Are you interested in participating in the MobiliTO Design Charette? This one-day charette is being held to create and present a design of a mobility plan to City of Toronto Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. The Centre for City Ecology, with its partners including the OAA, hopes to reset the mobility issues debate by bringing together communities in the urban core to rethink mobility as a comprehensive network that requires holistic and accessible solutions. See  further details about the charette below:

Background

Mobility and transportation in Ontario has fast become a major defining issue. The continued growth of the city has strained its mobility networks making it more and more difficult to get around. A common theme through all of this has been gridlock, both physically and metaphorically, as vehicles and civic leadership are seemingly at a standstill. This gridlock is costly. The Toronto Board of Trade estimates that physical gridlock costs the local economy $6 billion annually and is anticipated to grow to $15 billion by 2031. Gridlock among civic leaders and funding challenges are also denying the necessary investments that are needed to maintain aging infrastructure and meet demand resulting in massive backlogs and piecemeal approaches to mobility issues. Politically, mobility issues have been at the forefront of debate in recent years. From Metrolinx's The Big Move to Transit City and the City's official bike plans, actions have been made to document what we need and what we need to do to get there. What is required is the acceptance of all forms of mobility to make the city work. Debates between citizens of differing opinion only works to alienate communities, discourage participation and turn good ideas into political footballs. The Centre for City Ecology, with its partners, hopes to help reset this debate by bringing together communities in the urban core to rethink mobility as a comprehensive network that requires holistic and accessible solutions. The goal of Mobili-TO is to explore the issue from different perspectives at a deeper level, discuss more comprehensive solutions and move the debate away from small piecemeal and politicized approaches towards a practical, shared and equitable community-based vision for accessible mobility in the downtown Toronto core. Results will be shared with civic leaders and local communities in order to work towards building Toronto into a city that is desirable from a mobility standpoint.  Going forward the group is planning on holding a similar charette in suburban and rural centres.

The Community Planning and Design program of the Centre for City Ecology, with its many partners, will host this project that will include:

Scope:

The Community Planning and Design program of the Centre for City Ecology, with its many partners, will host this project that will include:

• Gathering relevant research, conducting user-interviews, running a one day workshop, and compilation of a summary report.

• Bringing together the cyclists, motorists, small business and city services to develop a shared vision for urban mobility and movement. 

• Exploring and holding discussions on mobility issues from multiple perspectives 

• Highlighting the challenges with which the core is faced, and opportunities that exist.

Focus Area The physical boundaries for the focus area of the Charette will be Bloor Street to the north, Bathurst Street to the west, the Don Valley to the east and Lake Ontario to the south.

Deliverables:

-A presentation of findings including design and planning options to be considered which can be presented to the City’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee

Partners 
Partners on-board to date include:

• Centre for City Ecology
• Workshop in Planning Practice at the University of Toronto
• Sweeny Sterling Finlayson &Co Architects Inc.
• Canadian Institute of Planners -- Fellows Program
• Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation
• Spacing Magazine
• Toronto Cyclists' Union
• Ontario Association of Architects

Draft Agenda for Charette