Former city planner calls Mayor Ford's waterfront plan "reckless"

[canada-man]

TORONTO, Ont. - The Cities Centre at the University of Toronto has called Mayor Rob Ford's waterfront plan "reckless" and a "massive step backwards."

Former Toronto chief city planner Paul Bedford said the alternative vision put forward by Mayor Ford and his brother, Councillor Doug Ford, is deeply flawed.

He said the plan that calls for a giant Ferris wheel and a mega mall in the Lower Don Lands is shockingly inferior to the current plan.

"It's a massive step backwards, it is reckless behaviour, and a disregard for the will of city council. Now council is supreme, they decide, not one person or two people," he said.

Bedford said the plan is a tired recycling of 1960's thinking.

"If council embraces this new vision and carves up the waterfront, I hate to say but, I'm afraid we'll be the laughing stock of the world," he said.

Bedford is also rejecting the mayor's suggestion that nothing is happening on the Waterfront, saying Sugar Beach and Sherbourne Common are attracting private investment.

"You have George Brown College under construction and you have such major developers as Great Gulf," said Bedford.

The Cities Centre has called for the mayor to stay the course, set by the Waterfront Toronto Organization.

http://www.680news.com/news/local/a...r-calls-mayor-ford-s-waterfront-plan-reckless

 

[Brandon123]

Rob Ford should run the city and let the city planners do their job. His subway plan was another stupid idea, thank god I live in the suburbs.

 

[blackrock13]

Former employees opinions have a chance of being tainted a tad, but hey.

 

[james t kirk]

He's absolutely 100% correct.

The McCheese Brothers are a pair of morons. Neither of them is educated. Neither of them is an architect, engineer, or a planner and as such, they should really shut the fuck up when they don't have a clue of what they are talking about.

If the city wants to have a bunch of labels printed up - I will defer to them, but redeveloping the waterfront - and building "mega malls", NFL Stadiums (it's still on the wish list folks, don't kid yourselves) and ferris wheels is just plain fucking idiotic.

 

[elwoodinontario]

Remember, opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one.

 

[biog]

He's absolutely 100% correct.

The McCheese Brothers are a pair of morons. Neither of them is educated. Neither of them is an architect, engineer, or a planner and as such, they should really shut the fuck up when they don't have a clue of what they are talking about.

If the city wants to have a bunch of labels printed up - I will defer to them, but redeveloping the waterfront - and building "mega malls", NFL Stadiums (it's still on the wish list folks, don't kid yourselves) and ferris wheels is just plain fucking idiotic.

You're right. No self respecting city would even consider putting a Ferris wheel in the heart of a city by the water.

Oh.

Wait a sec....

Seemed to work for London. Of course, they didn't slap a shopping mall beside it so I'll give them extra credit for that.

 

[oldjones]

You're right. No self respecting city would even consider putting a Ferris wheel in the heart of a city by the water.

Oh.

Wait a sec....

Seemed to work for London. Of course, they didn't slap a shopping mall beside it so I'll give them extra credit for that.

Depends what you mean by "…seemed to work" and "…self-respecting city"; remember they also have a Giant Pickle perking up their skyline. And they're stuck with the fourth or fifth largest ferriswheel. But who's counting?

Closer to home: How do you arrive at the DoBoat-Inn Motel and Mall in February? Who's taxes pay for the icebreaker?

 

[red]

has anyone seen the ford plan? I haven't. i have seen stuff in the papers with people talking about it. where is it?

 

[guelph]

has anyone seen the ford plan? I haven't. i have seen stuff in the papers with people talking about it. where is it?

Is there a hard copy of the ford plan, drawings, planning estimates in writing, Cost and revenue projections, traffic projections?

 

[Hangman]

He's absolutely 100% correct.

The McCheese Brothers are a pair of morons. Neither of them is educated. Neither of them is an architect, engineer, or a planner and as such, they should really shut the fuck up when they don't have a clue of what they are talking about.

If the city wants to have a bunch of labels printed up - I will defer to them, but redeveloping the waterfront - and building "mega malls", NFL Stadiums (it's still on the wish list folks, don't kid yourselves) and ferris wheels is just plain fucking idiotic.

Unfortunately, this moron town voted for them to say and do exactly this kind of crap.