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Lack of proper connections to Bloor to the north and Dundas W to the shout and to the west is such a nightmare. Quite frankly I'd be worried about the viability of this area if I was investing in a condo here.
 
Yup, there needs to be a couple new pedestrian and bike bridges across the tracks.

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Thanks for pointing out but I'm aware that Sterling Road exists and my point is that this wonky narrow road alone is not nearly enough for the size and development potential of this area.
 
Sterling is currently quite quiet, other than—I would imagine—when there's a shift change at Nestle? But yes, it will definitely get busy. Just ow busy is the question in terms of which modes of transport. Condos sell fewer and fewer parking spots these days, so the pressure will likely be spread out over infrastructure to support a variety of modes: ped and bike bridges should come early in the mix.

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I expect that Ruttan St. will eventually (via redevelopment) connect to Sterling to allow another flow to Bloor St. You can already do this by cutting through private property.

More bike-walk connections over the tracks would certainly help too. E.g. if you could walk or bike to the Loblaw lands by just crossing a bridge instead of going all the way around... I *really* hope this connection can happen with that redevelopment.

Hopefully the proposed Bloor-Lansdowne GO station (Barrie line south side of Bloor) can also provide another easy way to walk and bike through, especially if there's a trail extension between the Davenport Diamond project and Railpath.

With the existing, proposed, and potential car-free transportation options around here, this could be a fantastic area for minimizing automobile traffic.
 
We shouldn't be worried about vehicle infrastructure here with so many practical alternatives in close proximity. There's the Line 2 subway, Dundas and Carlton streetcar lines, GO Transit, UP Express, and the West Toronto Railpath. It takes just 7 minutes to get downtown by UP Express. I suspect GO Transit is similar. You have better transportation infrastructure in the vicinity than many more established and expensive neighbourhoods.
 
If that thinking held true we'd have zero cars parked on Bloor Street between Bathurst and Spadina with so many streetcars and subway stations in the vicinity. Liberty Village wouldn't be such a mess either. Vehicular traffic infrastructure definitely matters, especially for families with children. Not everyone works downtown. Not everyone is interested in walking and cycling either. That's what I'm talking about when I say the viability is suspect without a decent street network.

Yes, it takes just 7 minutes to get downtown by UP Express, but from, say, Henderson Brewery it's a very very awkward 15 minute walk to get to the platform. Elsewhere in downtown you rarely ever walk more than 5 minutes to public transit and amenities; and you get sidewalks and properly laid out streets/sidewalks.
 
It's about 700m along the Railpath from Henderson to the UP platform. Less than 10 minute walk, not particularly awkward. Though not fully accessible yet unless you detour to Bloor/Sterling.
 
Avenue said:
Not everyone is interested in walking and cycling either.
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That's inarguably true, but it is most certainly not the case that we should be planning our cities -- or this fast-changing neighbourhood -- primarily (or even secondarily) around those people.
 
ADRM said:
That's inarguably true, but it is most certainly not the case that we should be planning our cities -- or this fast-changing neighbourhood -- primarily (or even secondarily) around those people.
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A walkable neighbourhood in my opinion has short regular blocks and decent and direct connections the adjacent areas. This area looks like a weird suburban cul-de-sac/loop neighbourhood when you look at the map, with only way in and out of it being Sterling Road.

As for the "we have transit, who needs streets where vehicles can go" argument, I don't get how we expect the potential residents here to all of a sudden think cars to be obsolete just because there's Dundas streetcar at the end of Sterling Road. With all the density added here it has the potential to be ridiculously congested.
 
Avenue said:
A walkable neighbourhood in my opinion has short regular blocks and decent and direct connections the adjacent areas. This area looks like a weird suburban cul-de-sac/loop neighbourhood when you look at the map, with only way in and out of it being Sterling Road.

As for the "we have transit, who needs streets where vehicles can go" argument, I don't get how we expect the potential residents here to all of a sudden think cars to be obsolete just because there's Dundas streetcar at the end of Sterling Road. With all the density added here it has the potential to be ridiculously congested.
Click to expand...

There's a difference between not prioritizing an antiquated and fundamentally inefficient mode of travel and building no infrastructure at all to service it. I haven't seen anyone on this thread advocate for the latter.

I will say that, if I were to live here, I'd definitely want some new traffic calming measures in the neighbourhood -- the wide streets here, especially closer to Dundas, encourage drivers to fly through the neighbourhood, and I wouldn't want my kids wandering around the streets here until that's addressed. Obviously, some consideration needs to be given to the Nestle-related vehicles, but there's got to be a solution that works for all.
 
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