The Toronto Parking Authority wins the IPI Award of Excellence at Carpark 256 June 23, 2017
The Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) wins Award of Excellence for Green P+ Carpark 256 located at 1624 Queen Street West at the International Parking Institute’s (IPI) 2017 Awards of Excellence Competition for “Best Design/Implementation of a Surface Parking Lot”.
In 2015, the TPA opened the new 33-space surface parking lot at 1624 Queen Street West, Carpark 256 (Facility/Carpark). This former vacant commercial property was redeveloped with the collaborative efforts of the Parkdale Village Business Improvement Area, the local community, Marton Smith Landscape Architects and the TPA. The redevelopment not only helped alleviate the parking demand generated by the nearby businesses, but tasteful landscaping and the recent addition of the Parkdale Solidarity Flag Mural (Mural) have contributed interest and beauty to the overall Queen Street streetscape.
Many green elements were incorporated into the final design including: permeable pavers to facility sustainable storm water management; a tree planting layout to reduce urban heat island effect; as well as a planting scheme chosen for its drought tolerance and seasonal interest.
With TPA’s support, and in partnership with a community based initiative led by the City of Toronto’s StreetArt program (a group that enables local artists to create murals that in turn decrease vandalism and illegal graffiti) the ‘three of the hands touching- in-front-of-the-sun’ flag Mural located on the Carpark’s western boundary was created. This design is a symbol to help galvanize the community, which proposes proactive strategies and actions, development without displacement, participatory democracy, decent work, food security and shared wealth. The Mural was designed by visual artists Sean Martindale, Alexa Hatanaka, and Patrick Thompson.
The Carpark and all its features has been met with praise by the local community particularly its creative and innovative aspects and has provided inspiration for various other TPA projects in the design phase. For more details about this carpark, please click here.