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Are we living in the greatest construction boom in Toronto history?

denfromoakvillemilton said:
That is good to hear. I really think Yonge and Eglinton can be even more prominent in this city with the way things are growing. Living right in the middle of everything has got to be an asset. And the condo going up there are really nice
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Yonge Eg for life

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Lenser said:
Great illustration. Has a bit of a Moebius vibe to it. Nice colouring, too.
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It does! Some of the people look like they stepped right out of a Moebius illustration. All it need is some weird-looking aliens mixed into the crowd.
 
It's missing about 2-3 more buses on Eglinton. :p

But yah, the pedestrian traffic is constantly like that and we are adding a whole ton of condos nearby not to mention an east-west subway over the next few years. Illustration shows why a scramble crossing on Yonge-Eglinton is essential in the future.
 
I know that as a city we're booming, but I work at HBC on Queen st. and I always get customers from around the world like: Paris, Italy, England, USA, Brazil etc etc.. but the other day a couple from Rome came in and they said they were here just visiting Toronto, and after they made their purchase I asked them what they thought of Toronto. They said that they didn't really lie it all that much, and there wasn't anything special about Toronto; since they just visited Vancouver, LA, San Francisco, Chicago earlier this summer. They told me about how each city had very special feels to it like Vancouver's natural beauty, LA's Hollywood scene, and Chicago's waterfront and they're 'taller than Toronto' buildings. It sort of upset me but at the same time I understood what they were saying and I kind of feel like they're correct.

Tourism is huge for economies as people bring their hard earned money from elsewhere and spend it in your city. So as a city what is our biggest tourist attraction outside of the CN Tower? What makes us a special city to visit in terms of tourism? If we don't have anything that great should we be looking to build a unique and benchmarking attraction that sets us apart from the other great cities?
 
Oh and I did tell them to return in 5 years and see it then since we have all this construction being done right now.
 
am29 said:
I know that as a city we're booming, but I work at HBC on Queen st. and I always get customers from around the world like: Paris, Italy, England, USA, Brazil etc etc.. but the other day a couple from Rome came in and they said they were here just visiting Toronto, and after they made their purchase I asked them what they thought of Toronto. They said that they didn't really lie it all that much, and there wasn't anything special about Toronto; since they just visited Vancouver, LA, San Francisco, Chicago earlier this summer. They told me about how each city had very special feels to it like Vancouver's natural beauty, LA's Hollywood scene, and Chicago's waterfront and they're 'taller than Toronto' buildings. It sort of upset me but at the same time I understood what they were saying and I kind of feel like they're correct.

Tourism is huge for economies as people bring their hard earned money from elsewhere and spend it in your city. So as a city what is our biggest tourist attraction outside of the CN Tower? What makes us a special city to visit in terms of tourism? If we don't have anything that great should we be looking to build a unique and benchmarking attraction that sets us apart from the other great cities?
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I hear this often from people who visit. I also hear about how clean and modern the city is but that's from New Yorkers. There's really nothing memorable about the city which is why I find it hard to believe all the "world class" talk. It's a big city, but the mentality of the decision makers is small town. From developers to politicians to whoever. I guess our attraction will be "glass box condos"
 
I love this city and living in it, but it's not the best place for tourism. It's not bad, but not the best. I'd point visitors to Montreal for example instead of Toronto. Chicago, NYC are better than Toronto as places to visit.

Having said that, for people who live in the area or are visiting friends or family, it can be a good place to visit.

I usually show visitors places like Kensington Market, Distillery District, Queen/King West area, Little Italy, the Beaches, the islands, Greektown, etc, they usually have a good time.

Niagara falls & the wine region are pretty touristy. I would say the variety & quality of restaurants in Toronto is a pretty good attraction.

However, I disagree that Toronto doesn't have a unique vibe, I think it does. If you stay near the subway or in the financial district, I can see how someone would say that, but if you go outside that area, Toronto does have a unique feel to it in my opinion.

When I think Toronto I think of things like: streetcars rolling by Victorian storefronts, the ravines and bridges above them, glass condo towers & construction next to historic houses, "main streets" downtown, slab apartment buildings.

The new HBO show Sensitive Skin really showcases Toronto as a setting with its own unique character well, for example.
 
hawc said:
I worked on the Tourism Toronto account for a little while from the marketing side. One of our assignments was to get people from Boston, NYC and Washington to come up here for a weekend. My first question was, if you lived in one of those cities why in the world would you want to visit Toronto? It's like saying to a Torontonian, enjoy a weekend away in Hamilton. Why?!?

I do think Toronto's problem/strength is we're a city of neighbourhoods not a city of big tourist attractions. Which means you really need to go to the different neighbourhoods and walk around them and just soak up the vibe rather than, go see the Empire State Building, go see the Eifel Tower, go see Big Ben. We just don't have those tourist things. I'm fine with it.
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That is the exact problem. Toronto is great for residents, but for tourists it's not a big draw to go spend a weekend. Why would you spend a weekend here if you live in Chicago, or Boston or New York? Yes we may be cleaner, our crime rate is lower, but those are not that important to tourists. Mostly it's business travel or special events like TIFF or Caribana or Taste of Danforth that brings in local people and folks from neighbouring towns and nearby cities to town.

Being a city of neighbourhoods is not an attraction either. All cities have neighbourhoods. While ours are quaint, they are not big city neighbourhoods like you would see in Paris, London, Boston. Our neighbourhoods are really just former high streets of the villages they used to be part of. In most other cities, neighbourhoods are blocks of activities, cafes, restaurants, parks. Ours are basically just a few blocks of retail along a main road. Would any tourist really make the treck to visit Greektown, Y&E, or Chinatown? There isn't anything special there that distinguishes it from similar neighbourhoods in Boston or New York. Having traveled to many cities in US and Europe, our neighbourhood high streets are pretty run-down and are architecturally ugly. Even Bloor St, while much improved after the reno, doesn't compare to Chicago's Mag Mile. Bloor's trees are 50% dead and the side-walk is starting to be dug up. This is the best Toronto offers at the moment.

Most tourists to Toronto, come for business travel, or to visit family. I've hosted many family members here. Their most favourite places are Niagara Falls (falls themselves, not the town), and Niagara-on-the-Lake and trips to wineries. In terms of parks, Toronto Islands is the best park we have but it's only great for day-trips and not a casual 1-2hr stroll. Most of my family/friends love Distillery District, due to the rich architecture and the cool spaces and retail it offers. CN Tower and downtown are nice for one day, but it's not a major draw as many cities have towers or observation decks on tall buildings.

As a resident in Toronto, I've made many weekend trips to Chicago, Boston, Ottawa, New York, Montreal. Each city has a unique feel. Chicago has amazing architecture and a pleasant waterfront (although I feel there is not much to do there but walk around and visit museums). New York has Manhattan, the dense urban jungle with so many things to do. Central Park is amazing, the Broadway shows, Fifth Ave. Boston, has the New England charm and history. Ottawa although somewhat boring, does have the parliament buildings and decent museums. Montreal has the Mont-Royal park, the old port, and the French flair. Compared to these cities, Toronto is fairly bland. We have a bit of everything but we don't excel at anything in particular. Yes we have diversity and lots of restaurants. So does Montreal, and I'd argue their food tastes better.

Having said that. I think Toronto is getting better. Once all the projects get built, we will have great new/improved areas such as the Waterfront and the PanAM district.
 
It's been said you have to travel a bit to see the city. One way to make the downtown core more interesting is a 4:00 am last call. That would draw more people down. Chicago and NYC have that. Boston doesn't, but it's also tiny in size.
 
denfromoakvillemilton said:
It's been said you have to travel a bit to see the city. One way to make the downtown core more interesting is a 4:00 am last call. That would draw more people down. Chicago and NYC have that. Boston doesn't, but it's also tiny in size.
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The fact that most of the best neighbourhoods and attractions aren't accessible by subway, and the streetcar maps in the past have been difficult to understand, probably contributes to the problem.

For example: the Distillery District is a pretty great neighbourhood for tourists to walk around in, but it's fairly isolated and not very simple or easy to get to.
 
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