Downtown Yonge

[adma]

Are there plans to remove the raised median in that stretch?

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Are there plans to remove the raised median in that stretch?

As of today, it didn't look any work was being done on it - just the east sidewalk from Gerrard up to Carlton right now.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Are there plans to remove the raised median in that stretch?

I looked at the median today, it's in very good shape all considered. No work is being done on it however most of the bushes have been removed and nothing planted in their place, hopefully that will come in the next week or two.

Sidewalk work is nearly complete today between Gerrard and Carlton, only paver inserts have yet to be installed. It looks so much better!

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.



Presumably they will continue moving north to fix the mess that lays ahead:

 

[snyberTO]

Glad to see some sidewalk improvements. The street trees have been removed on both sides of Yonge (in front of college park and shoppers drug mart) so hopefully its a sign that new sidewalks will spread along the stretch. So badly needed.

The new sidewalks are a big improvement (because they're new) but i wonder why they cant give Yonge a bit more personality - either with a darker tinted finish or by using a larger aggregate to help hide camouflage the gum spots. That white broom finish feels suburban to me.

And, its sad to see that there is no upgrades to the approach to street trees - just a a few open little squares mark the spots where future trees will struggle and eventually die. I know that silva cells (used on bloor) would probably require too much excavation, but how about a compromise, like the new raised planters on University? The ground surface left around trees on carlton and college is a pretty sad combination of mismatched and compacted pavers, mud and cigarette butts - hopefully we'll see some improvements there aswell.

 

[Torontovibe]

I wish those sidewalks were bigger.

 

[TOfan696]

Glad to see some sidewalk improvements. The street trees have been removed on both sides of Yonge (in front of college park and shoppers drug mart) so hopefully its a sign that new sidewalks will spread along the stretch. So badly needed.

The new sidewalks are a big improvement (because they're new) but i wonder why they cant give Yonge a bit more personality - either with a darker tinted finish or by using a larger aggregate to help hide camouflage the gum spots. That white broom finish feels suburban to me.

And, its sad to see that there is no upgrades to the approach to street trees - just a a few open little squares mark the spots where future trees will struggle and eventually die. I know that silva cells (used on bloor) would probably require too much excavation, but how about a compromise, like the new raised planters on University? The ground surface left around trees on carlton and college is a pretty sad combination of mismatched and compacted pavers, mud and cigarette butts - hopefully we'll see some improvements there aswell.

on the East side of Yonge Street very sleek/modern black tree grates (matching the finish on the new street lights) will be installed around all the trees. On the West side of Yonge Street in front of College park, and eventually Aura, new street lights are being installed (same as east side) but because the sidewalks are wide enough grove stile tree plantings will be installed all down the street (3 trees to a pit) with irrigation systems and tree grate covers. Should be really nice when finished this summer.

 

[taal]

on the East side of Yonge Street very sleek/modern black tree grates (matching the finish on the new street lights) will be installed around all the trees. On the West side of Yonge Street in front of College park, and eventually Aura, new street lights are being installed (same as east side) but because the sidewalks are wide enough grove stile tree plantings will be installed all down the street (3 trees to a pit) with irrigation systems and tree grate covers. Should be really nice when finished this summer.

wow any pics, where did you get this info from ?

Will this continue southward ?

 

[taal]

Just throwing this out there:

Has anyone else noticed Yonge street seems less crowed on the weekends in general compared to say 3/4 years ago ? I started noticing this last summer as well.
Now during the week I find Yonge street along with the subway it self is quite a bit more crowded, likely due to new residents.

But I'm curious if anyone else has noticed the decrease in pedestrian activity on the weekends ? To be specific I'm referring from the stretch roughly bounded by College south to Queen.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Does anyone know how the HELL that skank shoppe NYC Outfitters (or whatever) got to open shop next door to the HMV at Yonge & Dundas? It's horrible and cheap-looking. I thought they were trying to revamp the area. They allowed THAT to open? They even have those guys outside hustling people to come in (which is very tacky and low-grade).

A sign of the times, HMV's downtown Yonge property split in half

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Did anybody notice that they are tearing out those planters that they built just a few years ago, along Dundas, just outside Best Buy, in The Eaton Centre. They are being replaced with the much nicer, black planters, closer to Yonge Street. So now Dundas will have the black planters, with the seating on the sides, all along the sidewalk from almost Yonge to Bay Street. It will be much improved. They just need to fill those planters with lush vegetation, like on Bloor.

I saw that last weekend too, that's a good thing to provide consistency along that well traveled stretch plus as you note they look so much better than what's there. The old (what, 3 years old?) "tree islands" with the interlocking bricks in front of Ryerson/Best Buy/Canuk Tire were already beginning to sink and look unsightly, plus they served very little use except as bike lock-ups around those tiny trees.
I also noticed that Joey's has hoarding around the property now, the linked fences are gone. At the risk of reviving that tired old thread it could, in the end, mean nothing.

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.

Busy planting on June 1st:



Looking terrific on June 7th:

 

[snyberTO]

It looks like the concrete pedestrian street-crossing surfaces at Yonge and Carlton are being removed - probably to be replaced with an asphalt surface with zebra markings (white stripes 60cm wide).

I liked the solid feel of concrete under my feet - a continuation of sidewalk. Oh well, they say the zebra marked asphalt makes pedestrians feel safer - hopefully it will be easier to keep in good repair too....

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Sidewalk work is nearly complete today between Gerrard and Carlton, only paver inserts have yet to be installed. It looks so much better!

Done, sidewalk open again. Work has now begun on the road now on this section of Yonge.

Presumably they will continue moving north to fix the mess that lays ahead

Fencing was being setup today to continue sidewalk restoration between Carlton & Alexander Streets so they are indeed moving northward.

 

[Jonny5]

Does anyone know how the HELL that skank shoppe NYC Outfitters (or whatever) got to open shop next door to the HMV at Yonge & Dundas? It's horrible and cheap-looking. I thought they were trying to revamp the area. They allowed THAT to open? They even have those guys outside hustling people to come in (which is very tacky and low-grade).

This unit has been closed by by-law inspectors for building code violations.

 

[TOfan696]

I looked at the median today, it's in very good shape all considered. No work is being done on it however most of the bushes have been removed and nothing planted in their place, hopefully that will come in the next week or two.

Sidewalk work is nearly complete today between Gerrard and Carlton, only paver inserts have yet to be installed. It looks so much better!

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.



Presumably they will continue moving north to fix the mess that lays ahead:

The section of Yonge Street (East Side of Yonge) from Gerrard to Alexander Street is 95% complete, new side-walks with granite details, new tree plantings with black tree grates. Check out the Section in front of Courtyard Marriott.

 

[TOfan696]

DowntownYonge has been doing daily updates on the projects via their twitter account