Toronto's public spaces need results

Globe and Mail

27-05-2025

Summer is coming. And with it, the weekend pilgrimage to Toronto Island Park will begin for thousands of visitors seeking the cool, green refuge across the harbour.
But first, they'll endure a familiar ordeal: standing in a sun-blasted concrete pen, inching toward one of the city's aging ferries.
Last week, Mayor Olivia Chow announced a modest package of improvements meant to ease the experience. But while the intention is right, the impact will be too little, too late. For the 1.8 million who visit the islands each year, meaningful change is still a long way off.
Ms. Chow's new measures include 200 Bike Share bicycles on the islands, a freeze on ferry fares and expanded docking for private water taxis. There's also a vague promise of changes to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and a newly approved study for a fixed link to the islands, such as a bridge.
To be fair, Ms. Chow deserves credit for pushing to improve access to the park. Inexplicably, this was not a priority at City Hall under prior mayors.
But symbolic gestures aren't transformation. Two hundred bikes? The need is closer to 2,000. A study for a bridge? Years of paperwork.
This is not nearly good enough. What Toronto's public spaces need are quick wins and visible improvements.
The problems are glaring, and some are easily fixable. The Layton terminal is too small, with little seating, no shade, few ticket booths and virtually nothing to eat or drink. On Centre Island, the ferry landing resembles a livestock corral.
Here, there is some good news. The city is working with Waterfront Toronto on 'interim improvements to the ferry terminal over the next couple of years,' said Carol Webb, the organization's senior manager of communications and public engagement. This year will bring a temporary shade structure, some murals and some 'improvements to queuing and wayfinding.'
But even this is overdue and too slow. The city should move faster. Put up commercial shade sails. Hire staff with handheld devices to sell ferry tickets on the spot. On the island side, add a cooling station, folding chairs and tables, another set of shade sails – and invite a coffee truck to park near the dock.
All of this could be done by Canada Day. If it's not, why not? During the pandemic, Toronto showed it could move immediately to reconfigure public streets. There's no law that says every improvement must take years.
This logic should extend across the city. Start with awnings, chairs and food vendors, then scale up to capital projects. Focus on busy and symbolic sites: Nathan Phillips Square, Old City Hall, the Union Station area, the zone around St. Lawrence Market, Mel Lastman Square and Scarborough Civic Centre.
And add St. James Town, the densely populated neighbourhood where Ms. Chow grew up, whose streets and tiny park have been neglected far too long.
Many of these sites have budgeted projects or finished plans. Nathan Phillips Square has a competition-winning design from 15 years ago that was never fully built. The ferry terminal? Another competition-winning design was selected in 2015. Then the idea vanished.
The problem is a lack of focus and leadership. Toronto builds a lot in its public space: the Parks and Recreation department alone has a 10-year $4.3-billion capital budget. But few understand what is in that plan. The machine runs itself. And paper comes out.
Airport to park: a bold vision for the Toronto Island
Recently, the city completed a years-long 'master plan' for the Islands – produced by a team of cautious local consultants, full of platitudes. It missed a key element: the future of Billy Bishop Airport, which is critical to the islands but was deliberately excluded from consideration.
The airport's land lease is scheduled to expire by 2045. Failing to plan ahead invites decades more indecision and missed opportunities.
Meanwhile, action is needed. Reports don't make good places – people do. And they need basic amenities: bathrooms, seating, shade. They also need hope.
This summer, Toronto doesn't need more vision documents, but visible proof that government can act and that public space can function here.