EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. CLEAN. - meets recreational water quality guideline 2. GREEN

Transcription

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Mting Public Accssibility and Rcrational Nds in Urban Watrfront Opn Spac Systms: A Comparati.v Analysis of Missi.ssauga and Etobicok l<'3\'n El1iGtt In this rport, th watrfront opn spac systms of Mississauga and Etobicok wr analyzd in trms of how wll thy provid opportunitis for public accssibility and rcration. In ordr to valuat accss to and rcrational us of both Mississauga and Etobicok's watrfronts, th nin principls introducd in Rgnration (1992) wr rviwd and applid to Mississauga and Etobicok. Clan Grn Connctd Accssibl Opn Usabl Divrs Affordabl Attractiv Th dtaild public us valuation critria for th analysis of th watrfront opn spac systms wr basd on Rgnration's (1992) goal of a halthy, divrs and sustainabl cosystm along th watrfront. Thy wr collctd from xisting rsarch rports and policy documnts and wr organizd to fall undr th nin Rgnration (1992) principls. Essntially, th 24 public us valuation critria wr usd to gaug how wll ach of th nin principls wr bing mt in th improvmnt and dvlopmnt of opn spacs on th watrfront in Mississauga and Etobicok. Th critria wr organizd as follows: 1. CLEAN 2. GREEN - mts rcrational watr quality guidlin - significant ara of land in public opn spac - significant ara of public opn spac in natural ara, or natural habitat

2 3. CONNECTED - Watliront Trail wavs through parks - Watliront Trail locatd clos to watr's dg - limitd us of an artrial road in Watliront Trail rout - historic faturs and buildings maintaind and nhancd - intrprtiv natur trail(s) prsnt along th watliront 4. ACCESSIBLE 5. OPEN 6. USEABLE 7. DIVERSE - minimal walking distanc btwn public transit and watliront parkland - comfortabl width of two-way multi-us pathways for all usrs, including th disabld - positiv signs and/or maps at ntrancs to parks - viw of lak from north/south strts - viw of lak from northrn boundary of parks - provision of a rang of activitis in parks - no hiddn nclavs or nclosurs in parks - adquat night lighting of th Watliront Trail - minimal distanc btwn picnic ara(s) and parking ara(s) - public facilitis availabl in parks - wintr maintnanc of park pathways - supportiv surrounding land uss around parks - attractions in parks to draw usrs 8. AFFORDABLE - boat-launch ramps and marina slips on th watliront - minimal cost to travl to and ntr watliront parks 9. ATTRACTIVE - mix of landscap typs in parks Th 34 watliront parks from both communitis wr classifid into local, rgional, natural and activity cntr classifications. Eightn sampl parks wr slctd to provid adquat covrag across th park classifications for both watliront aras for th dtaild analysis. II

3 Th analysis of th two watrfront opn spac systms brought forth two typs of information. Th first typ includs th rlationship btwn public accssibility and rcrational opportunitis, and th physical sttings found in and around watrfront parks. This information was summarizd and mappd, accordingly. Th scond typ includs information about th ability of ach watrfront park in th sampl to concivably mt th public us valuation critria of watrfront opn spacs. In ordr to analys this, a matrix was usd to rank ach of th sampl parks in trms of how wll ach satisfis th public us valuation critria. Th data findings for parks on both watrfronts wr valuatd in th contxt of th public us valuation critria. Upon th comparison and analysis of th findings, positiv orintation signs/maps, historic faturs and minimal cost to travl to and ntr watrfront parks mrgd as positiv charactristics of th watrfront opn spac systm in Mississauga, whil viws from north/south strts, locating th Watrfront Trail clos to th watr and minimal cost to travl to ntr watrfront parks mrgd as positiv charactristics of th watrfront opn spac systm in Etobicok. In gnral, it was found that Etobicok fulfills slightly mor of th public us valuation critria than Mississauga. Tabls I and II provid a visual comparison of how wll ach of th two watrfront opn spac systms mt th public us valuation critria. Etobicok's watrfront opn spac systm may prform bttr than Mississauga's du to its opn grid strt ntwork in th nighbourhoods along th watrfront. Lak Promnad Road, locatd just north of th lak along most of th lngth of Etobicok's watrfront, and th numrous north-south strts nding at th lak, provid frqunt viws of th lak, as wll as ampl public accss to th lak. In contrast, Mississauga's hirarchical curvilinar road pattrn limits th City's ability to match Etobicok's succss in viws and continuous public accss. Th prformanc of both watrfront opn spac systms was comparabl on th majority of th valuation critria. Histolic faturs and buildings, intrprtiv natur trails, rangs of activitis and attractions in parks, minimal hiddn nclavs, night lighting, public facilitis and a mix of landscap typs wr all found to b adquatly providd in both watrfront opn spac systms. Both watrfront systms fll short in trms of adquat rcrational watr quality. III

4 Tabl I: Ara-Wid~ Public Us Evaluation Critria MISSISSAUGA ETOBICOKE CLEAN Watr Quality GREEN Watrfront Opn Spac f) f) Watrfront Natural Ara f) f) CONNECTED Watrfront Trail Nar Watr f) WFT* Not Nar Artrial Road f) f) OPEN Watrfront Historic Faturs Natur Trails Along Watrfront f) f) Viw From North I South Strts ~. i; i '~ AFFORDABLE Boat Launch Ramps f) () Minimal Cost To Travl and Entr ATIRACTIVE Mix of Landscap Typs f) f) * WFT =Watrfront Trail Significantly Excds Critrion Adquatly Mts Critrion Scarcly Mts Critrion Dos Not Mt Critrion N/A Not Applicabl IV

5 Th data that was obtaind for this rport indicat that thr ar aras that could b improvd so that public accss and rcrational opportunitis on th two watrfront opn spac systms could improv. Th analysis of th data ld to th following rcommndations for both municipalitis: SHORT-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS: In Mississauga, th rout of th Watrfront Trail should loop down through Richard's Mmorial Park. In Mississauga, th srious ntrapmnt ara in th southast cornr of Rhododndron Gardns should b 'opnd up'. In Etobicok, construction of th Mimico Crk Bridg should continu. In Etobicok, th Watrfront Trail through Amos Waits Park should b rconstructd. In Etobicok, th Watrfront Trail through Colonl Samul Smith Park should b pavd throughout its lngth, not intrmittntly. Th signs postd at many of Etobicok's watrfront parks should b of a mor positiv natur. In Etobicok, parks such as Mari Curtis Park, Colonl Samul Smith Park, and Palac Pir Park should rciv wintr pathway maintnanc. MEDIUM-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS: Bttr storm watr managmnt practics should volv nar th watrfront. All watrfront parks should b rcognizd as spcial placs whos dvlopmnt mrits particular considration with rspct to form, scal, dtail and matrials. In Etobicok, a focus should b cratd for urban watrfront activitis in th dvlopmnt of th nw Etobicok Motl Strip Public Amnity Ara. Th Watrfront Trail should b availabl for us through th nw Etobicok Motl Strip Public Amnity Ara, and along th shorlin, bfor th land has bn fully dvlopd. Drgulation of public transit srvic should occur so that a singl bus far will carry passngrs btwn Mississauga and Etobicok, along Lakshor Road I Lak Shor Boulvard Wst. Both municipalitis should look for mor opportunitis to incorporat nativ vgtation and natural landscaps into th watrfront parks. VI

6 An official ntranc to Rattray Marsh should b stablishd at Jack Darling Mmorial Park, prhaps at th foot of Parkland Avnu. LONG-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS: Public land us acquisitions should continu on th watrfront in both Mississauga and Etobicok. Attractions in local parks in both watrfront communitis should b nhancd. In Mississauga, any futur dvlopmnt of th Txaco South Industrial Proprty and th St. Lawrnc Starch sit in Port Crdit should includ a) connctions to th Watrfront Trail along th shorlin and b) th incorporation of a grid road systm. In Mississauga, any futur dvlopmnt of th Txaco South Industrial Proprty should includ land uss supportiv to public opn spacs. VII