Our friends at the Cabbagetown Business Improvement Area (BIA) (cabbagetownto.com) asked us to pass along a letter about the two parkettes that were installed in the fall of 2016 and a test pilot they are proposing. If you have thoughts or suggestions, please do let them know.
Cabbagetown BIA
237 Carlton St.
Toronto, ON
M5A 2L2
bia@cabbagetownto.com
www.cabbagetownto.com
February 14, 2017
Dear Cabbagetown Residents and Business Owners,
In the fall of 2016 the Cabbagetown BIA and the City of Toronto, through a cost share project installed the foundations for two new parkettes at the corners of Spruce and Parliament and Amelia and Parliament. With the weather warming up, the Volunteer Board of the Cabbagetown BIA are planning a proposed test pilot to complete these two new parkettes.
Proposed for the Spruce and Parliament parkette are 35 planter units to add more vegetation and colour to the parkette. At the Amelia and Parliament parkette 4 stools are proposed to be installed close to Parliament Street to be near the sidewalk.
The proposed test pilot (which would start in Spring 2017) will look at how these elements are utilized by the residents and customers of the businesses. The program is expected to last 69 months, after which the volunteer board will assess if the elements will stay intact and if others should be added.
As users of the space, we welcome your feedback both before and during the test pilot. Comments shared before February 28th will help decide if and how the pilot will take place. Comments during the pilot will be considered when deciding the effectiveness of the elements.
All comments can be directed to The Volunteer Board of the Cabbagetown BIA via email at
bia@cabbagetownTO.com or mailed to the address above.
Thank you in advance for your time and input.
Cabbagetown BIA
3 replies on “Letter from the Cabbagetown BIA re: two new parkettes – test pilot feedback requested”
Daring! I’m for it.
Really, have we not been down this road before!!?? I am all for beautification but what has been installed to date seems to be just miles of concrete and bland interlocking brick that replaced the previous interlocking brick! Donald Trump would be covetous of the cement wall…. I am also concerned that the new red spongy mounds built up against the two trees at the Amelia/Parliament site will stress the trees by limiting water penetration and preventing the bark from breathing. A big NO NO in any landscape plan. Lastly, do we really want or need yet another place where people with nothing else better to do than simply loiter and toss their Tim Horton’s trash???
Steve Poulin
Parkettes are always a lovely idea. It is a good to give it a try and see if it doesn’t just attract loitering, but instead a good place to relax. The corner of Spruce definitely needs something. The sparse no frills brick wall is always so much nicer when the christmas trees are there for sale. Change is often uplifting. Since it is very nearby I will be watching the effect closely.