Mississauga EX: Culture and Metroplolis

[FutureMayor]

There is an innovative and exciting free exhibition taking place at Mississauga City Hall this week. Called Mississauga EX: an exploration of culture and the metropolis.

The City of Mississauga's Planning and Building Department teamed up with the 2nd year Masters of Architecture Student Exhibition at the faculty of architecture landscape and design at the University of Toronto to "rethink" 4 districts in the city.

It was sponsored by John Shiner Architects and the Toronto Society of Architects. The event will likely become an annual event.

The students developed concepts for Mississuaga Valley, Malton and the City Centre. There was one other area which I can't think of at the moment.

What was interesting about this exhibition is that the students drew comparisons between Mississauga and Las Vegas. Both are relatively new cities, however Las Vegas was able to brand itself as an entertainment and fun destination.

For any Mississauga members or in the Greater Mississauga Area its worth checking out. The Exhibition runs until tomorrow (May 12) in the Great Hall of City Hall.

While these are just concepts at the moment, it is important to note that a city like Mississauga is starting to look forward towards a more urban future.

Louroz

 

[doady]

Greater Mississauga Area??? I have never that before, even in the city's own promotional stuff...

 

[Observer Walt]

Louroz, as it happens I was at City Hall today and took a few minutes to see this display. I think there were concepts presented for three neighbourhoods, the three you mentioned. I don't remember a fourth one, or might have missed it.

The displays are pretty imaginative. They are a little more heavy on "design" than on "planning". The whole plan for Malton envisions high-density development on the parkland at Derry and Goreway, which won't happen in real life. Maybe they should have looked at redeveloping Westwood Mall. OTOH maybe this would be too similar to the idea of redeveloping Square One.

Interesting stuff! Worth a look, for anyone who finds themselves in the City Centre with a few minutes to spare.

 

[JasonParis]

Wildwood Park high density? Yuck!

Definitely, Westwood Mall needs to be rethought though.

 

[ShonTron]

This does sound interesting - Toronto has started this process, but it won't be long until the inner 905 suburbs will look at rethinking themselves, at least parts of it.

I agree - Westwood Mall (what a dump) really needs to be rethought. Unless it changed recently, it has the worst transit terminal in the GTA, especially for the number of routes it serves. And the mall is practically a greyfield and has been ever since Woodbine Centre opened.

Dixie/Dundas is another area I'd like to tackle - there's a lot of potential there, along with Cooksville.

Greater Mississauga Area? Please define! (I had heard of Greater Bramptonia, though, believe it or not - the places around Georgetown and Caledon where residents end up in Brampton because it's the closest place with, er, stuff.)

 

[simply Dan]

Greater Mississauga?? Most Canadians don't have the slightest clue where or even what Mississauga is.

 

[doady]

Malton as a whole is a dump, and plus I got mocked for my "girly" appearance by a bunch of kids last time I was there, so it wouldn't much they just bulldoze the whole neighbourhood.

Mississauga Valley... does this refer to Bloor/Central Parkway intersection?

The neighbourhood that need "rethinking" the most is the one along Mississauga Rd south of Dundas. Just bulldoze all the houses and tear all the roads and start anew. Extend Queensway west to Erin Mills Parkway and Clarkson Rd North north to Mississauga Rd to make it easier to provide bus service to the new community. Sheridan Centre can become a major node.

 

[Dan416]

Malton as a whole is a dump, and plus I got mocked for my "girly" appearance by a bunch of kids last time I was there, so it wouldn't much they just bulldoze the whole neighbourhood.

Mississauga Valley... does this refer to Bloor/Central Parkway intersection?

The neighbourhood that need "rethinking" the most is the one along Mississauga Rd south of Dundas. Just bulldoze all the houses and tear all the roads and start anew. Extend Queensway west to Erin Mills Parkway and Clarkson Rd North north to Mississauga Rd to make it easier to provide bus service to the new community. Sheridan Centre can become a major node.

Queensway WAS supposed to extend into Western Mississauga. I don't remember why it was cancelled, but it was probably due to protests. I'm against bulldosing homes, but I support finishing Queensway as intended.

 

[JasonParis]

Malton as a whole is a dump, and plus I got mocked for my "girly" appearance by a bunch of kids last time I was there, so it wouldn't much they just bulldoze the whole neighbourhood.

I'll give you dumpy, but not "a dump." Besides, I think it's one of the ONLY interesting neighbourhoods in all of the 'saug.

 

[adma]

The neighbourhood that need "rethinking" the most is the one along Mississauga Rd south of Dundas. Just bulldoze all the houses and tear all the roads and start anew. Extend Queensway west to Erin Mills Parkway and Clarkson Rd North north to Mississauga Rd to make it easier to provide bus service to the new community. Sheridan Centre can become a major node.

But, er, consider the neighbourhood. That'd be like bulldozing everything in the Bridal Path (and maybe Glendon College and a whole lot else) and starting anew on behalf of connecting Lawrence across Bayview.

You'd have to be a *real* eat-the-rich ultra-Marxist-Leninist nutcase with Taliban-level dictatorial powers to pull that one off. And on top of that, in this stretch of the Credit Valley, you'd likely have to deal with ecologically-minded and First Nations protest as well.

Think carefully. Think *verrrrry* carefully. You might discover that maybe it's best to let sleeping dogs lie...

 

[jeicow]

I think the biggest problems with extending Queensway would likely be getting across the two golf courses without native protest. Where the two golf courses are was where the Mississauga traditionally lived and I can't see them ever being good with a road being exnteded. They have enough problem with the golf courses being there, I can't see a major roadway being allowed.

I think bulldozing Mississauga Road between QEW and Dundas would be a mistake. Even though it's low density, WARC, and has no transit usage, it still has a lot of character. In all honesty, I'd go after everything East of the Credit, North/West of the 403, and South of the 401 (with some places being saved). I find that to be the prime example of suburbia, and well, the reason Mississauga is plauged by the car culture label. A lot of Mississauga falls under this label, but I find this the biggest area that falls into it.

 

[Observer Walt]

Punching an arterial street through the middle of an established neighbourhood is the exact opposite of how you improve a city.

 

[FutureMayor]

Queensway Extension

For those who think Mississauga is all about building roads, they should know we have had our share of activists who fight on behalf of saving neighborhoods from cars.

I was always curious why the Queensway came to a sudden end at the Credit River and denying motorist of a quick way to get to Sheridan Mall.

When the Burnhamthorpe Bridges were being constructed, environmentalist protested because of the damage it could potentially have on the Credit River below. The Mayor and the city struck a deal where the Burnhamthorpe Bridge would proceed without further protest if the Queensway extension was erased from the city’s plan.

It’s a crucial missing link in Mississauga’s network grid and would have been a nice alternative to the QEW. Queensway is going to get a dedicated bike path/trail, it would be nice if a smaller bridge was built exclusively for pedestrians, cyclist, and Mississauga Transit buses only.

The other missing link in Central Mississauga to take note of is Cliff Road. It begins at Central Parkway and comes to a sudden stop on Mississauga Valley Blvd. at an awkward shaped park. The road was supposed to continue over the railway track and connect with Dundas Street to the south. However, there was huge neighbourhood opposition to the plan and it was scrapped. The city recently reconstructed and reduced the width of the road from 4 to 2 lanes because hardly anyone uses it.

Louroz

 

[FutureMayor]

Uptown Mississauga

I was driving on Eglinton Road yesterday and noticed land surveyors busy on the northwest side of the intersection of Hurontario and Eglinton. (Esso Gas Station on the corner) I suspect someone is planning something big for those lands.

I have always viewed this area as the northern sub-centre to City Centre. Cooksville has the workings of being the southern sub-centre. There is at least 50 acres of vacant land zoned high density surrounding this intersection.

One land owner recently applied for a rezoning permit to allow townhomes to be built and was rightfully denied by the city.

I was also at the Kinkos at 2:00 in the morning the other day and while looking out at the empty parking lot of Mississuaga Marketplace, it has the potential to be filled in with development one day like the Don Mills Centre.

Louroz

 

[FutureMayor]

Greater Mississauga Area (GMA)

The GMA includes Etobicoke, Brampton, Milton and Oakville.

GMA is a term I've conined at City Hall and will be used extensively as part of my future Mayoral campaign.

Mississauga is undoubtedly the centre of the western GTA with the airport, employment, shopping, transporation and increasingly a centre for recreation, culture and tourism.

It's a term that is further reinforced by others with advertising using “a 15 minute drive to Mississauga†(no mention of Toronto) as a selling point for new homes in Milton and beyond to even Guelph. I've also noticed that the national media such as the CBC has begun to refer to Mississuaga if an event is taking place at or near the airport.

Louroz