Plans for a high tech Toronto community led by an Alphabet Inc.-backed entity should be scrapped, say politicians and prominent Canadian business and technology leaders.
In the wake of a leaked report last week that revealed Sidewalk Labs? interest in laying claim to developer fees and taxes usually routed to the city in exchange for funding Toronto?s waterfront transit, longtime critics of the project said it is time to revisit whether the project should continue to move forward.
The project ? a partnership with Waterfront Toronto that hopes to bring affordable housing, heated sidewalks, raincoats for buildings and autonomous vehicle infrastructure to 12 acres of the city?s waterfront known as Quayside ? has been mired in controversy since Sidewalk won a contract in 2017. In addition to funding a light rail transit line, the latest round of ideas floated by Sidewalk includes plans to provide infrastructure to a waterfront area bigger than, but surrounding, Quayside.
City councillor Gord Perks, who represents the west-end Parkdale-High Park neighbourhood, has long fretted about Sidewalk?s data privacy policies, lack of transparency and desires around solid waste and transportation, but considered Thursday?s revelations around it wanting to fund a light rail transit line a ?confirmation of our worst fears.?
?The three governments who are involved should halt the process with Google and go to the public and say we have an area of land as big as the downtown, what would you li...