Bloor St. Harbord St. College St. Dundas St. Queen St.

Bathurst St.

Jarvis St. Church St.

Lansdowne Ave.

Yonge St. Bay St.

Ossington Ave.

Du erin St.

Spadina Ave.

Roncescalles Ave.

NORTH

SOUTH Neighbourhood Context

Lake Ontario

King St.

1 km

In the late 19th Century, Parkdale was a rapidly growing neighbourhood that welcomed upper-class residents. Growth was facilitated by rail and streetcar lines. Proximity to the waterfront and the Sunnyside Amusement Park and Bathing Pavilion added to the neighbourhoods appeal.

The construciton of the Gardiner Expressway in the late 1950s cut the neighbourhood off from the lakeshore, causing a shift away from Parkdales desirability and affluence. Large family homes gave way to high-rises and boarding houses. The Gardiner Expressway acts as a hard neighborhood boundary. The railpath to the northeast also defines the nieghbourhood boundary. Queen Street is a permeable boundary between North and South Parkdale.

Node Landmark Hard boundary Soft boundary Path Neighbourhood boundary 500 m

Node

Recent redevelopment along Queen Landmark Street includes a new condo buildHard boundary ing at Queen and Dufferin as well as the development of many new bars Soft boundary and restaurants. Path Neighbourhood boundary

Zoning

Restaurants and Bars

Between 2010 and 2012, there have been 40 new business licenses granted for restaurants in the Parkdale BIA The rapid restaurant expansion has generated considerable tension within Parkdale, resulting in the implementation of an Interim Control Zoning Bylaw (ICBL). This will prevent any new restaurants from opening along Queen St West for one year to allow for the completion of a restaurant study to determine the impacts on the surrounding neighbourhood Complaints within the neighbourhood were based partially on late-night noise issues

500 m Mixed-Use Open Space Neighbourhood Institutional Apartment Neighbourhood

Zoning in Parkdale speaks to the the current divide between North and South Parkdale: North Parkdale is zoned primarily for low-density residential units. Significant portions of South Parkdale are zoned for apartments. Queen Street is entirely zoned for mixed-use development. King Street, in contrast to its typical form is zoned for residential development only. There is a scarcity of public open space in Parkdale, however many apartments and instutions have large amounts of green space that are publically accessible. In 1999 Toronto ran the Parkdale Pilot Project to regularlize the licensing of boarding houses.

Dwellings in 5+ story buildings

1965-1999 2000-2009 = 5 bars or restaurants

500 m Friday Night Sound Profile Sunday Morning Profile

2010-2012

A sound profile comparison was undertaken to visualize the difference in peak sound levels and locations between a Friday Night and Sunday afternoon

Demographics

Median household income

Rate of rentership

Recent immigrants

500 m Median Household Income & Rentership > $50,000 $0-25,000 $35,000-50,000 = 75% Rental $20,000-35,000

Nearly all dwellings in South Parkdale are rented, showing a contrast in type of residences and users in North and South Parkdale. Available household spending Housing stock (high rise vs. low density housing)

500 m RECENT IMMIGRANTS 10%-20% > 40% 30%-40% 0%-10% 20%-30%

8% 18%
Rooming houses Affordable housing Community services TCHC houses proposed for sale

Legal, food, youth & family, health & counselling, settlement and recreation servies are clustered around Queen Street. Distribution of services exemplifies diverse needs of South Parkdale and lack of need in North Parkdale. The allocation of affordable housing reinforces this divide.

Parkdale is also home to a large number of residents with mental health and addiction challenges following the de-instutionalization of mental health facilities. The number of rooming houses in the neighbourhood provides these residents with affordable housing options.

Traffic and Connectivity

Character

Queen Street 500 m Vehicle traffic Pedestrian traffic TTC Route Recommended bike street Transit space Vehicle space Bicycle space Pedestrian space Apartment yards Jameson Avenue

Some of Parkdales key transportation and connectivity characteristics: Lack of E-W and N-S connectivity. N-S streets dead-end at Queen. Lack of cycling routes. Sorauren is a recommended bike street, but a poor option due to its narrow width. Most residential streets are oneway, making vehicle navigation difficult. Queen, King, Lansdowne, Dufferin and Roncesvalles feature regular TTC service. However the low-income, high density Jameson corridor lacks service. Traffic congestion occurs at most major intersections. In particular the Jameson corridor deals with significant congestion at peak times since it accesses the Gardiner Expresseway.