Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR

mdrejhon said:
Crowd is compact, only in center 1/3rd of front of Union. Keeping sidewalks free, and York/Bay areas free for commuter flow.

Great sneak preview of Union's emerging ability as a real entertainment destination in 2017.
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Torontovibe said:
Once you get the synergy right, people will come. This market has really transformed Front Street and turned Union Station into a destination. I love the animation!
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This is what I like to hear. Imagine when the shopping concourses at Union opens up!

This market should be an annual thing, that runs every summer.
 
It's amazing to see events like the market fill the plaza. Toronto has been a vibrant city for a while now, but to see seemingly every plaza, park and even office tower atriums hosting events is fantastic. What used to be places we just walked through on our way to work or shopping are now becoming destinations in and of themselves.
 
Stopped by yesterday, sampled some sorbet, bought some maple kettle corn. It brings so much life and colour to that plaza, it was really great. Reminded me a little of the ferry terminal in San Francisco, on a much smaller scale.
 
adHominem said:
Stopped by yesterday, sampled some sorbet, bought some maple kettle corn. It brings so much life and colour to that plaza, it was really great. Reminded me a little of the ferry terminal in San Francisco, on a much smaller scale.
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No reason why, it can't be, without some adaptation, extended eastward with some judicious rejigging of Front Street by the Dominion Public Building

AoD
 
Very cool stuff. Apparently it's run by the "Toronto Market Company", is that a city-run agency? It sure looks like it as all of their events are in city parks.
 
Thanks smartypants, I saw that too. If you're paying attention you can see that it's set up like a fake business - their back story is incredibly vague and there's no real contact info. Apparently this business has no real employees, no office, nothing.
 
DarnDirtyApe said:
Thanks smartypants, I saw that too. If you're paying attention you can see that it's set up like a fake business - their back story is incredibly vague and there's no real contact info. Apparently this business has no real employees, no office, nothing.
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Or they just have a really crap website
 
The changes to Front Street align with the "shared space" concept, designed to offer mixing between cars, bikes, and pedestrians.

Just look at this tweet from Jen Keesmaat:
https://twitter.com/jen_keesmaat/status/618906406167646208

Interestingly, here in The Netherlands (and other parts of Europe), the backlash against shared space has grown and is now seen by many as a failed concept and passé.

Here's a couple of (English) blog posts:
http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2008/11/shared-space.html
http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2014/04/where-crashes-are-shared-space-and.html

Here's a report from the UK:
http://chrisholmes.co.uk/news/accidents-by-design-the-holmes-report-into-shared-space/
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33303031

Some cities which implemented shared space streets have already removed them. I know here in Amsterdam that any recently rebuilt streets with a shared design have very, very low traffic volumes (such as residential cul-de-sacs).

The ibiketo blog has also noted this about Front Street:
http://www.ibiketo.ca/blog/union-stations-front-street-reveals-total-lack-knowledge-traffic-dynamics
 
adHominem said:
Stopped by yesterday, sampled some sorbet, bought some maple kettle corn. It brings so much life and colour to that plaza, it was really great. Reminded me a little of the ferry terminal in San Francisco, on a much smaller scale.
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I had the opposite experience at the market. I headed out to see what all the fuss was about but unfortunately the presence of the overhead cobra head street lamps drained all of the life, fun, and energy out of the area. I couldn't even see the letter "I" on the new big and expensive signage to tell me I was at Union Station which just made things even more depressing. Can't this city run a simple 18th century market without failing so hard?
 
Forgotten said:
I had the opposite experience at the market. I headed out to see what all the fuss was about but unfortunately the presence of the overhead cobra head street lamps drained all of the life, fun, and energy out of the area. I couldn't even see the letter "I" on the new big and expensive signage to tell me I was at Union Station which just made things even more depressing. Can't this city run a simple 18th century market without failing so hard?
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Like. But you missed the obligatory winky frowny ;(

We need to add a few more chuckles to cure accidental cobra streetlamp rage & wayfinding madness.

/s
 
They've added a new structure. It's much smaller. Looks like only the TTC logo will go here. I kind of wish they had just used the lamp shaped like the logo like was recently added outside Osgoode.

Looking inside the structure, it appears that it is sized for fluorescent tubes. I hope that they learned from the first sign and made it black with a lit TTC logo.

50218
 
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