Toronto Yonge-Dundas Square/Sankofa Square (Brown + Storey Architects)

[thecharioteer]

Given that the Council report was titled "Confronting the Legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade", the renaming committee was essentially tasked with finding an "anti-Dundas" name. This precluded being able to evaluate some of the more Toronto-centric names mentioned in the previous posts. It's not that the process was too long, as per the Mayor's comments, its terms of engagement were flawed and compromised from the beginning.

 

[Johnny Au]

December 20, 2023:

Whatever the name of this square is, there's a funfair!

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

…indeed, in the end it may all end up being a much ado about nothing.

 

[JasonParis]

I think it sounds fine. In five years, this outrage will have seemed silly.

 

[adma]

Hey, why not bring back an old idea and call it "Toronto Life Square". Not after the magazine, mind you; but simply an expression of how this is where "Toronto life" takes place. Sort of like how the CN Tower became "Canada's National Tower". ;-)

 

[droyces]

I think the solution is obvious. Find another person with the name Dundas, preferably local, with no ties to Henry Dundas, and who carries no baggage, and name the street and square after that person. Put up a plaque recognizing this person and you're done. Millions save and life goes on.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

…yeah, that was my other brother Henry.

 

[adma]

Call it "Rockwell Square", then

 

[rdaner]

Taken 5 June.

 

[Rascacielo]

Taken 5 June.

View attachment 569920

Off with your head, Harry!

 

[nightstreak]

There are plans for the square. via: https://archive.ph/caJ7v

There is also a plan to update what the budget documents politely describe as the square’s “austere” appearance by adding more vibrant colours and making it a more welcoming place to spend time. Grona said to expect smaller activities more often, like buskers, games, fitness classes, music and movies, as well as lunchtime programming

“We want people to actually not just walk by but go into the square and use it, interact with it,” said Coun. Chris Moise (Toronto Centre), who sits on the Sankofa Square board.

I don't know, maybe stop storing equipment in places where there was supposed to be seating?

The stage was also designed as a sort of amphitheatre for people watching but has now become a permanently gated off stage even when there are no events:

They need to rebuild the stage as the morphing central attraction that it was designed to be. As a concert stage for events, as a place to sit down and even put on ad-hoc performances when no official event is on. Stop blocking people from the square if you want to attract them.

 

[Northern Light]

There are plans for the square. via: https://archive.ph/caJ7v





I don't know, maybe stop storing equipment in places where there was supposed to be seating?

View attachment 709580

That seating abutting Dundas is terrible. The uneven nature of it was surely done to combat skateboarding, but it's the wrong way to handle things.

Frankly, I don't see the space along Dundas as all that inviting as a location for seating, but if you're going to do it, I would first prefer a large format stair set (stairs for sitting) sloping down to Dundas, and find room for additional vegetation to warm up the vibe.

Failing that, remove the existing seating and have a level surface up to the guardrail and go with cafe seating instead. (table and chairs).

 

[taal]

Do the fountains still work in the summer ?

 

[mcbg1]

To make the square more attractive, the city will need to start by cleaning up the area from drug addicts. There's no way around it. But Chris Moise believes in ''harm reduction'' so he won't do anything about it.

 

[nightstreak]

remove the existing seating and have a level surface up to the guardrail and go with cafe seating instead. (table and chairs).

The canopy was supposed to serve as a seating area for the cafe that hosted the ticket sales booth which went under and was never leased. What kind of incompetent real estate office do we have that we can't fill a space at the busiest intersection in the country? If the price is too high, then lower it. Better than having an empty space for a decade.

I would first prefer a large format stair set (stairs for sitting) sloping down to Dundas, and find room for additional vegetation to warm up the vibe.

That's what the stage was supposed to accomplish. The early stage design had stairs both facing the square and facing Dundas.

It was partially built this way but then they commissioned a transformable stage canopy that they left permanently swung open which led to gates being installed shooing sway people for the crime of hanging out in the square.