Toronto Lower Don Lands Redevelopment | ?m | ?s | Waterfront Toronto

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Dinamo5 said:
That riverdale park vantage point seems to be very popular to take in views of downtown. They should reno that park to make it a real nice spot to take in the views, I don't believe there are to many spots like this in town to really take in the view for free.
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I agree there is room for tangible improvement. One challenge is how little room there is at the top of the hill. That is to say, if you wanted a wide, decorative pavement walk way, benches on pads, lots of room for winter sledding, a row of decorative pedestrian lights, and maybe a couple of pockets of decorative landscape beds.........you need another 3M across the top. There are really only two ways to get that. One is to regrade and push-out the slope line ( a very big project), the other would be confiscating the SB curb lane of Broadview to expand the park. This is likely the more workable, and less costly choice, but of course it does mean eliminating any parking and it would increase rush hour congestion at least a little bit.

Dinamo5 said:
A tall lookout or some kind of walkway that extends outword would be amazing.
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I don't know about this....... I understand what you're hoping for........but let me outline the problem.

Any structure will require supports, if those supports go down the hill, you're now creating a crash hazard for sledders. That can be mitigated, but you're also (if at the northern edge of the hill) going to be up against a naturalized slope with wildlife that won't want to be cut off from the rest of the park.

That doesn't mean you can do something, there are definite options...

PF&R did come up with a viewing deck option, I was not particularly taken w/their idea. It didn't strike me as a bit improvement.

Here, I knew I had it somewhere....

1715967436799.png


From here: https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/u...h-public-meeting-september-17-2019-pan.._.pdf

- p.16

My issue(s) w/the above:

- no tangible improvement in view quality.
- no seating and a seated view would now be obstructed by the railing.

- Insufficient benefit for the expense.
 
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Dinamo5 said:
That Riverdale Park vantage point seems to be very popular to take in views of downtown.
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Pro tip...

Everyone comes for the sunset, but you're staring right into the sun and then it sets behind the skyline just making everything dark.

If you REALLY want to see something impressive come for the SUNRISE.

You get the sun coming up from behind you lighting up the entire skyline in front of you. It's much more photogenic.
 
hawc said:
You get the sun coming up from behind you lighting up the entire skyline in front of you. It's much more photogenic.
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This is subjective. Having a stunning sky behind a silhouetted skyline is beautiful in it's own right. Also, if your camera has great dynamic range or you do a composite/double exposure, you can really make those buildings look great at sunset.


Riverdale Sunset by kotsy, on Flickr

I think around summer solstice, the sun sets far enough north that you can achieve great contrast on buildings that have their north side lit up and east facing side in shadows.

Having said that, if you're really lucky at sunrise and get one of those wraparound beautiful skies, you can get the best of both worlds!
 
Silhouetted skyline with sun on skyscrapers' south side for reference. I believe you could get this same look at Riverdale during sunset for a couple months a year. I think I just gave myself motivation to get back over there 🤔


Top of the Morning To You! by kotsy, on Flickr
 
3Dementia said:
@kotsy

C'mon man... these are money shots!! Get your a💲💲over to the Toronto Skyline thread. ;)

(or start your own dedicated thread 'cause you know already what a fanboy I am 📣).
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I already have my own thread with these shots but haven't been shooting much lately so it's not near the top of the Photos section 😊
 
kotsy said:
I already have my own thread with these shots but haven't been shooting much lately so it's not near the top of the Photos section 😊
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Just checking to see if you noticed my hundreds of 😍s in that thread lol.
 
hawc said:
Speaking of hydro seeding... flew over Riverdale Park East too.

The grass is a total disaster.

Looks like crews have been driving trucks up and down the hill instead of using the paved access road further south.

Or maybe it's all the winter tobogganing.

Whatever it is, this beloved hill for sunsets is more dust than grass at this point.

As The City builds new parks it's important it upkeeps its existing ones.

View attachment 564669
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This is the kind of thing that I wish would be shown to rebut the annual whining campaign about “Toronto hates fun”. Why are fences put up and sledding not allowed? Well if you want things you take care of them. Why is there traffic? Because if you want an elevated highway you need to maintain it. Folks don’t consider cause and effect anymore, they just want the thing now
 
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