Keating Channel Pedestrian Bridge

Background

The Keating Channel Precinct Plan (2010), the Villiers Island Precinct Plan (2017), and the Port Lands Planning Framework all imagined a pedestrian and cyclist bridge that crossed the Keating Channel, linking the Central Waterfront to Promontory Park and Villiers Island. These plans were all informed by extensive community consultation and engagement.
 

In early 2023 the Federal Government committed to funding for a bridge at this site and Waterfront Toronto committed to financing the remainder of the project budget that was not covered by the Federal commitment. Once funding was secured, Waterfront Toronto, the City of Toronto and MCFN initiated a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and Design Competition process.
 

In keeping with Waterfront Toronto and the City of Toronto’s commitment to public engagement, we established a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to support this stage of the project. The Committee’s mandate is to provide a forum for feedback, guidance and advice to the Keating Channel Pedestrian Bridge project team at key points during the Design Competition. This includes articulating the committee’s aspirations for the bridge and sharing feedback and comments with the design competition evaluation committee for their consideration.  

Project Goals

Together, Waterfront Toronto, the City of Toronto, MCFN and the CAC, identified and refined six project goals to guide the bridge design and implementation:

1. Create a Beautiful and Distinctive Gateway to the Waterfront

Becoming a landmark and a destination on the waterfront and complementing the existing Port Lands bridges.
 

2. Connect the City and Villiers Island

Connecting Quayside to an expanded regional park system along the Don River by providing safe, direct, and equitable access across the Keating Channel.
 

3. Incorporate a Living Landscape

Celebrating our connections with land and water by integrating nature in the design and offering opportunities for biodiversity.
 

4. Create with Indigenous Voice and Agency

Contributing to the visibility and overall wellbeing of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples in Toronto through Place-making and Place-keeping and honouring Indigenous ways of knowing and being.
 

5. Embody Sustainable Strategies and Innovation

Symbolizing, representing, and celebrating sustainability, climate resiliency and green infrastructure, extending to cost efficiency, life-cycle analysis, constructability, durability, and maintainability, to the extent possible.
 

6. Create a Place for All People

Offering unique, inclusive experiences of transition, interaction, observation, comfort, discovery, sensation, safety, and access to all users.

Indigenous Design and Engagement

Incorporating Indigenous design principles and engagement with Indigenous communities is key to this project. Waterfront Toronto is working with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Host Nation and Treaty Holder, and the City of Toronto’s Indigenous Affairs Office to achieve this goal and support local Indigenous arts, cultures, storytelling, histories, and traditions. The effort focuses on celebrating Indigenous Place-making and Place-keeping – the collective re-imagining of public spaces to strengthen the connection between place, community, values, culture, past, present and future.
 

The Indigenous design integration will be guided by the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and informed by engagement and collaboration with Indigenous consultants, team members, organizations, and communities, throughout the course of this project.

Accessibility

The Keating Channel Pedestrian Bridge will provide an accessible path of travel across the Keating Channel. It will go above and beyond AODA compliance and adhere to the City of Toronto’s Accessibility Design Guidelines and Waterfront Toronto’s Draft Accessibility Design Guidelines.

Active Transportation

The Keating Channel Pedestrian Bridge will complement existing pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, including the separated bike lanes on the Cherry Street bridge that connect the Martin Goodman Trail to the bike paths on Villiers Island and Toronto’s greater cycling network. This bridge will offer an additional crossing, connecting the Water’s Edge Promenade to the east of Parliament Slip to a future park and pedestrian pathways at Promontory Park North.
 

Design Competition

In May 2023, Waterfront Toronto and its partners issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) seeking architects, engineers, landscape architects and other design professionals to submit statements of qualifications to produce innovative design proposals for the bridge. We received 13 submissions from a variety of local, national and international teams. Following careful evaluation of the submissions, five (5) Proponents were selected to participate in the Design Competition stage. 

To further the public aspect of the Design Competition, the shortlisted teams shared their designs with the public at a virtual meeting on September 28, 2023 and public feedback was sought through an online survey that was open for one week from September 28-October 5. 

Learn more about the virtual design presentations.

An evaluation committee made up of Waterfront Toronto, City of Toronto and  Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation staff will review the designs considering input from a Technical Advisory Committee, the Community Advisory Committee and the public. More information to follow.

This project is funded, in part, by the Government of Canada.