ST. GEORGE STREET
REVITALIZATION

In this project, planningAlliance, together with Brown + Storey Architects, sought to restore the balance between vehicles and pedestrians on the University of Toronto’s principal street, as well as create an approachable new identity for the campus.

The resulting design balances the street’s complex urban infrastructure, vehicular traffic flow and pedestrian/cyclist usage. At the same time, it acknowledges St. George’s disparate built heritage, which ranges from 19th century neo-Romanesque brownstones to mid-20th century Modernist academic buildings. The team narrowed the roadway to expand the pedestrian realm, and created gateways to mark the north and south entrances into the campus. Generous new grass verges and boulevards reinforce the existing pattern of trees, and sustain the new rows of trees that line the length of the street.

Constructed in the late 1990s, the resulting street creates a powerful new urban design precedent for Toronto, reconnecting this once grand boulevard’s architectural heritage with the street’s mixture of modern uses.

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
CITY OF TORONTO
TORONTO, CANADA
1997