PLX111 Week 12 Bentway Notes
December 10, 2024
4:37 PM
Bentway General Notes
1. Who
• Developers and Stakeholders: The Bentway was developed by a collaborative effort involving the Bentway Conservancy, a non-profit organization dedicated to the stewardship and programming of the space. Key
stakeholders include the City of Toronto, local community groups, and various artists and designers.
• Design Team: The project was designed by the landscape architecture firm Public Work, in collaboration with The Planning Partnership and Shawn Micallef, a writer and urbanist. The design reflects input from
community consultations and aims to create an inclusive space for all Torontonians.
2. What
• Description: The Bentway is a 1.75-kilometer linear park that runs beneath the Gardiner Expressway, stretching from Strachan Avenue to Bathurst Street. It features a variety of amenities, including walking and cycling
paths, public art installations, event spaces, and areas for recreational activities.
• Key Features: The park includes a multi-use trail, a skating rink in winter, performance spaces, and areas for community gatherings. The design incorporates natural elements, such as greenery and seating areas, to
create a welcoming environment.
• Programming: The Bentway hosts various events and activities, including art installations, performances, markets, and community festivals, aimed at engaging the public and fostering a sense of community.
3. When
• Timeline: The project was initiated in 2015, with construction beginning in 2016. The first phase of the Bentway officially opened to the public in January 2018, with subsequent phases continuing to develop the space
and enhance its offerings.
• Ongoing Development: The Bentway is designed to evolve over time, with ongoing programming and improvements based on community feedback and needs.
4. Where
• Location: The Bentway is situated in downtown Toronto, specifically beneath the Gardiner Expressway, which runs along the northern edge of the waterfront. The park connects several neighborhoods, including Fort
York, Liberty Village, and the downtown core, making it accessible to a wide range of residents and visitors.
• Accessibility: The park is designed to be accessible by foot, bicycle, and public transit, with connections to existing trails and transportation networks.
5. Why
• Historical Context: The creation of the Bentway was driven by the need to revitalize underutilized urban spaces and improve public access to the waterfront. The Gardiner Expressway, built in the mid-20th century,
created a physical barrier between the city and its waterfront, leading to a lack of public spaces in the area.
• Urban Renewal Goals: The Bentway aims to address issues of urban isolation and disconnection by transforming a neglected area into a vibrant public space that encourages community interaction and engagement. It
reflects a broader trend in urban planning that prioritizes green spaces and public amenities in dense urban environments.
• Community Engagement: The project was developed with significant community input, ensuring that the space meets the needs and desires of local residents. This participatory approach is intended to foster a sense of
ownership and pride in the space.
Additional Context
• Cultural Significance: The Bentway is part of a larger movement in Toronto to enhance public spaces and promote cultural activities. It aligns with the city’s goals of creating a more livable and sustainable urban
environment.
• Environmental Considerations: The design of the Bentway incorporates sustainable practices, such as the use of native plants and materials, to enhance biodiversity and improve the ecological health of the area.
• Future Prospects: As the Bentway continues to develop, it is expected to play a crucial role in the ongoing revitalization of Toronto’s waterfront and surrounding neighborhoods, serving as a model for similar urban
projects in other cities.
Recording Notes From Class
Wednesday Recording:
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The Gardiner expressway enabled commerce, moving goods to the waterfront
The Bentway: How does something become hybrid, linking to the waterfront?
What happens beneath The Gardiner was not considered
There's a change in the demographics of who lives in the waterfront area
It can become a hybrid gathering space
Privately owned public spaces
○ The Bentway is one
○ Deal that the city may cut with a developer to use
• The bentway was founded in 2015 and opened in 2017
• Core values of The Bentway
○ Be proactive
▪ Be unexpected
▪ This way it brings people together
○ Embrace complexity
▪ Countless layers
▪ They see the complexity reflecting the need
○ Do it together
• Imperative to share knowledge
• Able to programme events
Amplifying a found condition
• Uses the structure of the gardiner for their events
○ Hybrid use of hanging and support structures
• Moveable furniture, allowing flexibility
• Resourcefulness
Recent projects
• How to create multi-seasonal spaces
○ Amenity in the summer because its cooler
○ Spring programming
▪ Interactive artwork
▪ Bring creativity
○ Bring life into public space
• Projections
• Pulse topology
• Anticipate what is changing
• Intersection improvements
○ Making it more free for people to cross
• Staging grounds
○ Recycle polluted rainwater to fill filter beds to make rain gardens
• How to get rid of the gardiner expressway as a barrier
• All future developments of the gardiner are now part of the guidance from The Bentway
○ Allowing them to oversee the changes and developments
○ How this development would be played out
New baseline standards of The Bentway
Pedestrian oriented lighting
Consistent wayfinding
Rainwater management
Improved safety and intersections
Environmental lighting treatments (so it's not so dark)
Predictable public amenities (wifi, bathrooms)
Continuous walking and cycling trail (connecting corridor)
Signage mounts at intersections (natural points of community interaction)
resilient, perennial and native plants
• Bentway west (2032)
○ Cultural activities
• Bentway islands (2028)
○ Supporting recreation and retail
○ Underused traffic islands
○ Asking people to bid on the brief of ideas
○ Three tracks of engagement
Indigenous communities
Community advisory committees
Unhoused community
• Bentway east (2030)
○ Outdoor classroom, recreation and education on the river’s front edge
Thursday Recording
• Bentway bridge
• The cubicles
○ Series of warehouse spaces that they can use for large scale projects
▪ Cultural spaces and programming
• Of the city, about the city and for the city
How they relate to urbanism and opportunities and issues
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○ How they relate to urbanism and opportunities and issues
• Core values of The Bentway
○ Be proactive
▪ Challenge the status quo
○ Embrace complexity
▪ Embrace challenging and complex moments
○ Do it together
• Core programming values
○ Essential public space
○ Toronto’s public leader in public art
○ Founded on radical accessibility
▪ Free, low cost and physically accessible
• Programming approach
○ Active participants
▪ Engages neighbours, communist and general public as active
○ With creative voices
▪ Artists and creatives in dialogue with and about the city
○ Co-creation
▪ Broader communities, championing diverse voices
○ As a catalyst
▪ Work that lives a larger life beyond a single site, season or city
• Connection between art and urbanism
Projects
• Beyond concrete project
○ Carbon neutral footprint
○ Art instillation
• Annual summer block party
• Earth dreams
○ Rave under the highway
○ Allowed them to process grief caused of climate change
• Parade
○ Installation, conveyor belts to bring attention to signage and ways to move about streets
• Nightwalks with teenagers
○ Create a walk, to experience the city and neighbourhood through a teenagers lens
• Double dribble
○ Public space and play
○ Large scale basketball court
• Confluence
○ Large scale immersive walking space
• Pulse topology
○ Art connection amongst the community
○ Lights work with heartbeat
• Museum of the moon
○ Natural rhythms within the city
○ Our connection to the moon
• Waterlicht
○ How water moves through the site
• Beacons
○ Skating rink
○ Large scale public art experience
○ It was a light beacon basically
• Staging grounds
○ Planter gardens, that has runoff water form the highway get filtered and goes into the indigenous plants and returns back to the lake
• How does the gardiner become a canopy for shade to cool our city during global warming
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