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Formalizing Entrance to Queen's Park

R

rdaner

Guest
It has occurred to me that the front lawn of Queen's Park could be renovated to it more of a public place. For example, the large areas of lawn could be paved over. The end of university should be a strong focal point. Keep the large trees, just do more with it. The way it is now is a little too pastoral.
 
Re: Formulaizing Entrance to Queen's Park

Mmmm, I've had that very same vision too. Think of Quebec's National Assembly with its special interlocking bricks to form the driveways and walkways, its spectacular and beautiful!

What Toronto needs is Provincial Capital Commission (PCC). It would be similar to the National Capital Commission in Ottawa and would be response for the Legislative Grounds, University Avenue, special events and visitor services.

Louroz
 
Re: Formulaizing Entrance to Queen's Park

What Toronto needs is Provincial Capital Commission (PCC). It would be similar to the National Capital Commission in Ottawa and would be response for the Legislative Grounds, University Avenue, special events and visitor services.
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From what I've read about how the NCC tromps around Ottawa overriding any of the cities opinions about how things should be done and making it difficult for the city to design the area, we don't need a PCC similar to the NCC.

Something a little smaller which is bound to follow city rules (like everyone else) and defers to council decisions would be worth while though.
 
Re: Formulaizing Entrance to Queen's Park

1) I think Queen's Park is fine and what really needs to happen is one lane of traffic less in either direction around the park, and perhaps some other traffic calming measures. Leave the grass and the informal spaces, it works well with the building and the space. The grounds could use some tidying, that's about all.

2) As a longtime resident of Ottawa, I can verify that the NCC is on occassion unaccountable and overbearing. This, however, can be a good thing. It allows for strong ideas to get through the muck, so if you are lucky and you have strong ideas to work with, it can work out. For instance, the positioning and choice of buildings for the Art Gallery and the Museum of Civilization are genius, and require a heavy hand, and deep pockets. I can't count the things in Ottawa that would be immeasurably worse without the NCC. Frankly, the city planners themselves are small minded and petty, they would have Ottawa looking like London, Ontario, in no time if they had their way.

When the NCC has been plain wrong or overbearing (the schemes to widen some of the city streets just south of Wellington, for instance, that would see many buildings destroyed and a big hole in the middle of downtown) they tend to get shot down, even though their overall accountability is not that strong.

3) A local NCC? I've often wondered how it would translate to Toronto. I think so long as their mandate specified, absolutely, that they could nothing under Front Street, I would welcome a PCC in Toronto. The last thing we need is one more finger in the waterfront pie. But to have someone to concentrate on the experience of moving through the city and think about how it tells us about Ontario - well, it would be hard to devise a city that is less about "Ontario" than Toronto is, so I see only gains. We might even end up with a museum that speaks to the Ontario experience, as museums do in every other provincial capital.
 
Re: Formulaizing Entrance to Queen's Park

Archivistower, I agree about Ottawa, the NCC is not the greatest democratic body in the country, however it has helped get the job done and transform the city into the beautiful National Capital it is today.

btaylor, I'm afraid the City of Toronto does a terrible job at maintaining University Avenue and beautifying the Legislative grounds is the last thing on any government Ministry's mind.

The PCC's mandate would be limited to University Avenue itself and Queen's Park Circle from Bloor to Front Street. It would have it's own annual budget from the Provincial budget and be responsible for beautifying University Avenue with trees, annual plantings, street banners, lighting fixtures, street pavings and signage. It would organize annual events such as Canada Day and take care of visitor services like tours of Queen's Park.

It would NOT have any power in terms of urban planning issues and that would be totally left up to the City of Toronto.

Louroz
 
Re: Formulaizing Entrance to Queen's Park

I was thinking of only the southern face of QP; the rest of it is fine the way it is now.
 
Re: Formulaizing Entrance to Queen's Park

Up until this year when the city launched the Clean Beautiful City Campaign I was embrassed of University Avenue. I'm less embrassed of it today, however, those new trees in those planters are all DEAD! We have uneven and broken sidewalks EVERYWHERE, and many of planters in the centre of University Avenue are BROKEN! We have left over Christmas lights hanging on the street poles along University Avenue and every few meters there is a different street banners promoting some musical.

Ok, I'm ranting, however for such an important street and building in our City I think both the Province and the City need to pay more attention to. I believe a third party board would really help get things moving along.

Louroz
 
Re: Formulaizing Entrance to Queen's Park

I agree on changing the face of QP to include more public space, but without it, it's still a great looking building.

Ottawa has problems because of the NCC and the other layers of government. If you have the NCC, you should get rid of the city and provincial levels. Throw in Parks Canada with control of the canal, for one, and you've got a city that takes forever to build one pedestrian bridge over the canal connecting the Somersets.
 
Re: Formulaizing Entrance to Queen's Park

The idea of having large sections paved over isn't appealing at all.
 
Re: Formulaizing Entrance to Queen's Park

And if you think that's bad, imagine if it was proposed during the Harris regime; you'd be hearing one heck of a ruckus barely related to the aesthetics or functioning of what's being proposed...
 
"I was thinking of only the southern face of QP; the rest of it is fine the way it is now."

Except that more of the paths need to be paved and more/brighter lights need to be installed.
 
If you have the NCC, you should get rid of the city and provincial levels.
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The NCC cannot replace a democratic level of administration with a much broader mandate. The NCC has a specific mandate to beautify the city and to make the experience of Ottawa a meaningful one for all Canadians. They are not comparable and would not replace each other.

It's true that with different levels of government and different mandates there is sometimes gridlock, our waterfront's slow movement is an example of that.
 
Interlocking stone isn't a bad idea but there's such a lack of grass in downtown TO that I'd rather keep Queen's Park as is.
 
Nobody was proposing to pave over grass in front of Queen's Park. Instead the ugly, uneven, broken and worn black pavement that make up the driveway and walkway leading up to Queen's Park should be replaced in order to give the grounds a more formal and special place. Take for example Osgood Hall and it's cobblestone driveway. It's beautiful.

Louroz
 
University definately is Toronto's only 'grand' avenue and as such it could be in better shape. Queen's Park could be spruced up but to me it's the other end of University that is most bland. The whole parade just sort of vanishes away to nothingness, very anticlimatic indeed. I do also think that there should be more of a presence in Toronto of the province considering it is the provincial capital.
 
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