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Last week I attended my very first bike tour in Toronto. I am not only a regular cyclist, both indoors and out, but I am also a life-long downtown Torontonian, so I have never really felt the need to convoy through the streets of TO.

In any case, the ULITourdeTO exceeded all my expectations. Our day began bright and early when we met at the George Brown College Waterfront Campus. Since it was such a beautiful morning, we had no problem building up the energy for all the participants. By 9:30AM, fed and coffee’d, almost 130 developers, planners, architects and urbanists descended upon the streets of TO to tour some of the most beautiful and interesting developments in the city.

We were split into two groups. The first group (of which I was not a part of because I did not sign up early) got the opportunity to travel to projects as far away as the Humber River; in particular, they got to see ‘Motel-Row’ on Lakeshore West. This area is approximately 420 metres long with an overall potential development area of 6.5 hectares. The group was given the inside scoop on the happenings along this dramatically changing lakeside community. The rest of us stayed in the downtown core where we visited areas such as Corktown Commons, Regent Park and the Secondary Waterfront Plan on Queens Quay.

The whole day was fantastic. The speakers were energetic and informed and the stops were perfectly stocked with food and beverages (most of which was generously provided by Starbucks).

The biggest surprise for me was hearing the vision behind the recalibrated Queens Quay Boulevard by West 8 + DTAH. West 8 project manager, Jelle Therry spoke in depth on the new urban promenade and public spaces at the heads-of-slips from Bathurst to Parliament streets. Although, I do not regularly drive a car, I am well-versed in the hair-pulling frustrations that come from any visit to this area of Queens Quay. But after the ULITourdeTO, I am confident that I feel the same way as I did with the St. Clair West Streetcar project. The project is a necessary rite of passage for our Waterfront streets.

What ULITourdeTO provides is incredibly exciting. To me, it is an opportunity to see areas beyond my familiar travels as well as show new Torontonians old, new and unique builds across the city, all while supporting an active and healthy lifestyle.

I am already gearing up for next year. It is going to be interesting to see how far along these projects are as well as how the streets and retail respond.

Thanks ULI!