A public meeting Wednesday night heard that the Mt. Pleasant Village BIA is intent on creating a “streetscape masterplan” for the business district from Davisville to Eglinton Aves. Three members of a private planning firm, PUBLIC WORK, spoke of their ideas so far and solicited the thoughts of merchants and residents at the auditorium in the Briton House building at 720 Mt. Pleasant. The planners, Adam Nicklin, Marc Ryan and Lauren Abrahams, took turns describing the natural attributes of the street and how they might be brought closer together and amplified to make the street even more attractive. As you will note below in the remarks of Ms. Abrahams, the width (or narrowness) of sidewalks and traffic lanes were recurring subjects. Mt. Pleasant is a four lane route (two north, two south) with additional flow permitted by rush hour no-parking rules. This is thanks to the 1948 planning vision to speed cars from downtown to the midtown neighborhoods of Lawrence Park and beyond.
THE CHALLENGE
The challenge of introducing more trees and wider sidewalks in the presence of such traffic stood out. Nonetheless, it appears that no application will be made by the BIA to narrow the street and Josh Matlow (Ward 22) says he has been assured that this is the case. Mr. Matlow was present at the meeting and spoke on financing of the project and other local matters. Ideas are being solicited and may be sent to info@publicwork.ca It is a large project which could be achieved through many expensive efforts. The venerable Belsize Theatre (subsequently Crest and Regent) would be a potent attraction if it were renovated for almost any purppse. On Bayview Ave, a series of public-spirited companies have made the old Bayview Playhouse a vital part of the street.
