St Lawrence Market

[DSC]

Day 9 and counting. They started with 3 days minimum.

Good thing the Leafs and Raptors are out of the playoffs.

View attachment 404182

View attachment 404183
The NB curb lane was poured yesterday and paved today. Promising….

I somehow missed including the Ltower generator still parked on the street.

Yonge re-opened in both directions, still lane restrictions as work is clearly not yet finished. Next will be City project to install a new watermain on Yonge from King (?) to Queen's Quay.

 

[DSC]

An update on the worlds slowest project ...

Wellington Construction Update
June 6, 2022

Wellington Construction Update
For the weeks of June 6th & June 13th

Front Street East (Scott Street - Market Street)
Work will be continuing at:

• Curb and sidewalk construction at Church Street and Front Street E will resume
• Our contractor is still awaiting electrical materials to start work on Front St. That work will be carried forward to the week of June 13th

Wellington St E (Yonge St – Church St north side)
Work will be continuing at:

• Yonge Street on the north side of Wellington St E.
• Crews will continue working east toward Scott Street
• Crews will also be working at the north west corner of Church St and Wellington St E

Work to be done:

• Our contractor will continue excavation on the north side of Wellington

 

[DSC]

Market Street is now pedestrian only - no street furniture yet but at least they have blocked it for vehicles. I think the work on the 'animation' is being done by the BIA and they normally do things fairly well, we shall see,

 

[Andy_in_Toronto]

Market St. has potential and will show more of its potential. I also walked by. @DSC I think we can have some confidence what to expect. Someone was smart enough to protect also the crosswalk. Two line of barriers have been put in place. Otherwise, some drivers would have parked directly on the crosswalk - no doubts about that unfortunately. My trust increased that someone knowledgeable is behind this.

The second photos shows with all those cars removed, how much damage was caused to the road, destroyed bollards, etc.

Why did we let this happen for so long? Sad!

 

[evandyk]

That stretch has some major potential now. The market, a bunch of good restaurants, a coffee shop. It will be a destination.

 

[evandyk]

We popped by the farmers market on Saturday morning, and while the corner of Market and Esplanade used to be choked with cars, to the extent that they needed a cop to direct traffic, it was empty of cars and full of people strolling. It was great.

 

[Towered]

Market St. has potential and will show more of its potential. I also walked by. @DSC I think we can have some confidence what to expect. Someone was smart enough to protect also the crosswalk. Two line of barriers have been put in place. Otherwise, some drivers would have parked directly on the crosswalk - no doubts about that unfortunately. My trust increased that someone knowledgeable is behind this.

The second photos shows with all those cars removed, how much damage was caused to the road, destroyed bollards, etc.

Why did we let this happen for so long? Sad!

View attachment 405425
View attachment 405426

What a pleasant upgrade for the area. I have fond memories of my parents often taking me to the Old Fish Market for dinner (it used to be in that historic building on the right) in the early 80's. At that time, Market street had crumbled asphalt, dilapidated heritage buildings, dim lighting, and was lined with 70's boats (if for some reason you couldn't find parking in the many massive surface lots disfiguring the neighbourhood). Everything looked grimy and run down (which I found fascinating as a kid). I miss eating my regular pan seared flounder there, but I do not miss at all how the area used to look. Most of downtown was a frigging dump in those days.

 

[DSC]

As I predicted, the BIA is providing 'programing' on Market Street:

Join your neighbours on Market Street for live entertainment, pop up food events, seating and more! Market Street (Front Street to The Esplanade) will be an Urban Park open to pedestrians for summer 2022 (starting early June.) Watch this page for event updates.

Music – The I Heart Market Street Music Series will begin Tuesday June 14th, 2022 with pop up musicians appearing Tuesday – Friday 11:30am – 1:30pm and Wednesday – Friday 6pm – 8pm. Check this page for more details as they become available. This series is scheduled to run weekly until mid September and is free to attend

I Heart Market Street - Old Town Toronto

Join your neighbours on Market Street for live entertainment, pop up food events, seating and more! Market Street (Front Street to The Esplanade) will be an Urban Park open to pedestrians for summer 2022 (starting early June.) Watch this page for event updates. Music – The I Heart Market Street...

oldtowntoronto.ca

 

[toonderly]

When I was out for my evening walk there were signs posted about a survey re 2 new parks in what they described as the "North St Lawrence" neighbourhood. One will be on the north side of Richmond between Sherbourne and Ontario (opening 2025). The smaller one will be on the north side of King near Ontario (opening 2026).

The survey is open until June 30. There is an option at the end to provide more detailed specific suggestions.

https://s-ca.chkmkt.com/?e=274593&h=FA0F825D1FCC11C&l=en/

There will also be a Black Community Advisory group formed to consult on the projects, looking for members also until June 30.

 

[Jonny5]

When I was out for my evening walk there were signs posted about a survey re 2 new parks in what they described as the "North St Lawrence" neighbourhood. One will be on the north side of Richmond between Sherbourne and Ontario (opening 2025). The smaller one will be on the north side of King near Ontario (opening 2026).

The survey is open until June 30. There is an option at the end to provide more detailed specific suggestions.

https://s-ca.chkmkt.com/?e=274593&h=FA0F825D1FCC11C&l=en/

There will also be a Black Community Advisory group formed to consult on the projects, looking for members also until June 30.

Completed. Thanks!

 

[DSC]

Completed. Thanks!

Considering these two parks are TINY and will be tightly bounded by tall buildings I am not sure that they need to have such an extensive survey. I also worry that they will raise expectations but neither park can accommodate more than one thing - a kids space, lots of trees, water features, sport equipment etc etc. They need to pick ONE thing and do it well.

 

[Andy_in_Toronto]

“Overnight” our neighborhood found a new social gathering spot. The urban park on Market St. Everyone else calls it pedestrian area. People already loving it which isn’t a surprise.

Why was this valuable space wasted as parking?

Now:

Before:

 

[DSC]

“Overnight” our neighborhood found a new social gathering spot. The urban park on Market St. Everyone else calls it pedestrian area. People already loving it which isn’t a surprise.

Why was this valuable space wasted as parking?

Now:
View attachment 406654View attachment 406655

Before:
View attachment 406656

I think the photo shows the improvement. It took so long because some Market merchants seemed to think their business depended on having a few parking spots. I hope this may persuade them that they operate in a walking neighbourhood.

 

[PinkLucy]

I have never once driven to the Market. It has always been a walking or transit destination for me.

 

[evandyk]

Lots of people do drive to the area and then walk around in it. That's what the huge lot at the bottom of Church St is for. I'd prefer more to come by transit, but it's not like there's nowhere for them to park now that they can't clog up Market St.