Provincial Designated Urban Growth Centre
The Precinct is a 220 acre area along the 2 kilometre stretch of Queen Street East, Centre Street to Highway 410. This provincial designated urban growth centre is the City’s primary intensification corridor and the heart for cultural, economic and entertainment destination. It is an auto-orientated suburban commercial strip with small-scale retail and commercial uses including medical centres, faith centres, commercial plazas and residential buildings.
Strategic Location within Rapid Transit Served Corridor
This 220 acre Precinct stretches between the Etobicoke Creek to the west, and Highway 410 to the east. It covers more than 2 kilometres of the future Queen Street Bus Rapid Transit route, that connects directly to the TTC Subway at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, and to the Brampton GO which anticipates future all-day two-way service. It also covers the future Health Employment Cluster, at the
Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness to the south. It is located next to the future
transformative public realm at Riverwalk to the west that connects to Downtown, and to Highway 410, 15 minutes away from the Pearson International Airport.
Urbanizing Suburbia: a new Growth Model for Transit-oriented Communities
Within a 30 year horizon, concluding in 2051, it is anticipated that redevelopment of Queen Street East will echo the shifting lifestyles of young singles, families and seniors. The Precinct will be a healthy neighbourhood; exciting, safe, accessible to people at all stages of life. It will be a place where residents have access to great jobs, and where singles, families and seniors thrive in their access to green space and social connections.
This Vision is accomplished through the transformation of the Precinct into a beautiful corridor that prioritizes pedestrian activities and transit use. Urban design will provide the street conditions, mixed use, public amenities, cultural spaces, and density needed to support vibrant life styles and accessible activities that contribute to well being and the Brampton economy.
The extensive network of streets will support connectivity and accessibility. To support the significant transit investment planned for this corridor, it is planned to transition into mixed use, with concentrations of transit-supportive development.
Districts
The plan created three new mixed-use districts with the goal to deliver a vibrant urban mixed-use community that will attract, retain, and support healthy youth, families and seniors.
Health Focus District
Located next to the Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness, the 12,600 population district is anchored by existing and expected health and seniors’ services facilities, as such, this district has special design focus on accessibility. This includes providing mixed use development that incorporates health facilities with commercial and community spaces that serve residents who live in the district or visit for health services.
Family Focus District
Design elements centre on the need for residential development to have access to a variety of amenities that support healthy living for all members of a family. The 23,400 population Family Focus District responds to the intergenerational makeup of Brampton households by providing larger sized units, integrated access to day-care facilities, local parks, and a vibrant mix of dynamic retail. The design of this district also provides for a variety of opportunities for cultural activities. This includes two linear plazas that can be activated for street festivals, a library and community centre, and the potential for a year round indoor farm that would support a year-round farmers’ market.
Business Focus District
Brampton is located right on the Kitchener-Waterloo tech corridor. The 22,800 population Business Hub District is centred on design provisions that support 24-hour social and economic activity. This activity supports the ability for businesses and entrepreneurs to innovate and achieve a high quality experience for their employees. This includes architecturally interesting development that reflect the unique identities of core commercial tenants within mixed use developments, outdoor amenity spaces, and the placement of a convention centre and key buildings facing Highway 410.
Within all of the urban districts you will find:
- a campus of urban community hubs positioned as anchors,
- surrounding mixed-use developments that suit daily needs, and
- connectivity through a network of safe and unobstructed pedestrian and cyclist paths that link to Regional transit networks.
These districts are further structured with three community frameworks for movement, living and working.
Movement framework
A major design feature is to use a comprehensive movement network to connect community destinations, provide citizens with access to nature, and locate facilities within developments that make walking, cycling, and riding transit possible as the main modes of transportation.
Walking and Cycling
Strategically locating schools and community facilities along safe and unobstructed walking and cycling networks. A key design feature is a system of off-road bi-directional cycling facilities to make it possible for people of all ages and abilities to travel by bike with confidence.
A trail network within a district-wide greenway supports climate change, to provide connections to the surrounding valleys, and to enhance the value of
Clark Avenue extension.
Driving and Rideshare
Prioritizing the locations of amenities: carpool pods, secured bike storage, cafes, daycare facilities and other daily essentials, and placing them near transit stops, makes it convenient for ride-share.
Transit and Airport Access
Working with development partners in the future, there is opportunity to integrate airport shuttle within the heart of business focus district.
Living and Working framework
Living
Knowing that “jobs follow talents”, the design integrates child-friendly and age-friendly features in housing and facilities to make healthy living, intergenerational living and independent living possible for youth, families and seniors. These include:
- mixed-income housing, inter-generational housing, and co-living spaces
- adaptive spaces for community gardens, home occupations, and arts and culture gathering spaces to enrich community connections
- co-designing a made-in-Brampton housing prototype with Universities design studio programs and with interested affordable housing developers
Working
A major design feature is offering a rich mix of amenities and places that attract and retain talents for innovation industries. These industries thrive on informal, flexible, adaptive workspaces that create settings for business collaborations and networking at a local, regional and international scale.
How it comes together
The Preliminary Queen Street East Precinct Plan is a product of cross-department and agencies collaborations.
Building upon extensive review of relevant background technical documents and interviews with members of City Council, staff has conducted consultation including:
- engagement through the Urbanizing Suburbia event with the Urban Land Institute
- a series of co-design workshops with municipal staff from various departments, the Region of Peel and local agencies
- engagement with industry stakeholders and affordable housing developers
