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East Danforth

ehlow said:
It makes sense that this place is in demand, it has nice, relatively affordable houses with character on tree-lined streets near the transit line.
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They didn't mention that Rhodes is a termite hot spot. You need to get a termite inspection as well as a home inspection before laying out hundreds of thousands of dollars. Just sayin'.
 
The Grid article is quite interesting. Not so much about yet another gentrifying neighbourhood, but rather how a community reacted towards a retail strip that stubbornly refused to gentrify, and how they are encouraging gentrification in a manner that is intended to help, rather than evict, existing businesses, and that encourages new independent businesses. An interesting read, and time will tell as to how successful this will be.
 
Skeezix said:
The Grid article is quite interesting. Not so much about yet another gentrifying neighbourhood, but rather how a community reacted towards a retail strip that stubbornly refused to gentrify, and how they are encouraging gentrification in a manner that is intended to help, rather than evict, existing businesses, and that encourages new independent businesses. An interesting read, and time will tell as to how successful this will be.
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Chris Hume has written some incoherent columns before but this has to be the most illogical.

On the other hand, the subway that runs along Danforth should have brought growth — perhaps gentrification — with it. Isn’t that one of the reasons we suddenly all want underground transit so badly?

Interestingly, the subway seems to have had almost no impact on the Danforth; the building stock remains largely what it was decades ago. Usage has changed, but development has not happened except in the form of the odd infill project.
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and then:

One doesn’t dare suggest it, but perhaps Danforth would be better served by a streetcar — make that LRT. It might help knit the street into a more of a coherent entity and urban feature. A streetcar might also help bring down the invisible yet rigid boundaries that separate the various stretches of Danforth. Clearly, the subway hasn’t managed that.
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So which is it? Streetcar/LRT or subway?

The subway all but destroyed the Danforth, as any old timer will tell you. Before, people would get off at streetcar stops on their way home, and pick up their groceries and stuff. The Danforth is only just beginning to recover from that devastation.

Perhaps development per se hasn't happened but real estate values have shot through the roof, and the resulting gentrification has started to bring in new and interesting retailers and restaurants.

Would I prefer to see more 8-10 story buildings/condos avenue-style, with retail at grade? Absolutely. But I think that getting a bunch of disparate store/building owners to give up their properties so that a developer could build something substantial would be a logistical nightmare.

Looks like Hume phoned it in.
 
Edit: I posted a longer rant elsewhere which I'll add here:

Sorry but I hate this article. The subway's primary purpose is to actually move people, and the Danforth one does that very well, and moves a lot of people. It doesn't require a huge amount of development in order to get ridership, nor is that the main purpose of it. It already has a very successful ridership!

The suggestion that an LRT should have be built here because it would somehow spur development more is absolutely ridiculous. What spurs development is the ability to actually move around the city, and that's what the Danforth subway and future Eglinton Crosstown LRT do!

Also Mt Pleasant and Bayview near Eglinton & Davisville are incredibly sought-after streets that are walkable and built in the early 1900's like much of Queen/Dundas etc. As an architecture critic I would've thought that would be obvious to him if he's ever been there. I have no idea why he said that.
 
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I think I get what Hume is saying - he's not seriously suggesting we build an LRT on Danforth, just pointing out the negative effects that can come from poorly thought out transit development. The subway is so good at moving people that they can't see what's in between their origin and destination! The Danforth stations are particularly bad because they are located a block north of Danforth; anyone living on the north side will never set foot on what is supposedly the main commercial strip. If the main entrance for each station was instead directly on Danforth then passengers would at least walk by the nearest storefronts on their way to and from stations. Just look at Coxwell station - you have to cut through an unmarked walkway and a parking lot if you want to get to Danforth.

It's the same thing that happened to many small towns across North American when freeways were built - all of the through traffic evaporated and ancillary businesses (restaurants, motels, gas stations) ended up relocated to the nearest freeway exit where they could be seen by passing motorists. On East Danforth it's the subway that is the major method of transportation, but businesses can't exactly set up shop in the houses surrounding a subway station.

Bayview and Mt. Pleasant are major thoroughfares for well-off drivers travelling from north Toronto to downtown. While Danforth does get a lot of through traffic, those same drivers also likely pass by Shoppers World which has ample free parking.
 
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I went for a walk along the Danforth on Feb 22 looking for interesting old store fronts. I found a few. Thing is about the older businesses.. their days may or are already numbered.


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Crossroads House has been "for lease" forever, or at least the three years I've lived in the neighbourhood. Dollarama is actually new within the last year, and a nice addition to the strip. :)
 
GKW said:
The second exit to Donlands station is planned for Strathmore Blvd and still opposed by local residents
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/1...lic-over-donlands-and-greenwood-subway-exits/
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The "fresh start" that article refers to is detailed on the TTC website - http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Projects/Second_Exit_Projects/Public_Meeting_Summary_Dec3_2012.jsp where it notes that " none of the suggested locations for a Second Exit are preferred over any others. The TTC will supply the list of options that was produced previously for Second Exits, including those submitted by local residents.". A long list of potential options follows, including several on Dewhurst.

I don't think there's been anything else that's come out in the last 18 months.
 
nfitz said:
http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Projects/Second_Exit_Projects/Public_Meeting_Summary_Dec3_2012.jsp
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I think there's an error on that link:
Several participants brought it to the team’s attention that the church on Dewhurst Boulevard is up for sale, and wondered whether that could be used as a Second Exit for Greenwood Station.
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I think that they mean the church could be a second exit for Donlands Station as Greenwood station is much too far away..however, I think the Dewhurst Blvd location is also too far..its a full block away, which about a 90-second walk for a young, able-bodied person and much more if you are elderly or disabled

A second exit on Danforth Ave (south side) may sound ideal, but where would it go with all the local businesses on that strip? There is a new coffee shop opening next to the station on Donlands Ave, which if it doesn't last, could be torn down for an exit if there aren't any logistic problems
 
GKW said:
I think there's an error on that link ... I think that they mean the church could be a second exit for Donlands Station as Greenwood station is much too far away
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Yes, clearly, given that the discussion about this in the Donlands Station section and Dewhurst is west of Donlands!

GKW said:
..however, I think the Dewhurst Blvd location is also too far..its a full block away, which about a 90-second walk for a young, able-bodied person and much more if you are elderly or disabled
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If you look at where the platforms are for Donlands station, they stretch to Dewhurst. If you were to start the staircase at the west end of the Donlands platform (similar to perhaps the stairs at the west end of the Bathurst station platform) then it would come to an entrance on Dewhurst without any extra walking. I'm not sure the concern here, it would be just a staircase from the platform to the street.

You can see the station box in page 16 of the presentation that TTC did the same day - http://www.ttc.ca/PDF/Transit_expansion_PDFs/Donlands-Greenwood_TTC_Presentation AP.pdf#page=16
 
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