Toronto Foreshore, eternal vigilance?

Remember the battle over Toronto’s foreshore?

In 2018, Lake Macquarie City Council decided, with minimal public consultation, to pursue a four to six-storey mixed-use development on Council-owned foreshore land at Bath Street.

Community opposition followed, including a petition with more than 5,000 signatures and a well-attended public meeting. In September 2019, Council changed course, deferring the development and incorporating the site into the broader Toronto Foreshore Master Plan, adopted in 2021.

So where are we now? Local resident and long-time community watchdog Ron McSporran has been asking. Ron recently sought an update on the Wharf Road and Terraces precincts, including the much-criticised public amenities beside Toronto Baths.

Wharf Road Precinct. There is some good news.

Council says detailed design for a new amenities building is complete, including lockable change rooms with internal showers, accessible facilities, public toilets and an outdoor shower.

Remaining design and approvals for the Wharf Road precinct are expected to be finalised early this financial year.

Then comes the catch. There is no construction funding and no confirmed construction date.

Council says the project will be ready when construction dollars are allocated through a future Operational Plan.

And the Terraces?

Ron also raised the lack of visible progress in the northern precinct, including the Terraces and Bath Street ends, along with concerns about weeds, vegetation and the general condition of this important public waterfront. He made a pragmatic suggestion. If implementation of the Master Plan remained years away, why not undertake more immediate rehabilitation and landscaping?

Council says it will not abandon the Master Plan in favour of simply undertaking weeding and landscaping.

Funding has been allocated this financial year to complete detailed design of the northern precincts.

Council’s stated aim is that by the end of June 2027, all precincts of the Toronto Foreshore revitalisation will be designed, approved and construction-ready.

That’s progress. But construction-ready isn’t constructed.

Future work remains dependent on funding and must compete with other priorities across Lake Macquarie. Council cannot yet provide a construction timeframe.

For a community that fought hard to retain its foreshore as public space, that’s worth watching.

Back in the April 2020 Chronicle, while we waited for the draft Master Plan, we borrowed an old observation:“The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”

Six years later, perhaps the price of a great public foreshore is eternal patience.

Sincere thanks to Ron for his determination and vigilance.

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