It is my opinion that…

It is my opinion that removing the ability of municipalities to request wind studies as part of complete applications will have a negative effect on the public realm. By not considering wind studies within the context of an application, the province and municipalities would be allowing unsafe and uncomfortable wind conditions to occur in the public realm. I urge the government to reconsider eliminating the need for these studies.
Since the inception of the Wind Engineering field in the 1960s and 1970s, two state of the art analysis techniques have been developed. The quantitative Boundary Layer Wind Tunnels, which are also utilized for determining cladding loads and structural loads in building design, provide discrete data for specific locations around a scale model of the building. More recently, the qualitative Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach has been utilized to provide a more visual illustration of the wind impacts due to both gusty wind flows and everyday relentless wind concerns. By conducting a “science experiment” with and without the proposed development, specific areas of concern are highlighted (if necessary) and mitigation measures are incorporated into the building design at the early stages. The intent of these analyses is to limit the potential risk to the public, due to wind, once the building is constructed.
In my opinion, municipalities should still be able to require wind studies as part of planning applications in order to assess and reduce the impact of wind on pedestrian safety and comfort within the public realm.
Within urban areas of Ontario, significant wind safety and wind comfort issues occur in limited areas. This is primarily due to the evolving requirements of municipalities over the last 30 years, wherein it was realized that these problematic wind conditions are detrimental to the public and yet can be easily addressed early in the design phase of a building. Addressing such issues once a building is constructed can be extremely costly. Municipalities, through their Terms of Reference, require these unsafe and uncomfortable conditions be resolved prior to Building Permits. And as professional engineers, whose duty is to the public, this is our desire for any application we are involved in. No building should create unsafe or uncomfortable wind conditions.
It is my understanding that buildings taller than 20 storeys have the potential to create uncomfortable or unsafe wind conditions. Municipalities take height into account through their Terms of Reference, by requiring the quantitative approach, a Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Study, only for developments of a certain height. These studies are not asked for to be an inconvenience to owners, they are intended to protect the public.