Markham Tour Part 5: New Urbanism in Cornell

[wyliepoon]

Part 5 (the final part) of my photo tour of the Town of Markham. Let's go to the northeast corner of development in Markham, to the new urbanist community of Cornell.

Cornell is one of the most well-known new urbanist communities in the GTA. When it was planned, the goal was to create a community with higher housing densities, walkable streets, good housing design and better community amenities that are accessible by alternative transportation, creating a more urban and sustainable environment to live, following new urbanist principles of planning and architecture.

How does the place look now? A lot of the houses look nice, borrowing Victorian features from inner city houses. The houses are more packed together. Every street has a sidewalk and less front yard space, but there's still problems- there are very few people on the streets. Driving continues to be the mode of transportation of choice for many residents.

Mixed-use areas are almost non-existent in the areas I saw at Cornell, aside from a mid-rise apartment block in the heart of the community. The streets of Cornell are rather mazelike, which probably discourages residents from walking around their community. Much of the area of Cornell is taken up by pavement- every house fronts a street that could be as wide as a main thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, and there is a laneway in the back with garages. The mid-rise apartment block is served by a sprawling parking lot at grade.

While I see problems with the design of Cornell, what I think is the biggest problem with the community is that people living in the community seem to refuse to at least try to live differently from other suburbanites. This might have to do with the design of the neighbourhood (which I think has compromised too much to suit the tastes of suburbanites), but I think it also has to do with the mindset of the residents, some of whom might see this as only a suburban home, or an investment, instead of something special that we urbanists tend to see. It will take more than just new urbanist design to create urban communities in the suburbs- it will need a change of mind from the suburbanites who live in these communities.

Mixed-use block in the centre of Cornell

On the right is the Markham Yee Hong Centre, a Chinese senior home. It's probably the tallest building in Cornell

Mailboxes with a roof

 

[Canuck 36]

I appreciate the tour Wylie. Nice to see more of Markham than the endless sprawl I've grown acustom to.

 

[ganjavih]

Thanks for the pics and analysis, wylie. Definitely a step above traditional suburbia aesthetically and it does look more walkable but I wonder if the issue of car dependence is being addressed. Where does one go shopping? The lack of access to retail-oriented streets is a problem.

 

[Observer Walt]

Ganjavih's point is well taken. Cornell is certainly a step in the right direction, but it exists pretty much in isolation, at least to date. There is relatively little to walk to, other than parks (which are good and serve to some extent as community gathering places). The larger surrounding environment hasn't changed yet.

 

[Brighter Hell]

Apparently Cornell will extend to Hwy 7 and street retail will be built there. But that was a Cornell rep who told me that so who knows how reliable that information is. Walkable main streets are the missing piece of a lot of new urbanist communities IMO.

Going by Google maps it looks like Markham Stoufville Hospital will be a real sore thumb - it's a typically suburban hospital campus with the hospital building on a diagonal to the streets, right in the middle of Cornell.

 

[doady]

I like how there is no driveways in front of the houses. It looks so much nicer that way. The houses themselves look very nice too, much nicer than any other subdivision.

 

[spmarshall]

I went to Cornell a year ago and was disappointed. The local retail centre had several vacancies and looked far below its potential, even though that part of the development was built out. No where to walk to, and everybody still drives everywhere. Having a denser, more urban-styled subdivision will only get you so far, having a "there" there would help, as would proper transit, both of which are within reach. It is better to work from more organic cores (Port Credit, old Markham, etc) to do this.

On the other hand, the houses do look better, and Markham does seem to be building a lot of new subdivisions with the grid or curved-grid style. I expected Mount Joy GO Station to be a sea of parking surrounded with terrible sprawl. Though the signature giant GO parking lot exists, on the other side of the street and the railway, Bur Oak is a compact, fairly attractive new residential area. There's hope.

 

[EnviroTO]

The houses work perfectly but I agree the way retail land is allocated needs to follow suit. Instead of large parcels zoned for retail they need to make the switch to long strips along a street zoned for retail with lots that aren't so deep.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

"It is better to work from more organic cores (Port Credit, old Markham, etc) to do this."

Well, that's just it, the 16th and Ninth Line area is the absolute edge of civilization. To make matters worse, Cornell is separated from old Markham by over a mile of impenetrable sprawl...in this situation there won't be a 'there' there until Cornell itself is surrounded by a few concessions of sprawl, and depending on how much land gets greenbelted, this may not happen. Cornell's front yard areas may remain isolated and abandoned due to the garages being behind the houses - this may not happen, though, if there's enough retail and parks around to get people out and about. I'll give it a few years for construction to finish and people to get used to living there.

 

[CanadianNational]

It all looks very pleasant - maybe too pleasant!
It makes me itch to plunk down a stylish bit of expressionist modernism.

 

[wagthedog]

wasnt cornell doomed when it didnt have any close, accessible employment lands?

Why walk when you have to drive to work? might as well do your errands in car.