housing above shops and a few high-rise condos and apartments is about 150 people and jobs per hectare. Traditional suburban sprawl is about 30.
The 15 centres in surrounding cities have targets of 200 people and jobs per hectare, which means they'll have enough people to support bus service every 15 minutes and possibly even light rail or bus rapid transit.
The five centres in smaller communities have targets of 150 people and jobs per hectare, which can also support bus service every 15 minutes.
And to make sure that new suburban developments don't repeat the mistakes of the past, there's a target of 50 people and jobs per hectare for development on greenfields. That's enough to support bus service every 30 minutes.
Many municipal politicians are onside with the overall idea of using their space more efficiently and giving residents options other than the car to get around, but they'll still face battles from residents when specific neighbourhoods are targeted for more growth.
But whether residents — living in neighbourhoods that are perfect just the way they are, thank you very much — want it or not, growth is coming.
The Greater Golden Horseshoe is the third fastest growth region in North America, behind Dallas-Fort Worth, Tex., and greater Atlanta.
"If we continue the way we're going, the estimates are pretty dire," Caplan said.
Commuting times are projected to increase by more than 40 per cent in the GTA. Smog-causing auto emissions would also rise by more than 40 per cent.
More than 1,000 square kilometres of farmland — twice the size of Toronto — would be consumed by new sprawl-style developments in the next 25 years.
These types of statistics aren't new and this is not the first time a government has declared war on sprawl and declared that compact living is good. Yet, developers still buy land on the outskirts of cities, municipalities still let them build single-family detached houses, and people still line up to buy those homes.
Caplan thinks people are finally ready to embrace change.
"People want to see action on sprawl, air quality and traffic congestion," he said.
Trends in housing purchases show people want other options besides surburban sprawl, Caplan said, pointing to Toronto real estate data showing half of new home sales are in high-rise condominiums.
In the two years that the draft version of "Places to Grow" has been in public consultation, Caplan heard one comment often.
"Somebody should have done this 30 years ago. It's about time," Caplan said.
That's what Neil Rodgers, president of the Urban Development Institute, which represents developers and builders, thinks, too.
"We haven't seen super-regional scale provincially led planning in 30 plus years," Rodgers said.
The 400 series highways and other major infrastructure projects, which defined growth in the Greater Toronto Area, were undertaken in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
"Those were the dreams and implementation of the John Robarts and Bill Davis eras," Rodgers said. "Those were designed to carry a generation. That generation stopped in 1980 and we've been riding on that infrastructure for the last 20 years. We see the stresses and strains every day when we commute. We've got gridlock, we've got poor air quality, we don't even have a world-class subway system."
Through its plan, the province has the chance to design the infrastructure for current and future generations, he said.
Public transit is key. Without it, there are just more people fighting to drive their cars on the same roads.
"A growth plan that will direct growth to certain areas and direct it away from other areas is great, but if you don't put infrastructure behind it, it's not going to realize its true opportunity," Rodgers said.
Caplan points to the last provincial budget as proof that the province is bringing dollars and not just big dreams to the table.
Transit in the GTA got an $838 million boost in the budget, with money set aside to extend the subway to Vaughan Corporate Centre at Highway 7, and for transit projects in Mississauga, Brampton and York Region.
Jun. 16, 2006. 05:16 AM
KERRY GILLESPIE
QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...le&cid=1150408211191&call_pageid=968332188492
Say goodbye to sprawling suburban lots with two-car garages and hello to denser and more tightly packed neighbourhoods where you can walk to the corner store for milk and kids can take a bus to their summer job.
Today, the province will announce its plan to make sure population growth doesn't mean endless kilometres of traffic-clogged roads and urban sprawl housing taking the place of precious farmland.
Nearly 4 million more people are expected to make southern Ontario their home in the next 25 years, bringing with them 2 million new jobs.
Without action now, the government will argue, that growth would lead to dire results, including further commuter hell, unacceptable loss of farmland and an increase in smog.
The "Places to Grow" plan sets out lofty goals and specific targets for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, an area that stretches from Niagara through the Greater Toronto Area to Peterborough and north as far as Collingwood.
Among the key goals:
To protect farmland, 40 per cent of all new growth must be contained within existing built-up areas by 2015.
The growth that will still occur on undeveloped land must meet minimum targets — about twice as dense as traditional sprawl.
To better use existing infrastructure, like roads and water lines, minimum densities have been set for 25 city centres, effective in 2031.
Cities must promote more compact living and build "complete communities" where people can live, work, shop and play without needing a car.
Municipalities and regional governments have three years to amend their official planning documents to show just how they'll do all this.
The province says cities — many of which are already choking on traffic congestion and have discovered how expensive it is to provide services to far-flung housing developments — want to make this work.
The province has a bag full of sticks and carrots just to make sure.
To start with, the province is vowing it will put its infrastructure money — $3 billion to $4 billion a year — only into communities reaching their targets.
"This is the guiding vision for how we're going to live tomorrow," said David Caplan, minister of public infrastructure and renewal, who is responsible for this plan.
"It's about kids having places to play, moms and dads having places to work. It's about building great communities where you can actually get around and you don't have to spend hours and hours in the car. It's about all those things and so much more," Caplan said in an interview.
While that vision sounds good in the abstract, turning it into reality won't be easy. Residents tend to ferociously fight any moves to bring more people, and the cars they bring with them, into their neighbourhoods.
Developers also often oppose government moves to tell them where and what they can build, saying they just build the homes people want to live in.
So what will the region look like in 25 years, with 11.5 million people — up from 7.8 million now — packed more tightly together?
Better, says Caplan.
Bringing more people into an area can turn car-dependent strip malls, like those on Kingston Rd. in Toronto, into lively neighbourhoods like Bloor West Village.
It can revitalize derelict downtowns, like Oshawa's, making them places to live as well as shop and do business.
Future subdivisions won't be just cookie-cutter houses on dead-end roads, but a mix of housing: smaller lots, townhouses and mid-rise condo and apartment buildings.
There will be more high-rise towers on major roads near existing transit lines.
While it's up to cities to decide how to accommodate 40 per cent of the new growth in existing built-up areas, the province has set specific density targets for 25 downtown or central districts, which already have the roads, transit and other infrastructure in place to handle rapid growth.
The five centres in Toronto must meet density targets of 400 people and jobs per hectare. That's the minimum number of people required to support a subway.
The Bay St. corridor from Bloor St. to the lake, by way of comparison, is about 1,000 people and jobs per hectare.
Toronto's popular Annex neighbourhood, with a mix of detached homes, semis, housing above shops and a few high-rise condos and apartments is about 150 people and jobs per hectare. Traditional suburban sprawl is about 30.
The 15 centres in surrounding cities have targets of 200 people and jobs per hectare, which means they'll have enough people to support bus service every 15 minutes and possibly even light rail or bus rapid transit.
The five centres in smaller communities have targets of 150 people and jobs per hectare, which can also support bus service every 15 minutes.
And to make sure that new suburban developments don't repeat the mistakes of the past, there's a target of 50 people and jobs per hectare for development on greenfields. That's enough to support bus service every 30 minutes.
Many municipal politicians are onside with the overall idea of using their space more efficiently and giving residents options other than the car to get around, but they'll still face battles from residents when specific neighbourhoods are targeted for more growth.
But whether residents — living in neighbourhoods that are perfect just the way they are, thank you very much — want it or not, growth is coming.
The Greater Golden Horseshoe is the third fastest growth region in North America, behind Dallas-Fort Worth, Tex., and greater Atlanta.
"If we continue the way we're going, the estimates are pretty dire," Caplan said.
Commuting times are projected to increase by more than 40 per cent in the GTA. Smog-causing auto emissions would also rise by more than 40 per cent.
More than 1,000 square kilometres of farmland — twice the size of Toronto — would be consumed by new sprawl-style developments in the next 25 years.
These types of statistics aren't new and this is not the first time a government has declared war on sprawl and declared that compact living is good. Yet, developers still buy land on the outskirts of cities, municipalities still let them build single-family detached houses, and people still line up to buy those homes.
Caplan thinks people are finally ready to embrace change.
"People want to see action on sprawl, air quality and traffic congestion," he said.
Trends in housing purchases show people want other options besides surburban sprawl, Caplan said, pointing to Toronto real estate data showing half of new home sales are in high-rise condominiums.
In the two years that the draft version of "Places to Grow" has been in public consultation, Caplan heard one comment often.
"Somebody should have done this 30 years ago. It's about time," Caplan said.
That's what Neil Rodgers, president of the Urban Development Institute, which represents developers and builders, thinks, too.
"We haven't seen super-regional scale provincially led planning in 30 plus years," Rodgers said.
The 400 series highways and other major infrastructure projects, which defined growth in the Greater Toronto Area, were undertaken in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
"Those were the dreams and implementation of the John Robarts and Bill Davis eras," Rodgers said. "Those were designed to carry a generation. That generation stopped in 1980 and we've been riding on that infrastructure for the last 20 years. We see the stresses and strains every day when we commute. We've got gridlock, we've got poor air quality, we don't even have a world-class subway system."
Through its plan, the province has the chance to design the infrastructure for current and future generations, he said.
Public transit is key. Without it, there are just more people fighting to drive their cars on the same roads.
"A growth plan that will direct growth to certain areas and direct it away from other areas is great, but if you don't put infrastructure behind it, it's not going to realize its true opportunity," Rodgers said.
Caplan points to the last provincial budget as proof that the province is bringing dollars and not just big dreams to the table.
Transit in the GTA got an $838 million boost in the budget, with money set aside to extend the subway to Vaughan Corporate Centre at Highway 7, and for transit projects in Mississauga, Brampton and York Region.
