I have a busy day ahead, so I thought I would try a little experiment with A.I., having recently been given access to the Bing Chat Bot. I shall return to that in a moment.
Yesterday, Keith Leslie posted this Tweet:
Why does
need a five-storey, underground parking garage, paid for by taxpayers, when its massive spa at Ontario Place will be on the new subway line? This needs to be an issue in the mayoral campaign. #onpoli #TOpoli
It is clear that Toronto city planners are not happy:
In a 13-page status report regarding the province’s planned overhaul of the city’s waterfront attraction, officials detailed their thoughts on the proposed 65,000-square metre private entertainment, water recreation and wellness centre.
The biggest issue appears to be with the facility’s main entrance and building, a 22,000 square-metre structure with a maximum height of 26 metres that will connect to the west island.
“The proposed entry building and bridge elements act as barriers, obscuring heritage views to Ontario Place, the pods and Cinesphere and integrated landscape as well as sight lines to water; these detract from the public sense of arrival to the west island,” the report read.
“The height, massing and scale of the main building overwhelms the public realm, heritage features and overall size of the west island landform.”
City planners say the current location of the building on the mainland “prioritizes private uses” and acts as a barrier to non-paying members of the public who wish to access the waterfront.
Beyond that, the report also took issue with a five-level underground parking garage.
The structure “does not prioritize transit and active transportation” and goes against the province’s own policies on reducing car use as laid out in its Provincial Policy Statement.
“The proposed five level subsurface parking structure, surface parking and resultant 2,700 space parking supply does not meet these policy objectives,” the report said.
Ontario submitted its development application for the new Ontario Place in November of 2022 and said at the time that it would feature 12 acres of accessible public space as well as a “family-friendly” attraction.
Much of the infrastructure for this private development, including the underground parking, will be funded by the taxpayer, something that is becoming SOP for the Ford government.
That got me thinking about two things: How would A.I depict this development, and doesn't the City of Toronto have a say in the redevelopment of Ontario Place,? I asked for a balanced report, and this is what I got:
Yes, the City of Toronto has some influence over the plans to redevelop Ontario Place. Premier Doug Ford insists that the city of Toronto will have a major say in the controversial redevelopment of Ontario Place as decisions on the provincial waterfront park are coming down to the wire1.
According to a report by Toronto city planners, they have found some issues with the proposed redevelopment of Ontario Place and say one part of the design is so big it “overwhelms the public realm”2. The city staff has issued a critical report of Ontario Place redesign proposal3.
The City will work with the Province in a cooperative and coordinated manner on the next phases of the Ontario Place redevelopment to optimize the potential of the Ontario Place and Exhibition Place sites and to achieve outcomes that are consistent with the City’s legacy of careful waterfront planning4.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. Learn more:
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