Northern Light
Superstar
The campus would be 'promoting' anything, it would be a research facility, largely to do w/software.
Toronto Toronto GM Mobility Campus | 53.95m | 12s | BDP Quadrangle
- Thread starter innsertnamehere
- Start date
The campus would be 'promoting' anything, it would be a research facility, largely to do w/software.
Undead
Senior Member
I'll also add that such kneejerk reactions is how we got prolonged underinvestment in oil and gas and shooting everyone in the foot with energy prices.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
Also, I highly suspect this is dead in the water given the extended period we've gone without hearing a peep on it.
Northern Light
Superstar
I looked over the activity.
Nothing new in planning since 2018; SPA was never granted.
Demolition permits were issued; and executed. No building permits for any permanent buildings have been sought.
Site, as it appeared in Streetview, as at Sept '21:
LUVIT!
Senior Member
I tend to agree. Nothing here for years now.
SashaLemon
Active Member
I wonder what General Motors Company wants to research.... it's probably puppies and rainbows, and how best to design systems for efficient puppy and rainbow delivery.
Or maybe it's for automobiles, but that might be a stretch.
egotrippin
Senior Member
GM makes more than just passenger vehicles, including ambulance, bus, cargo and other commercial utility vehicles. Based on the way the automotive world is moving, my guess is a lot of the development would be in software considering the growth of autonomous vehicles and EVs.
Besides, if they don't build it here, it'll end up somewhere else; at a minimum cars in some form or another will be around for decades to come. At least a development like this would (presumably) provide higher paying R&D jobs than the chain retail that ends up in most new condos.
SashaLemon
Active Member
Still seems like a pretty huge building to only employ 100-200 people. And there is no transit. So we will have people living in condos, and driving to their work at the car company. Sounds like the urbanist dream to me.
Put a streetcar in the median of Lake Shore Blvd and then it will make sense to build condos and offices here. Otherwise we are creating high density sprawl.
Northern Light
Superstar
There are other uses proposed and potentially greater employment in the longer term. This is all available to read on the City's website, in the AIC.
Uhhh, the Queen Streetcar is one block away.
The TTC's 2022/23 Service Plan also showed a bus route starting on Eastern Avenue itself.
Grossly pre-mature, there is no density to support such a project here, and none is contemplated in the near term. That money is required for the Queen's Quay East LRT and many other projects; there is not an unlimited pot of money.
No, we're putting in jobs, and services to local residents, where today there is an empty lot.
egotrippin
Senior Member
People drive to work at non car companies too. I'm not sure what you'd propose here; doing nothing with the lot until more transit is built?
SashaLemon
Active Member
That is the problem we have. We build all the density before the transit, and therefore build it all with huge parking garages and design the whole thing for the car. Queen's Quay East LRT is the prime example. The strip is going to be at least half full by the time any streetcar line opens.
Why can't we be like the Dutch. When they laid out IJburg in Amsterdam, they completed the tram first so that all the development would center around it. (Never mind that they also built the island itself.)
sixrings
Senior Member
As someone whose half Dutch we have to admit we are in North America. This isn’t Europe. Rightfully or wrongfully the goal here isn’t to be Amsterdam it’s to not be the worst North American city transit, pedestrian and commuter wise.
SashaLemon
Active Member
"We are not in the same land mass as a city who did some good urban planning, therefore we can't do any similarly good planning."
It's not hard. Build a line and up-zone the land. The only issue is money and politics.
Northern Light
Superstar
While I laud your ambition; that's not what he said. You really are very assertive. May I suggest you consider you're among the most progressive Torontonians on this subject, treating your fellow posters as the enemy is not the right move.
It's a whole lot harder than that.
*****
Now can we insert some context back into this......
Pre-pandemic, Toronto's modal share for the private automobile (City proper) was a mere 46% Only one major City in the U.S. or Canada does better (NYC)
Moreover, Toronto's numbers are better than any major city in Australia, better than Dublin, Ireland and only slightly worse than Madrid, Spain (40%)
Yes, we need to improve, indeed, significantly so. But worth saying here, we have the largest investment in public transit history in Ontario now underway, with The Ontario Line, and GO Expansion, and Eglinton West and Yonge North and
the SSE.
Just stop and take a breath, and look at that, it's 40 new rapid transit stations, on top of GO Expansion, on top of the Hurontario and Hamilton LRTs; and the soon to be open Eglinton Crosstown and open late next year Finch West.
****
And more is coming, plus Bikeshare expansion, a doubling or more of the Cycle Track system............
I believe modal share in the City proper, for cars will drop to the same level as Madrid, or better within 10 years.
Meanwhile the suburbs remain more of a challenge.......with the modal share there still much higher for cars; but I do expect material progress on that over the next decade.
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SashaLemon
Active Member
Oh yeah, I do know that Toronto is pretty amazing by North American standards. For better or for worse, Toronto will also become the #2 city in North America (or the entire hemisphere for that matter) for # of skyscrapers, after New York City. As we are building way way way more then Chicago currently is. I love all the transit expansion that is happening, and I guess I am more on the radical side when it comes to this. It just irks me a little when we can't to a transit-first approach. (Line 5/6 are sort of this, as now density is following the construction of the LRT, but they already had major bus ridership. The Vancouver Skytrain is designed to encourage density wherever it goes, same with the new REM in Montreal.)
I do also agree of course that the suburbs are the real issue. And that likely includes density. AT LEAST a 2x increase.