Laneway Project looks to unlock potential of Toronto's 2,400 laneways

[M II A II R II K]

Could Toronto laneways become something more?


Nov 12, 2014



Read More: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...more-1.2832354

They aren't quite roads and fall short of sidewalk status, but Toronto's 2,400 laneways have the potential to become vibrant, useable spaces, according to Mackenzie Keast.

- "We see all these laneways in Toronto as a hidden layer of public space, this resource that we haven't really utilized in a very effective way," he said Wednesday in an interview on CBC Radio's Metro Morning. --- "A lot of people don't know actually how extensive the Toronto laneway network is," said Keast. --- Laneways are increasingly seen as viable locations for new housing as the city continues to grow and real estate prices skyrocket.

- In addition to mapping, the project is aimed at improving laneways to the point where they become destinations. The movement was inspired in part by Melbourne, Australia, where little-used laneways were transformed into vibrant public spaces. The group hopes to try bringing pop-up shops, public art and venues for community events to Toronto laneways. Their website points to successful laneway revivals in Seattle, Perth, Australia, and Chicago.

- Keast said he hopes revitalizing laneways will become a "big movement" in Toronto and a way to relieve pressure the city's growth has put on the city's public spaces. --- "There are a lot of people who've been working on laneways behind the scenes for a long time. We're trying to bring those voices together under one umbrella and push it forward."

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[Steely Dan]

i had no idea that canadians called alleys "laneways".

i've never heard that term before.

you learn something new everyday

[Busy Bee]

Of course, my first pet was a laneway cat! (not really)

[Nouvellecosse]

We use the term alley for commercial settings or larger scale residential, but not so much single family houses. There would be an alley behind an apartment buildings or behind the buildings on a retail strip.

[Steely Dan]

^ it's interesting that a distinction is made.

in chicago (and i would guess for most other places in the US), any secondary mid-block service road is called an "alley", regardless of whether it runs through the skyscraper canyons of the loop or the much more modestly scaled backyard garages out in the bungalow belt or anywhere else in between. they're all just simply "alleys" regardless of context, and chicago has an unbelievable shit-ton of them. i'd hazard a guess that >95% of all city blocks in chicago have alleys bisecting them. even going out from the city into the inner ring burbs where i grew up, alleys are ubiquitous. it was a style of urban development that chicago took to heart and ran with when it was exploding onto the scene in the late 19th/early 20th centuries.

one of the great failures of postwar planning (among the many, many great failures of postwar planning) was the abandonment of alleys (which was directly related to the abandonment of the entire notion of "blocks") which then led to individual driveways, curb cuts, and street-facing garages.

[drew]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

We use the term alley for commercial settings or larger scale residential, but not so much single family houses. There would be an alley behind an apartment buildings or behind the buildings on a retail strip.

It would be called a "back alley" here in Winnipeg.

I have never heard the term "laneway" used here.

[Mikemike]

Here (edmonton) lane and Alley are synonymous, often as backalley or back lane.

[drew]

^ Winnipeg would also use "back lane" or "back alley" interchangeably.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

i had no idea that canadians called alleys "laneways".

i've never heard that term before.

you learn something new everyday

you would enjoy the 1,000 different names that we have for a parking structure then. Parking Garage, Parking Ramp, Parkade, etc.

[isaidso]

I'd never heard the term 'laneway' till I moved to Toronto. Out east (the Maritimes), they'd just call it an alley.

[MolsonExport]

I hear Alley more commonly than laneway.

Melbourne has done wonderful stuff with some of their inner city alleys

[BIMBAM]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I'd never heard the term 'laneway' till I moved to Toronto. Out east (the Maritimes), they'd just call it an alley.

In Vancouver, the term laneway is used often. I think it's become so popular these days because of the use of the term "laneway house", where people replace the garages that face laneways and build small houses for rent or for living in. It sounds more gentile then "alley house", so the term is taking over.

[mhays]

Just "alley" in my area. Even one that long ago became a pedestrian focus in some stretches (Post Alley) is still called an alley.

As for parking garages, it's disconcerting and unacceptable for those to be called "ramps" (what if it's flat!?) or "parkades" (what does that even mean?).

[Xelebes]

The laneway as shown does look different than what I would normally call an alley. Though I can't place my finger on them.

[pdxtex]

i dunno, i dont really get it. this seems like it would be the lowest civic priority on the planning dept's budget. kind of like making up a solution for a non existant problem. alley's aren't meant for broad social interaction, thats why we have a sidewalk in front of the property. alleys are for trashcans and cat fights.....maybe if they could come up with something novel like a signed alternative bike network. increasing density building on top of garage footprints seems interesting but id like to see the zoning redtape involved. probably not going to happen easily. portland has miles of alleys that arent even paved. that would be a good start around here.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by BIMBAM

In Vancouver, the term laneway is used often. I think it's become so popular these days because of the use of the term "laneway house", where people replace the garages that face laneways and build small houses for rent or for living in. It sounds more gentile then "alley house", so the term is taking over.

I think you nailed it.

Growing up in Canada I never heard the term Laneway, but ever since the advent of smaller housing along the alleys more and more have stated calling them laneways since 'alley house' sounds pretty junky.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

I think you nailed it.

Growing up in Canada I never heard the term Laneway, but ever since the advent of smaller housing along the alleys more and more have stated calling them laneways since 'alley house' sounds pretty junky.

In chicago, and perhaps other places too, back-lot houses that front an alley are called "coach houses". I have no idea how that term came about.

[pdxtex]

rich people of yore had coaches (or carriages, can be called a carriage house). its just a victorian garage and sometimes housing.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I'd never heard the term 'laneway' till I moved to Toronto. Out east (the Maritimes), they'd just call it an alley.

I've been in the Maritimes my whole life and I don't recall hearing something like what's depicted in the article called an alley before. The term back lane seems to be the most common.

[yaletown_fella]

I grew up in a victorian rowhouse in Toronto. Our family always called it the "back lane"