Someone is documenting all the fun businesses operating out of Toronto laneways
Approximately 2,400 laneways crisscross the heart of Toronto, adding up to a staggering 300 kilometres of streets almost entirely lacking in animation.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
One urban planner has been pressuring the City to rewrite the script on laneways by permitting mixed-use developments and is showing off all the instances where laneway businesses have created life in these urban dead zones.
Blair Scorgie, a partner at Sajecki Planning, has been meticulously documenting the various types of businesses populating Toronto laneways in a bid to convince the City to loosen its stringent restrictions on this type of development.
This cafe operates out of a laneway in Leslieville. Don’t tell me it can’t be done,@cityoftoronto and @CityPlanTO. #topoli pic.twitter.com/L9hVXtQaj7
— Blair Scorgie (@BlairScorgie) December 13, 2023
Scorgie tells blogTO that the social media campaign was a direct result of City pushback from an application to modify a laneway-fronting property.
This publisher operates out of a laneway at the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus. Don’t tell me it can’t be done, @cityoftoronto and @CityPlanTO. #topoli pic.twitter.com/ZIHN0kTSUb
— Blair Scorgie (@BlairScorgie) December 12, 2023
“I represent a client who is interested in converting their detached garage into a small grocery store,” said Scorgie, noting that the proposed use is not permitted by the City.
This coffee roaster and cafe operates out of a laneway in Leslieville. Don’t tell me it can’t be done, @cityoftoronto and @CityPlanTO. #topoli pic.twitter.com/Xo4vIXJm7D
— Blair Scorgie (@BlairScorgie) December 13, 2023
He explains that after discussions with City staff, “it does not appear to be something they will support.”
“This is despite the fact that the City is currently studying the potential for commercial uses in neighbourhoods,” said Scorgie, stressing that the City’s study “is limited to primary buildings.”
This sushi restaurant operates out of a laneway in Dufferin Grove. Don’t tell me it can’t be done, @cityoftoronto and @CityPlanTO. #topoli pic.twitter.com/18cX9FivdS
— Blair Scorgie (@BlairScorgie) December 14, 2023
Meanwhile, Scorgie says he is “trying to argue it should be expanded to include accessory structures and portions of buildings fronting onto rear laneways.”
This bar operates out of a laneway in Bloordale Village. Don’t tell me it can’t be done, @cityoftoronto and @CityPlanTO. #topoli pic.twitter.com/oKoFQEAkpd
— Blair Scorgie (@BlairScorgie) December 14, 2023
He says that his campaign of sharing examples of laneway businesses contributing to the urban fabric is a form of “advocacy work for the purpose of generating discussion on this topic.”
“In doing so, I am trying to build support for the idea for both the benefit of my client and other business owners,” he says.
This brewery operates out of a laneway in Leslieville. Don’t tell me it can’t be done,@cityoftoronto and @CityPlanTO. #topoli pic.twitter.com/7WfIeipoj4
— Blair Scorgie (@BlairScorgie) December 14, 2023
In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Scorgie noted that mixed-use development in laneways remains a blind spot for city planning and has actively campaigned for the City to permit such projects in all Toronto laneways.
This flower store operates out of a laneway in Riverdale. Don’t tell me it can’t be done, @cityoftoronto and @CityPlanTO. #topoli pic.twitter.com/MwCi3584dV
— Blair Scorgie (@BlairScorgie) December 15, 2023
“It is time for the City of Toronto to embrace the concept of mixed-use laneways,” wrote Scorgie in a recent LinkedIn post.
“Our public laneway network has the potential to accommodate a broad range and diversity of neighbourhood-compatible non-residential uses, which do not require an expensive commercial main street frontage, and contribute toward the creation of complete communities.”
Scorgie argues that “from professional offices to maker spaces, artist studios, bicycle repair shops, convenience stores and greengrocers, the possibilities are endless, and the potential to incentivize entrepreneurship is significant.”
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