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Bulletin
SAVE UNION STATION, Bulletin No. 6, November 18, 2002.
********* 1. Actions – what you can do right Now. As noted below in Item 2, the city has called a public meeting about Union Station for Monday November 25, 6 pm at the Metro Hall Council Chamber. A large public presence will help convince the city that a serious process of public information and involvement is needed before any decisions are made about the Station. Please attend this meeting. The Save Union Station Committee will be attempting to structure the meeting to ensure that it is the beginning of a serious public participation process rather than a one-off session to distract the public. At the same time, we urge you to contact your councillor, as well as councillors listed in Bulletin 5 urging them to agree to a strong public consultation process such as outlined in Bulletin 5.
2. City calls public meeting on Union Pearson bid Late Friday afternoon, November 15, the city circulated the following brief message by e-mail: Union Station Restoration and Revitalization Public Information Meeting When: 6 p.m. - 9:30 p.m., Monday, November 25, 2002 Where: Metro Hall Council Chamber, 2nd floor, 55 John Street The public is invited to attend an information meeting focusing on Union Pearson Group's development concept for Union Station. The meeting will consist of:
* A City staff presentation on the RFP process If you are unable to attend this information meeting but would like to comment, please e-mail the city at unionstation@toronto.ca . This notice appeared after the Administration Committee, on November 5, passed motions indicating that a public participation process should be developed, and after the Save Union Station Committee had made its November 11 proposal (in Bulletin No. 5) for such a process. It is unclear whether this meeting is meant to pre-empt the course of action set in place by the Administration Committee, and whether this meeting is authorized by councillors on the Administration Committee. After such a lengthy period of refusing to make the Union Pearson bid public, it seems strange that in the aftermath of a committee decision requiring the process to be opened up, a unilateral decision has been made for this meeting. It is also strange that this meeting takes the form of an 'open house' rather than a serious consultation process after the open house approach was so strongly criticized at the Administration Committee. Nevertheless, it is important to take advantage of this opportunity to get more information on the Union Pearson bid. We should see this meeting as the opportunity to accomplish four objectives: 1. Obtain a copy of the Union Pearson bid. It is not good enough to be given selected parts of that bid - the whole bid must be made public. 2. Obtain a copy of the bid by LP Heritage+. It will be important to compare the two bids to determine if indeed Union Pearson's bid is superior, and in what ways. 3. Obtain a copy of the 'Design Concept' which staff said on November 5 they were working on and which would be available in three weeks. It is critical to see what this document is, whether it serves public interests, and how bids stand up to it. (Is it the same as the `development concept' prepared by Union Pearson and referred to the notice of meeting? Or does the city have its own design concept?) 4. Press for and obtain the city's commitment to a serious program of public consultation. From the perspective of the Save Union Station Committee, any serious program of public consultation must contain two basic elements: * Public discussion on, and release of all information regarding: transportation; heritage; future development (including surrounding lands); finances; and urban design; and * A process led by experienced facilitators and a public advisory body which reviews all information and looks carefully at proposals and options. (The full draft public participation program is in Bulletin No. 5.) Members of the steering committee will be doing what they can both before and at the November 25 meeting to seek the city's agreement to this kind of process. Please attend on November 25 to make your voice heard.
3. Transportation plans for the Station The steering committee of the Save Union Station Committee is attempting to meet with the three main users of Union Station - GO Transit, VIA Rail, and the TTC - to learn their interests and requirements for the Station serving as the downtown's transportation hub for the next three or four decades. We hope to be able to report on what we learned at several of these meetings before November 25. *** Please consider sending this Bulletin to a friend. If you have not received this Bulletin directly from the site and wish to subscribe, send a short note to to signup@saveunionstation.ca, and please visit our website at http://www.saveunionstation.ca |
Contact Us: info@saveunionstation.ca