TOareaFan
Superstar
sounds very undemocratic.
Toronto Queens Quay & Water's Edge Revitalization | ?m | ?s | Waterfront Toronto
- Thread starter AlvinofDiaspar
- Start date
sounds very undemocratic.
Jonny5
Senior Member
That's a shame. Texan city suburbs are a treasure trove of unique culture. From the hispanic and asian influences, to the obsession with anything and everything football. Spending three days visiting friends in Sugar Land was a highlight of a recent trip to Texas. Food, style, language; it was a fantastic experience compared to the generic international trend culture I could check out at Yonge and Dundas. We went to a high-school football game where 9,000 people showed up to watch - and they all new all the players on both teams. And I would never have imagined bull-riding was a high-school varsity sport! A truly unique place in North America.
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Exactly. Neither suburban nor rural. Industrial.
TOareaFan
Superstar
ksun
Senior Member
actually, 6 stories suffice, but with retail.
It is fine to have disagreement about cities.
QQ east development and urbanity is hindered by that ugly boat and more so by the Redpath many seem to be fond of.
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ehlow
Senior Member
This might be a language issue...
"Rural" usually refers to places way out of cities where you'd see farmland, like this:
http://goo.gl/maps/2z6dm
Did you see any cows in QQ East?
ksun
Senior Member
This might be a language issue...
"Rural" usually refers to places way out of cities where you'd see farmland, like this:
http://goo.gl/maps/2z6dm
Did you see any cows in QQ East?
haha. I was obviously exaggerating. But the almost abandoned condition of QQ east was pretty shocking to me in 2008, especially when the impressive skyline and the hustle bustle of Yonge st is right there. I remember wild grass was running rampant and there is not so much a decent sidewalk for me to walk on. I was thinking "what's wrong with this city, is it poor or something?" (it was my first summer in Toronto)
Then Sugar beach and the waterfront pavement happened, and George Brown, the condos (though I don't think it is an ideal location for condos - not on south side of QQ) etc, and the area is gradually brought to an urban setting (except for the sugar refinery of course - I will never learn to get used to it never mind liking it). I am glad the city has a plan for QQ east.
nfitz
Superstar
How can you not like that sweet smell of sugar?
Not sure the big deal about the way it was. It was transitioning from heavy industrial to a more modern usage. How is it different than how Queens Quay West looked before that was developed in the 1970s and 1980s?
BTW, when I was walking along Queens Quay East last week, it looks like they were setting up to start the project finally. Presumably a rebuilt road similar to what has been done on Queens Quay West, with the space left for the streetcar right-of-way on the south side.
ehlow
Senior Member
I get where you're coming from.
Yes, it is rapidly urbanizing with things like Pan Am Village, Distillery, River City condos etc, however, many parts are still industrial or giant parking lots.
I see it as a huge opportunity to build a large new section of the city near downtown & the lake.
ksun
Senior Member
huge opportunities! I was just puzzled that the city extends as far as Aurora etc yet at the foot of lake Ontario, it was nothing but refineries and cement plants? The lower donlands is like a complete wasteland being five minutes drive to King/Queen. What do people keep moving north? like 50 miles north...
I was in Buenos Aires a few years ago and liked their Puerto Madero (I think that's the name), the vibrancy, the perfect mix of its industrial past and its urban present, and kept thinking why can't Toronto's east waterfront look just like that. There are a lot of similarities between the two. You know, in Argentina, the country that defaulted a few times, compared with Canada, one of the richest countries in the world. Imagine wide QQ east and Commissioners Road as well as Cherry st lined with cafes and restaurants, stores and boutique businesses as well as sculptures and trees!
ttk77
Senior Member
I walk past there a lot, and while there are days when it smells like sugar...almost like a cross between cotton candy and caramel, there are almost as many days where the same location smells sour and rotten.
ksun
Senior Member
It just takes too much space in prime downtown/waterfront. If put on Queen East, the plant will extend from Jarvis st well past Church st all the way to half way between Yonge and Church, and from Queen to Shuter. It is more than half the size of the entire Eaton Centre, a completely ugly factory right on our central waterfront.
The smell is definitely not "sweet". It is kind of cloying especially in the summer.
dowlingm
Senior Member
(in reply to the discussion about civil servants vs electeds) While the civil servants do not and should not have the power to levy on the taxpayers, Council in particular (as opposed to TTC board) should resist the temptation to write transit plans on the fly, as they are wont to do. If Council don't like the plan, send it back to the TTC inclusive of any planning changes to increase density or extra revenue tools where the experts say there isn't enough for the plan they like.
Cloying is a type of sweet
My husband who has a major sweet tooth loves going down that way. I like it as part of our city's history and our waterfront's heritage, but I don't particularly like the smell. That doesn't make me want it to go though. I also like the old malting silos.
My husband who has a major sweet tooth loves going down that way. I like it as part of our city's history and our waterfront's heritage, but I don't particularly like the smell. That doesn't make me want it to go though. I also like the old malting silos.
ksun
Senior Member
Cloying is a type of sweet
My husband who has a major sweet tooth loves going down that way. I like it as part of our city's history and our waterfront's heritage, but I don't particularly like the smell. That doesn't make me want it to go though. I also like the old malting silos.
every single great lake cities used to have factories by the waterfront. Big deal, hardly a "heritage" worth preserving. Plus, there are plenty of industrial heritages a bit further east on the Port Lands. And I am sure there used to be large industrials at QQ and York/Yonge/Spadina, why not preserve them all. They are all history. Toronto moved on. A humongous factory isn't exactly harmonious with all its urban surroundings (yes it provides jobs I know, but so will the stores, restaurants, theatres, bars that are going to replace it).