Audio Tour: The Bentway
The Bentway’s Manager of Facilities & Visitor Experience, Lara Samuel, takes you on a virtual walking tour of our space, sharing site-specific insights, safety considerations and personal stories. Begin at the east end of The Bentway (as indicated on the map below) and walk westward, listening to each corresponding audio clip as you stroll or read along with the transcript below.
THE LANDING
[THE LANDING - 90B]
Welcome to The Bentway!
I’m delighted that you could join us today for a virtual walk through our space.
My name is Lara, and I am the Manager of Facilities and Visitor Experience at The Bentway. In this role, I am in charge of overseeing the day-to-day operations of The Bentway site, as well as the Visitor Experience strategy.
Just like my role in general, the facilities team that I oversee wears many hats. They are the ones keeping the park in shape on a daily basis, with tasks such as landscaping, snow clearing, janitorial and maintenance duties. But they are also the ones who chat to our visitors, inform people about the space and it’s history, answer questions, troubleshoot issues, and lend an ear when an ear is needed. And lastly, they are also the boots on the ground for the physical set up and tear down of our internal programs and events.
Running a large open space without doors comes with its own set of opportunities and challenges. By definition, our space is always open, and there is some infrastructure that we provide to the community 24 hours a day.
Today, I’m happy to lead you through the site from my Facilities and Visitor Experience perspectives, highlighting both the original ambitions of the project and day-to-day realities of managing a public space, which are, at times, at odds. I’ll also tell you about the tools we have created to communicate with the community and what we have learned over the last 3 years from the people that use our space.
To start off the tour, we would like to acknowledge that we are on the treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit and the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, the Métis, and many other Indigenous nations. Toronto is now home to many diverse Indigenous people. We recognize them as the past, present and future caretakers of this land. We would like to pay our respects to all who have gathered and will continue to gather in this place.
Throughout this tour, I will give you indications on when to move to different spaces. All of these are just suggestions, so feel free to stroll along at your own pace.
Right now, you should be standing in the middle of the most eastern space of the current Bentway site, a space we call “The Landing”.
The Landing is named for a future phase of The Bentway. It will be the landing point of a large cycling and pedestrian bridge, which is meant to take visitors overtop of Fort York Boulevard, continuing the linear walkway that will go all the way through The Bentway site. Creating safe connections along the Gardiner Corridor is an important goal of the project. We want to give people the ability to move more easily and safely below the active highway, improving access between neighbourhoods and down to the lake.
By the way, the pillars holding up the highway are called “bents”. It’s an engineering term that refers to the concrete columns and beams, and that is why The Bentway is called The Bentway! We know that names matter, as they capture the layered history of a space and the communities that have shaped it. They are often safety indicators themselves, signaling who belongs in a space and who doesn’t, whose histories are recognized and whose histories are missing.
For these reasons, it was really important for us to involve the public in the naming of this space. The name was chosen in a public naming contest in June 2016, when a panel of 12 artists, policy experts and community leaders first defined a list of four names from more than 800 suggestions. The general public then voted on these four names, and chose “The Bentway”.
I have a question for you: What would you have called this space if you had been the one to pick the name? I would love to know.
THE SKATE TRAIL
Let’s take a stroll now further west into the space that houses our free ice skating trail during the winter time. We’ll pause once we get to the intersection in the figure-eight concrete trail.
For those of you who are not familiar with our space, here’s a bit of an overview:
The Bentway is a new type of public space in Toronto, under the Gardiner Expressway between Strachan Avenue and Bathurst Street, just west of the downtown core. The park first opened to visitors in 2017 as a platform for creative practice, public art, and connected urban life. The site is operated, maintained and programmed by The Bentway Conservancy.
The Bentway Conservancy as a charitable organization is re-imagining how we build, experience, activate, and value public space together. The ambitious goal we have set for ourselves is to be a new model for public space in Toronto, a forum for social engagement, and we want to develop opportunities and partnerships with the community that address the key issues of our time.
[SKATE TRAIL – BENT 85B]
You should now be coming up on the intersection of our skate trail, which is in the middle of the figure-eight.
Did you know that in the first three years of winter operations, The Bentway Skate Trail attracted more than 130,000 visitors, and that almost all of them have skated through the exact spot you’re standing in right now? Lots of things are going on behind the scenes to keep all these people happy and safe.
One of the most impactful moments for my team was during last year’s skating season, when a lady learning to skate slipped on the ice, and hurt her leg. After on-site first aid measures implemented by the team, her friend took her to the hospital where she unfortunately needed to get a cast. A few days later, the lady came back to the skate trail, with her cast, braving the cold weather, just to drop off a thank you card for the two team members who took care of her when the injury occurred. She said that she had felt that the human connection with the team made her unpleasant experience a little more bearable. It was such a thoughtful gesture, and the team didn’t expect it at all, as they felt like they were simply doing their jobs. It spoke so much to the small but meaningful impact that everyone’s kindness can have on other people’s lives. The card is still up on the wall in our office, reminding us every day that going the extra mile matters, both to us and to our visitors.
Continue onwards now along the trail to the deck with the black shipping containers, and have a seat on our yellow Bentway bleacher seats if you feel like it.
[RESIN – BENT 82C]
On-site infrastructure, which often goes unnoticed, is a key part of our visitor experience and safety strategy. Our site lighting comes on at sunset, and stays on until late for some parts of the site that face neighbouring residential buildings. In the parts that do not face any buildings, lights stay on until sunrise to allow for people to safely stroll through our spaces at all times.
The boulders you see here are our water feature, which usually runs through the summer, and a lot of our visitors enjoy sitting by the fountain on a warm day.
Two outdoor drinking fountains are available throughout the summer and fall, to help keep people hydrated in the humid Toronto summers. Electrical outlets are available along the skate trail, and we offer free wi-fi sponsored by Beanfield throughout the park. In our tech-driven world, almost all near and long distance communication now requires access to power, and access to the internet. Lots of other places, such as public libraries, offer these services, but with the distinct difference that these places have opening hours. Some of our infrastructure, such as power outlets and wi-fi, are available 24/7 for visitors who rely on these elements for everyday communication.
Our on-site public washrooms are open most days of the week, depending on seasonal operations. During the winter, they follow our skate trail opening hours, and during the summer, we typically keep them open later for people who enjoy the space throughout the day and into the evening. They are maintained and cleaned, along with the other infrastructure elements, by our facilities team.
Did you know that the shrubs planted in this area of the site are red twig dogwood bushes? They have lush green leaves in summer, and their twigs turn a bright red in winter. They were chosen for this space because they have a natural tolerance to shade, wet soil and salt – all three of which are present in their environment here under the Gardiner Expressway.
THE BOARDWALK & PARKING LOT
Let’s continue our walk further west, across the wooden walkway outside the Fort York Visitor Centre. This part of the space belongs to the Fort York Visitor’s Centre, and is called “The Boardwalk” – feel free to imagine the sound of seagulls and the smell of funnel cake!
[BOARDWALK – BENT 81B]
Looking north on the boardwalk, the building you see is the Fort York Visitor Centre, opened in 2014 as part of the Fort York National Historic Site. It houses part of the Fort’s museum exhibits, as well as administrative offices. The Visitor Centre was designed by Patkau Architects Inc. / Kearns Mancini Architects Inc. and won a Canadian Architect Award of Excellence for Design!
The Bentway and Fort York National Historic Site are neighbours and share some physical spaces, but operate as two different structures. Traditionally speaking, defensive architecture like the walls surrounding the Historic Fort has been erected to keep people out, to control access from the outside and to protect those within. Building on the very layered history of the site and different ideas around protection and access in today’s society, the Fort’s new mandate calls for an opening of the space to the community, and a focus on telling the stories of the many communities who have shaped Toronto.
The Boardwalk is also home to one of my favourite facts about The Bentway. Let me explain:
When a structure such as the Gardiner Expressway is built, all the rows of bents constructed for this have numbers attributed to them. Maybe you’ve noticed the numbers painted on top of the bents in gold? This is our wayfinding system, for which we simply took the existing numbers of the bent rows and painted them up top in large format. However, there are four rows of bents on the boardwalk, and their numbers are, from west to east: 60, 61, 80, 81.
Yes, that’s right: Bents 62 to 79 are missing! In reality, there is a very boring explanation to this, but I’d much rather ask you to get creative: What is the best reason you can invent for why these bents are missing? I’d love to hear your ideas.
Let’s keep walking west, through the parking lot and past the blue bent, into the area that we call “Strachan Gate”.
One last thing about the whole missing bent mystery: Bent 54 is also missing! Check it out as you walk through the parking lot!
The blue bent ahead of you, Bent 53, has a mural on it that was created by Montreal Artist Olivier Bonnard during the first ever Bentway event in the fall of 2017. The mural represents the majesty of Lake Ontario but while highlighting the vulnerability of underwater life within it. The scale, as well as elements of endangered, native and invasive species brings to the forefront a concern of a growing unbalance within the ecosystem of the lake.
Did you know that The Bentway site is located on the original shoreline of Lake Ontario? Two hundred years ago, the natural shoreline of Lake Ontario was at Front Street, and all of today’s central waterfront area was created by decades of lake infilling. Later, in the mid-19th century, there was a railroad running right through what is the parking lot today.
One of the things we want to be aware of in our programming, but also in our everyday operations, is the fact that our spaces have hundreds, even thousands of years of layered history. In the same vein, today, a lot of different communities use the space in different ways. For some, it is like their back yard – they come here to play with their children, or to exercise. Others stop at The Bentway to use the wi-fi, or the washrooms. Some people are here every day, others only come for events. For some it is a place to spend leisure time, and for others it is a place where they can get access to infrastructure essential to daily tasks and needs.
STRACHAN GATE
Once you cross Garrison Road, you are entering the space that we call “Strachan Gate”. There is a water fountain right at the entrance to the space. Let’s pause here while I tell you a bit more about how exactly we try and keep our visitors safe and happy.
[STRACHAN GATE – BENT 52B]
One of the main goals of our operation is to be a space that everyone feels comfortable coming to, and where everyone feels welcome.
In order to ensure that this is the case, we have developed a set of guidelines for the users of our space, which we call a “Code of Conduct”. It is posted in three locations on our site (you may have seen it down by the Skate Trail already), one of these locations is by the Strachan Gate drinking fountain. It outlines shared expectations for the site, with the only goal of keeping the space as enjoyable and accessible as possible for all visitors.
Our code of conduct has four categories which are: BE KIND, BE RESPECTFUL, BE SAFE AND BE CURIOUS. We want people to know that we as a public space respect the rights, diversity, identities, property and safety of our staff and visitors, and we ask everyone to respect and display these same values during their time at The Bentway.
While some of these site guidelines are meant to keep people safe physically (like the prohibition of illegal activity and violent behavior and the supervision of minors, for example), others are meant to make people feel safe and welcome at all times (such as the banning of harassing or threatening behaviour, or derogatory and abusive language and gestures). Some are intended to keep the space clean and enjoyable for all (such as the banning of vandalism and littering, or the misuse of site furniture and property, or the reminder to pick up after your pet).
Over the last years, the different communities using our space have added their own unwritten rules to this list, with certain parts of the site used by skateboarders at certain times, for example, while other parts seem to be reserved for people sitting together for a meal, or a game of cards. Families seem to be attracted mostly by the water feature on the Skate Trail throughout the summer, while other parts of the site are more quiet and lend themselves better to people taking a nap, or soaking up the sun on a summer afternoon.
We have never defined uses for any of our spaces (except during ice skating season), but they seem to have come together in a somewhat organic way. I’ve had conversations with visitors that make me proud to be the steward of a space like ours. For example, a father of two little girls told me last summer that his children learned to ride a bicycle at The Bentway, and an unhoused gentleman who is on his feet a lot shared with us this spring that he likes coming to The Bentway for an afternoon nap, as he feels like he won’t be asked to leave.
We’ve also had less pleasant conversations on site, in which, for example, a group of visitors who were exercising came to us to complain about another visitor’s use of the space. In this case it was an unhoused lady who was sitting on a bench and was re-packing her belongings in suitcases. The group who was working out was expecting us to ask the lady to leave, because they wanted to use the bench for their work out.
We came up with the Code of Conduct to make two things very clear to all visitors. The first being: everyone uses the space in a different way, and that’s not only fine but encouraged. And the second being: As long as someone is not breaking the rules we’ve set out for the space, they have just as much right to use the space as anyone else.
The guidelines in our Code of Conduct are universally in effect for all our visitors, regardless of their activity on-site, so that we can all work together to keep The Bentway a safe place for all.
As we are constantly learning about our visitors and the way that they use our space, I’d love your input on the Code of Conduct. Do you feel like there is anything missing in this list? Do you feel like something is listed but shouldn’t be? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Let’s continue our walk, up the path that leads to the timber amphitheatre.
One of the things we think about a lot as stewards of public space is the relationship of public spaces and infrastructure. As I explained earlier, people make a lot of use of our infrastructure on-site, be it washrooms, outlets, drinking fountains or wi-fi. For us, these offerings are not just a “nice to have”, but a necessity in public space, especially for those visitors who may not have a home to go to, and who rely on public infrastructure for their daily needs.
In the past, infrastructure offerings such as electrical outlets have been considered an enhanced feature in public space, and not necessarily the norm. They were often added after completion of a space, as an amenity to make the spaces more attractive. We argue that all public spaces should be designed with their different users in mind, and that basic infrastructure that shapes visitors’ daily lives, such as drinking fountains, should be features of public space and built into the spaces with purpose.
[AMPHITHEATRE – BENT 49C]
In this vein, on the wooden amphitheatre, you’re standing on the top of a building that will very soon house another set of public washrooms, as well as a space for smaller community events. It will also house a staff space for our facilities team to take a break in during a busy day.
Standing on the front of the amphitheatre against the glass railing, take a look east down through the parking lot - you can now see the full extent of the current Bentway space. This is my favourite view point of the space.
I’d love to know what your favourite part of our space is. Where do you feel most comfortable, and why? Has this tour made you think differently about The Bentway and safety in public space?
The Safe in Public Space initiative is an opportunity for us to look at our spaces and practices to see if we are meeting our objectives - to create a safe and equitable environment for everyone. That’s why we want to hear from you!
If you want to send your input on any of the questions raised in this recording, please don’t hesitate to reach out via email at: hello@thebentway.ca.
This brings us to the end of our time together. I hope you had a good visit on this virtual walking tour.
If you have any questions about The Bentway in general, check out our website, www.thebentway.ca, or come chat to us on site. We look forward to meeting you! Thanks, and goodbye for now.
