As reported in the National Post, from illuminated LRT tracks to fountain-filled public squares, the large-scale model of Sidewalk Labs’ proposed Quayside development is eye-catching to say the least. But for anyone who lives or lingers in Toronto’s downtown waterfront, one feature of the flashy mock-up will likely stand out: The revamped Parliament Slip.

Ringed by docks, paths and parkland, Sidewalk’s vision for the watery notch just west of the Port Lands would provide the kind of cottage-country lake access that simply does not exist elsewhere along Queens Quay. “People have tended to think about waterfront as the edge of a community,” says Jesse Shapins, director of public realm for New York-based Sidewalk Labs. “We see it as being integrated into the community in the same sort of way as in Amsterdam or Venice.”

Part of this is about allowing people “to get out and experience the water on boats, kayaks and paddleboards,” Shapins says. “It’s also about thinking long-term. Will there be ferries that connect us to Scarborough? Will there be more connectivity across the lake?”

Less than two years after winning the opportunity to plan the 12-acre Quayside site, the subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet Inc. unveiled its ambitious and controversial Master Innovation and Development Plan on June 23. The 1,524-page proposal, entitled “Toronto Tomorrow,” encompasses 190 acres of Toronto’s eastern waterfront, with a series of public consultations and negotiations between Sidewalk and the Waterfront Toronto intergovernmental planning organization slated to yield a final agreement in early 2020.

Regardless of how Sidewalk’s proposal plays out, it is the latest and most pronounced example of downtown waterfront developers’ unprecedented efforts to enhance access to, and enjoyment of, the 13th largest lake in the world.

Now under construction at the northeast corner of Queens Quay East and Freeland Street, a new two-acre park will connect Menkes Developments’ seven-tower Sugar Wharf project to the lakeshore. Once complete in 2022, the 11.5-acre complex will be the largest mixed-use development on the waterfront, with 7,500 residents and 4,000 office workers living, and earning their livings, there.

Keep reading in the National Post