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

mdu said:
Man, all I can think of when seeing Union Station is thinking about how beautiful Penn Station in New York was before they knocked it down.
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Almost faced a similar fate in the 70s when CN wanted to build a new station closer to the waterfront and demolish the existing station.
 
Mercenary said:
Toronto has been lucky that it developed later than most American cities. It allowed to avoid the mistakes that American cities made like New York City.

Such as cancelling of the Spadina Expressway, preserving Union Station, etc.
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Cancelling spadina expressway was a good thing?
 
generalcanada said:
Cancelling spadina expressway was a good thing?
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Yes.
You'd struggle to find Torontonians who think that destroying the Cedervale Ravine and demolishing the bits of the Annex, Kensington Market, Chinatown & the UofT campus for a highway would be a good idea. It was cancelled in the heady days of the 1970s, when the car was still king - which says a lot about how awful the proposal was.

The fact that Toronto isn't choked in vast highways is one of its great benefits. The fact that Union Station remains as a downtown heritage icon, and a major transportation hub - is another.
What's the line about the 1960s Penn Station in New York? “One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat.”
 
Mercenary said:
Toronto has been lucky that it developed later than most American cities. It allowed to avoid the mistakes that American cities made like New York City.

Such as cancelling of the Spadina Expressway, preserving Union Station, etc.
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Yes; but.........

We still made our share of bad choices........the Gardiner, the DVP; tearing down the Board of Trade Building.........and this:

1620421829136.png

from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Temple_Building,_Toronto_Photo_B_(HS85-10-12957).jpg

The Temple Building (Built 1896, demolished 1970)
 
turini2 said:
Yes.
You'd struggle to find Torontonians who think that destroying the Cedervale Ravine and demolishing the bits of the Annex, Kensington Market, Chinatown & the UofT campus for a highway would be a good idea. It was cancelled in the heady days of the 1970s, when the car was still king - which says a lot about how awful the proposal was.

The fact that Toronto isn't choked in vast highways is one of its great benefits. The fact that Union Station remains as a downtown heritage icon, and a major transportation hub - is another.
What's the line about the 1960s Penn Station in New York? “One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat.”
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Ditto for the city itself cancelling the Scarborough Expressway...
7d0d885884bf45a9418ed97aabe7fa1a

Scarborough Expressway route 1967 approved plan (approval given for route only to Birchmount Road)
From link.
 
tsm1072 said:
I don't know, the locals wouldn't complain as much about the OL being shoved into the rail corridor if there is already a highway there.
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Putting aside any merits or lackthereof in the OL design.......

The Scarborough Expressway would never have run in the same section of rail corridor as the O/L.

The Gardiner was built as far as Leslie Street in the east.........along the Lakeshore Blvd Alignment.

It would have run up to the rail corridor along the east side of Coxwell Avenue through the Small's Creek Ravine lands to the southside of the rail corridor there, had the Scarborough Expressway been approved.

I'm aware of the 1973 proposed route......but can say so far as I'm aware it never actually contemplated. (as in action taken to make it happen)

Whereas, land assembly actually began for the 1967 route.
 
turini2 said:
Yes.
You'd struggle to find Torontonians who think that destroying the Cedervale Ravine and demolishing the bits of the Annex, Kensington Market, Chinatown & the UofT campus for a highway would be a good idea. It was cancelled in the heady days of the 1970s, when the car was still king - which says a lot about how awful the proposal was.

The fact that Toronto isn't choked in vast highways is one of its great benefits. The fact that Union Station remains as a downtown heritage icon, and a major transportation hub - is another.
What's the line about the 1960s Penn Station in New York? “One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat.”
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me, Born in Durham, ive always thought it was something people actually wanted? and how dissapointed people are that the allen road ended at eglinton?
 
generalcanada said:
me, Born in Durham, ive always thought it was something people actually wanted? and how dissapointed people are that the allen road ended at eglinton?
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I've never heard a big outcry over the need to push The Allen further south.

But I've heard lots of people who wish what was built of the The Allen be removed in its entirety; and I confess to being one of those people.
 
generalcanada said:
me, Born in Durham, ive always thought it was something people actually wanted? and how dissapointed people are that the allen road ended at eglinton?
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The most unfortunate thing is that the city didn't build mass transit to cover up for the cancelled highways.
 
DirectionNorth said:
The most unfortunate thing is that the city didn't build mass transit to cover up for the cancelled highways.
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Well, they did at Allen (the Spadina Line) though that was the only one.

Arguably, despite some superb station design; they got that one wrong in so far as the stations north of Eglinton are centred on the highway.

It likely would have performed better had it gone up Dufferin from Eglinton.
 
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