Volunteers were out this morning getting signatures around Fleet Street to try and save the bridge.

Here is a message from the Design Exchange urging people to help save the bridge:

Dear Members and Friends,
There is an important issue at stake for the City of Toronto which involves the Fort York Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge. In an era of budget cuts, I understand the cities' need to be financially prudent. However, I do believe that the bridge as designed would be a great and valuable asset to the city and is a responsible investment, as it will help increase activity, development and tourism around Historic Fort York. It also provides a functional mechanism to link 2 neighbourhoods currently separated by rail lines: North Stanley Park and Fort York. Moreover, Fort York is the cradle of Toronto. It tells the story of our birth and independence. We should honour and value our history. In a city of immigrants, our City should focus more on telling the story of Toronto, not less.
When we set our expectations low, we do not achieve greatness. This is an opportunity for the City of Toronto to make a powerful statement about valuing our cultural assets, such as Fort York. It is also an opportunity to reiterate that DESIGN INVESTMENT YIELDS FINANCIALLY POSITIVE RESULTS. Many examples exist, but the city needs look no further than the example of Bilbao, Spain which was a relatively anonymous location until architect Frank Gehry created the sculpturally beautiful Guggenheim Museum. Can you imagine if the City of Bilbao had cut the budget (to repair roads) and decided on a warehouse for the art?
Residents, Businesses and Tourists all value great architecture and gravitate to places that are visually interesting. Toronto must commit to be a visually interesting place to visit and call home. If you would like to see the City of Toronto embrace the design of the Fort York Bridge and add visual interest to our City, please email your Toronto City Councillor right away as the vote is early next week. Please see the following link for the email addresses and phone numbers of City Council.

http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp
Proposed Bridge


To contact Mayor Ford directly:

Email:
mayor_ford@toronto.ca

Mail:
Office of the Mayor
Toronto City Hall,
2nd Floor,
100 Queen St. West,
Toronto ON
M5H 2N2

Phone:
416-397-FORD (3673)

Your Opinion Counts. Voice it.

Samantha S. Sannella
President & CEO
Design Exchange
 
W. K. Lis said:
What the left wants for a bridge near Fort York:

Fort-York-bridge.jpg


What the right wants for a bridge near Fort York (?):

Carrick-a-Rede-Rope-Bridge-3.jpg
Click to expand...
I think we could only hope for something THIS nice. Who knows what they're cooking up in their secret lair.

PinkLucy: Can you sign online anymore? I signed couple weeks ago and was curious how many people have signed, but I don't see the petition anymore--just an option to print a petition.
 
Ah. I think my jaded brain just accepted that box as an ad to ignore.
Edit: What only 264 signatures? That's not very good.
 
Related to this subject does anyone know if there are currently plans to eliminate the level crossing on Strachan ave with either an over pass or under pass :confused:

With the elimination of this dangerous level crossing I cannot even see the need for a pedestrian footbridge just a few hundred metres east of Strachan.:confused:

If there was a real need for this bridge I am all for spending the extra money to create something of a landmark but I just cannot see the need in this location.
 
Though I still believe that relying mostly on online petitioning to prove a point as the wrong way of doing things, it's good to know that there is a lot being done with a healthy amount of support of keeping the bridge as is.

However, I am a man of compromise and I too wouldn't rule out a cost effective, aesthetically pleasing re-design. Unlike W.K. Lis' obvious exaggeration.
 
Peepers said:
Related to this subject does anyone know if there are currently plans to eliminate the level crossing on Strachan ave with either an over pass or under pass :confused:
Click to expand...
Check this thread:
http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showth...on-Rail-Corridor-Grade-Separation-Study/page4

With the elimination of this dangerous level crossing I cannot even see the need for a pedestrian footbridge just a few hundred metres east of Strachan.:confused:

If there was a real need for this bridge I am all for spending the extra money to create something of a landmark but I just cannot see the need in this location.
Click to expand...
The pedestrian bridge is an important link between not only the two neighborhoods but also a pedestrian/cycling link between the west end to the downtown. Otherwise such paths such as the one being built along the north of city place and the West Toronto Railpath (link and link) will not connect and could lead to a dangerous bottleneck at Strachen.
As for the quality of the bridge, that's another thing but I personally think it would be a huge loss to the city if this gets cheepend'. Even on the economic side there is enough benefits that will make this bridge an asset and not a burden to the taxpayers.
 
taal said:
I love Miller then the next guy but attributing all the development downtown to him is a bit much ... again this seems to play into the common trend to correlate economic condition with politics ... sure the government plays a role ... but generally the role they play is extermely long term in focus i..e governments from many years back effect us today more then the current government.

Anyway, Miller had nothing to do with any of the developments downtown. He did a lot to push waterfront Toronto but it was going before he came around. I think he can be attributed to some the transit increase (i.e. how the TTC improved a lot of bus routes). But in terms of our sidewalks / the state of our parks / so on, he did very little rightfully or wrongfully.
Click to expand...

This is a bizarre attitude. The municipal government has tremendous influence on economic development, public spaces, etc. City staff tends to take their cue from the mayor, aligning their work to his or her vision. (For an example: look at how quickly staff starting recommending closing libraries and shutting down citizen advisory committees once Ford came to power.)

Miller's big fault was that he was too often consumed with the big picture (neighbourhood revitalization, tower renewal, environmental initiatives) to the sometime detriment of the small stuff (graffiti or whatever). Rob Ford is exactly the opposite.

Re: the bridge. It's clear that forces within city hall are just looking to sell as much high-value downtown real estate as possible over the next few years. They'll tell you this is fiscally prudent, but it's not. Selling assets is a band-aid fix, the same as using reserve funds. Toronto's budgetary problems are systemic, and have far more to do with a lack of stable revenue sources than anything else.
 
GraphicMatt said:
Re: the bridge. It's clear that forces within city hall are just looking to sell as much high-value downtown real estate as possible over the next few years. They'll tell you this is fiscally prudent, but it's not. Selling assets is a band-aid fix, the same as using reserve funds. Toronto's budgetary problems are systemic, and have far more to do with a lack of stable revenue sources than anything else.
Click to expand...

Remember: that would be the lack of stable revenue sources that they themselves engineered.

Also, I think it's both fair and legitimate to argue that there's ideology at play in this cancellation as much as anything else. To them, government projects = bad = money that could potentially be used for tax cuts.
 
Agreed on both fronts -- this year's budget was always going to be challenging, but the Ford administration has taken several steps that make the hole much deeper than it would have been otherwise. Cutting the vehicle registration tax, freezing property taxes, making the TTC an essential service, awarding the largest police union contract in recent memory, etc.

I think the ideology at play with this move, as with all the other anti-Waterfront stuff, is the idea that they might be able to make it through Ford's first term with minimal tax increases if they hold a fire sale downtown, off loading city-owned land to private developers. This will only make a bigger mess of the city's finances in the long-term, but it'll appease the anti-tax crowd.
 
Additional info from Ward 19 Councillor Mike Layton

“Friends,
You may already know that the Fort York Pedestrian/Cycle Bridge is under threat.

The next meeting of City Council is Tuesday May 17. I have introduced a motion intended to keep the bridge on track, on schedule and on budget. This motion will be voted on at the upcoming Council meeting.

I am asking for your help. If you care about this important project, and the many benefits it provides to neighbouring communities, to historic Fort York and to our waterfront, please write to Council and implore the Mayor and Councillors to vote in favour of this motion.

You can do this very simply by clicking on this link http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2011.MM8.6 and using the “Submit Comments†button at the top of the page.

If you require background information to write your comments, see my website at www.mikelayton.ca.

Please circulate this as widely as you can to friends, neighbours and anyone you think would want to keep this important project moving forward.

Thank you for your help and your dedication to your community and your city.

Working for you,
Mike Layton
Councillor, Ward 19 Trinity Spadinaâ€
 
Now were talking..knock off 4 million bucks and we just might get the bridge.:)

Rob Ford's frugality exemplified in Fort York link cancellation

Is Mayor Rob Ford a small-minded penny pincher, as his critics suggest? Or is he a proud city builder who simply wants Torontonians to get value for their money? The Fort York bridge debate offers a chance to find out.

Mr. Layton says that if cost is the issue, the city should work with the builders and designers to find savings on materials and other factors. He says it should also tap developers, given the benefit to area condo dwellers. He plans to make a Horatius’s stand for the bridge at city council this week. He needs a two-thirds majority to overrule a Ford-dominated council committee.

Here’s hoping Mr. Ford listens. A successful mayor has to do more than be prudent with taxpayers’ money, as important as that is. He has to invest in projects – smart, inspiring projects – that raise the value of the city. The Fort York bridge is one of them.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...n-fort-york-link-cancellation/article2024417/
 
Some wit from Shawn Micallef:
http://spacingtoronto.ca/2011/05/17...to-stop-worrying-and-love-that-toronto-sucks/

And another from the spacing blog:
http://spacingtoronto.ca/2011/05/16/headspace-the-fort-york-pedestrian-cycle-bridge/


I have to say I'm a little surprised at the lack of anger on this forum regarding this "cheeping", especially considering the relative connection to this and this. Is everyone just tired of bridges all of a sudden? Or has the wind been sucked out of us due to the current political landscape?
 
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