There are 20 red Muskoka chairs on John Street.
The chairs, which were earlier this month individually repurposed by artists and recent OCAD U graduates Rosena Fung and Michael Pitropov, sit right in the middle of, what was until very recently, a functioning traffic lane.
The chairs, located on the east side of John Street, between Queen and Adelaide, will remain on display until mid-October. The east curb traffic lane will remain closed to motor vehicles for the next five months.
The lane closure is part of the John Street Pedestrian Initiative (JSPI) - a six month pilot project organized by the Toronto Entertainment District BIA (TOED BIA) in partnership with the City of Toronto, to transform a John Street traffic lane into a pedestrian mall.
The 20 Muskoka chairs, officially referred to as Toronto’s Red Carpet, is the result of partnership between OCAD university and the TOED BIA celebrating the transformation of the lane into a pedestrian-only area.
In addition to the red chairs, which visitors are encouraged to lounge in, the new pedestrian area also hosts tables, chairs and umbrellas.
A few tables and chairs might not seem huge, but the transformation of John Street has been 15 years in the making. First identified by the City of Toronto as one of four ‘cultural corridors’ in a 2001 report, John Street, and its potential for redevelopment (an issue the BIA has advocated vigourlsy for in recent year) has been the subject of a slew of follow-up reports.
A permanent re-design of the corridor has been approved and is expected to be completed by the end of 2015. The new design will include, among other things, the permanent reduction of a traffic lane and the creation of an expanded promenade sized sidewalk .
"John Street presents a unique opportunity for the city to allow the public to experience part of our civic realm in a whole new way," says Dr. Sara Diamond, OCAD University President. "The Entertainment District is going through extraordinary growth and John Street will provide this community with a unique destination not unlike many great cities around the world. We are pleased to be the first to play a role in bringing art to this transformative public space."