The city’s ambitious project to redevelop the waterfront and create better, more seamless links to the downtown is inching forward.
This week, council committee got a glimpse into what the reconfiguration of roads might look like once that part of the massive $17-million project is complete.
While council must rubber-stamp the proposal at its meeting Monday night, it appears most are in favour of the plan as presented earlier this week.
“Alternatives for various design elements for the Centennial Drive project are to be presented at the next public information centre (PIC),” said project engineer Stan Martinello, who noted the city hosted a PIC in September to receive input and provide information.
As it stands, “a new alignment” of Centennial Drive will generally follow the existing alignment between Mississaga Street East and Neywash Street, before it curves to the west to meet the former railway right-of-way. At that point, it will then run behind French’s Stand between Neywash Street and Brant Street.
As part of the redesign, parallel parking spaces are to be incorporated onto the west side of the Centennial Drive roadway – an idea that didn’t sit well with Coun. Ralph Cipolla. “I’d like to see no parking there,” said the Ward 2 councillor. “Is it necessary to put parking there?”
Martinello said it was necessary. “Parking is a limited resource down there and there’s a high demand for parking. I do think it’s appropriate to continue use of parallel parking for vehicles,” he said, noting there is parking allowed there currently.
Ian Sugden, the city’s director of planning, agreed. “Certainly with each consultation we’ve had … related to the downtown and waterfront, one of the recurring themes we hear is parking,” said Sugden. “The first question out of everyone’s mouth is: ‘Where is parking? How are we going to park?’ It is a bit of a balancing act: the demand for parking and good public space and developable space and park space. Parallel parking would help to address some of that demand.”
The discussion prompted Coun. Ted Emond to query about the need for a larger parking discussion. “I was hoping we would have a broader consideration of parking issues,” he said.
In addition to the realignment, traffic calming measures such as raised intersections will be used on Centennial Drive, while the entrance to Couchiching Beach Park’s parking lot will remain at its present location. A new multi-use ‘fly-by’ trail will be built from Jarvis Street to Mississaga Street East, west of the Couchiching Beach Park parking lot, and on the east side of Centennial Drive.
Martinello said the new trail would provide “a more direct route from the north end of the waterfront park to the south end ... to be used by people who don’t want to get caught up on existing trails.” The trail will start at Jarvis Street, run west of the existing Couchiching Beach parking lot, run along the east (lake) side of Centennial Drive and then match up with the existing trail in Veterans Memorial Park.
Once part of the Metro Mall is demolished, Coldwater Street from Front Street North to Centennial Drive will be constructed to a three-lane standard with a common left turn lane and bike lanes on both sides. Mississaga Street East, from Front Street to Centennial Drive, will also be reconstructed to a three-lane standard with a common left turn as will Colborne Street East from Front Street South to the Esplanade.
Lastly, a new sanitary sewer pump station will be constructed on the east side of the segment of Cedar Island Road from Elgin Street “southerly such that it is south of the projection of the south end of the Elgin Bay Condominium building at 140 Cedar Island Road.”
Pending ratification of the plan at Monday night's council meeting, the next PIC is slated for early March, said city staff.
