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I love Toronto. It's my favorite city. And every so often, there will be a moment that explicitly reminds me why I love it so much. That happened yesterday when I walked down a laneway off College Street to find a somewhat hidden sushi spot called Oroshi Fish Co. Right away I was delighted by the combination of the small street and the mix of uses housed on it. But then, I walked inside to find two guys manhandling the carcass of an enormous bluefin tuna, and that's when I really said to myself, "man, Toronto is awesome." The sushi is some of the best you'll find in the city.
Here are a few photos.
The momentum around wanting mixed-use laneways in Toronto continues, or the algorithms just know what gets me going. Either way, I continue to be both impressed and surprised by the number of "hidden" laneway-based businesses that exist in this city and that keep surfacing online.
Here are some further examples:
https://twitter.com/BlairScorgie/status/1734948988053307702?s=20
https://twitter.com/lloydalter/status/1734986678635294793?s=20
I honestly think that someone should create a directory/mapping of these businesses. If anyone wants to do this or help do this, I own lanewaylove.com and I’ve been reserving it for projects just like this.
I also think that this has the potential to become a hallmark of Toronto urbanism. It’s already somewhat endemic, it would seem. So imagine what will happen once we actually allow and encourage these uses to their fullest extent. Yes, once.
If you know of any other laneway-based businesses, whether here in Toronto or in your city, please share them in the comment section below.
If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that I'm a fan of narrow streets. It's one of the reasons I have been such a supporter of laneway housing here in Toronto, and why I think they should ultimately allow for some non-residential uses.
If you have narrow streets and reasonably decent buildings that frame them, you have a base condition that has worked remarkably well since the creation of cities. Almost by default, and even if you don't have proper sidewalks, it is going to feel pedestrian-oriented.
The challenge, however, is that it's usually difficult to create these after the fact. Street networks are powerfully sticky; they generally don't change unless you have someone like Haussmann rebuilding your city. So if you have these in your city, try and take advantage of them. You're fortunate to have them.
The above two photos/measurements are from Milan. Both streets are around 20 feet wide (or 6 meters), which happens to be the required width of a standard two-way drive aisle here in Toronto. It's a good example of how differently cities can view and allocate space.
You can do a lot with 6 meters.
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