devjohnson
Active Member
Man, the laneway is going to look amazing when completed!
Toronto Five St Joseph | 160.93m | 48s | Five St. Joseph | Hariri Pontarini
Tewder
Senior Member
Some overhead gas lamp-style lighting would look so cool here.
Armour
Senior Member
I love the glass entrance in the photos above. What an excellent project this is. We need much more of this kind of development/restoration in the city.
greenleaf
Senior Member
Mod just keeps one upping themselves. That entrance is brilliant.
philofra
Active Member
Miscreant
Senior Member
Member Bio
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- Oct 9, 2011
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- Where it's urban. And dense.
Wow--what the Yonge St. shops could be.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
The new entrance gives me a Paris metro vibe:
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AoD
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AoD
Benito
Senior Member
whatever
Senior Member
What I don't understand about the Yonge St storefronts are those recessed alcoves. They don't lead to doorways or serve any other purpose that I can see. If they leave them as is they're going to become impromptu homeless shelters during the winter months.
Benito
Senior Member
Actually they will be shelters during the summer too. I see it happening every morning on my way to work walking down Yonge St. I wondered why they did that too. Perhaps it is for future proofing if they were to convert those spaces from one large one to several smaller ones. Each divided space would need the recessed alcove for its own entranceway.
modernizt
Senior Member
That's a social-services issue. Should we get rid of public parks because they provide a place for homeless individuals to sleep and live?
Inset storefronts are a great benefit to the variation and texture of an urban streetscape. It's a shame more projects from the 2000s boom don't make use of them.
thecharioteer
Senior Member
They were mandated by Heritage Preservation Services.
whatever
Senior Member
Actually, no, this is an urban design issue. Inset storefronts are going to attract the homeless, or worse it's an easy spot for a mugger to wait. Anecdotally, I've been jumped exactly once after spending my entire life in this city, and it happened on Queen East when two guys popped out of exactly that kind of alcove.
I'm not at all suggesting that the city change its design guidelines to reflect my personal experience, but urban design should take into account the realities of the spaces we create and how they're going to be used. How, exactly, are these spaces going to be used, if not as shelters? If they have to be there as a nod to the heritage features I'd like to see full-height ornamental gates installed to block them off, perhaps in a black wrought iron?
NBGtect
Active Member
I agree with you. It's a design issue. Saying it's a social services issue or asking if we should get rid of parks (too!) is a straw man argument. You aren't being politically incorrect here; at least I haven't taken it that way to offend anyone who needs a shelter or place to sleep at night. We feel for those people. But this is a safety issue. Period.
p.s. Sorry for your experience. My friend just got jumped last week on Yonge St after 4 years living here in peace. So I understand where you are coming from.
p.s. Sorry for your experience. My friend just got jumped last week on Yonge St after 4 years living here in peace. So I understand where you are coming from.