No, I do like the positive sentiment of the previous two posts. I guess Kkgg7's posts often put me in a negative mood. I would like to hear more of how people believe the city should be changed for the better - including kkgg7. Because at the end of the day that is how a better city will be built. So, kkgg, what do you believe should be done about things like the streetcar, or how do you think we can pay for an improvement many would surely like - such as burying the Gardiner?
I don't think I am any different from the previous two posters. Actually what city_lover mentioned is exactly what I have in mind for Toronto, where the core from Jarvis to Spadina is dominated by 20-80 storey skyscrapers, while other parts of the city is mostly regular mid-high rises 6-20 stories. I, however, hate the idea of "preserving" all those 2 or 3 stories old houses (most of which don't really have much special value) within the downtown core, for example, along Yonge st, Queen St, Dundas st etc. Some say it is "charming" or "different" from other cities, I say it is such a huge waste of space. Downtown should be compact, highly dense and it is definitely not the place for 2 storey houses.
I live in downtown and I do take the streetcars from time to time, particularly during weekends (I walk to work under PATH). One frustrating thing is its frequency and speed. I think there are way too many stops. For example, one stop at Yonge, at Bay and Victoria street, respectively, what's the point? Walking from Yonge to Victoria takes 2 minutes, literally. It makes the streetcars so much slower! It really won't kill someone to walk for 3 or 4 minutes to get to a station.
Of course it would be nice to have subways, but apparently that seems a mission impossible for Toronto, so we have to make do with streetcars. Vistors to Toronto often are surprises by the fact that you can park on busy downtown section of Queen West and Dundas West. Is the city insane? That leaves the drivers with -- one lane, who have to share with streetcars. Often the streetcars have to wait for a car to make a turn, or a long time of cars have to wait for the streetcar to load and unload passengers every 3 minutes. It is ridiculous. The system is broken and no one is fixing it. I would suggest prohibiting parking on downtown main streets such as Queen and Dundas so that traffic can flow more smoothly. Part of the street, such as Queen West between Simcoe and Spadina, should be pedestrian and streetcars ONLY. The same applies to King Street. Richmond and Adelaide is just nearby. I don't see the need for cars to move on King and Queen whatsoever.
If subway is not an option, can we at least increase the frequency of streetcars to make them more reliable? Last time I used nextbus service and it shows I need to wait for 17 minutes for the 501 westbound, on a Saturday afternoon. That means it doesn't work. To me, the 510 seems to be the only reliable service I can depend on. One way to do it is to make them turn back after reaching downtown, as most riders go from the suburbs to downtown or vice versa. Not so many go from Woodbine/Queen to Lansdowne/Queen, are there? Many seem to believe the new streetcars are gonna solve the problem. I don't think so. They carry more people, but crowdness is not the issue here. If they come more frequent (less than every 5 minutes), everything will be solved. I'd rather wait for 3 minutes and board a somewhat crowded small streetcar than waiting 15 minutes and board and great looking spacious one. All I need is to get from A to B.
Not only the central part of Gardiner needs to be buried (from Parliament to Bathust), so does the railway tracks (more like to construct roads on top of it to make it invisible). Yes, it will be costly, but it has to be done sooner or later. How to pay for it? Those who choose to drive downtown should pay for the congestion and pollution and noise they cause. The minute you are enter south of Bloor, west of Jarvis, and east of Spadina, you pay $10. It is only fair. Anywhere south of Front st is incredible pedestian unfriendly-- it is more like in the suburbs than in downtown. You know what, if we do that, we may not even need to bury the Gardiner - removing it is enough. Lakeshore blvd is wide enough for the reduced traffic deterred by the fee most likely. What else? Stop hiring union workers to do the job and the city can save a lot. With an improved waterfront/south downtown, the land will be valuable, which means any new development will bring more revenue to the city - preferable something commercial, not all condos. The waterfront neighbourhoods, including highly dense CityPlace desperately need something like a couple of department store, some movie theatres. Bring a Target, bring an AMC, bring a Macy's/Nordstrom. I am sure with the all the development going on and the upwardly mobile folks moving in, these retailers would be willing to pay for the location. You can keep the south downtown as the complete mess (whether you admit or not) and expect big retailers to jump in.
Toronto is not NYC and will never be one. However, it should be Toronto's goal to become as car independent as NYC is. Driving in downtown Toronto should be outrightly a stupid idea only the very rich who can afford hiring chauffeurs will do. Then politics come into play, the city vs suburbs fight and the need to please those car driving suburbanites may again make everything impossible. That's not an excuse for not being able to achieve things, as it is not an obstacle unique to Toronto. Even Los Angeles is building subways faster than Toronto if you check the facts. Sometimes I show hostility and aggression out of frustration, definitely not out of despise toward Toronto.
) and have the downtown area (from Jarvis to Spadina and the lake to Bloor) mostly high-rise, barring, of course, key heritage buildings, etc. like on Yonge. However, that being said, developments that are scaled back (like 5ive) would be nice just off of Yonge north of Dundas upto Bloor.