Why the Hate for Mississauga?

[hockeybuddy]

So one family riding along Yonge when the streets are blocked off by signs, with police providing security? LOL

 

[kettal]

So one family riding along Yonge when the streets are blocked off by signs, with police providing security? LOL

The street was being closed for Nuit Blanche. I've seen this family around on regular days too.

Another rainy afternoon in Mississauga... oops, I mean Toronto.

 

[nfitz]

I have never, ever seen kids playing on those little plots of grass.

Nor have I, other than some foolishness when walking along sidewalks ...

... Mississauga must be a dreadful place if the kids have to resort to playing on those strips of grass. Don't they have parks? I know that they have very few libraries, but I hadn't realised that they were deprived in other ways, poor things.

 

[hockeybuddy]

hockeybuddy - I'm not sure what you're arguing here. You're sending mixed signals about both Toronto and Mississauga, undoing things said by others before you and feeding into the stereotypes about Mississauga that people are trying to dispel.

Where is it that you actually live/work, as you seem not to have an on-the-ground knowledge of either place?

Simply contributing to the thread where the latest posts have to do with pedestrian-friendliness. Before I joined in, I sensed lots of snobbishness and anti-Mississauga posts from concrete jungle downtown urbanites.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

How can an intersection be pedestrian friendly when sidealks are narrow and people overflow into the street since corners are so crammed with people?

So, it's not pedestrian friendly because, being pedestrian friendly, there's too many pedestrians? Yeah, it'd be sooo much better if no one ever walked there...the sidewalks would be so much more efficient!

 

[nfitz]

Before I joined in, I sensed lots of snobbishness and anti-Mississauga posts from concrete jungle downtown urbanites.

Hang on ... where are the strips of grass:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie...=Q2AWN-MWMIgC_gruUGu1Dg&cbp=11,143.33,,0,0.49

This is a downtown Mississauga intersection. There's no strips of grass, instead there is bricks between the sidewalk and the street.

More bizarre, is where are all the pedestrians?

Looks very concrete junglish to me!

I think someone is having us on ...

 

[hockeybuddy]

Nor have I, other than some foolishness when walking along sidewalks ...

... Mississauga must be a dreadful place if the kids have to resort to playing on those strips of grass. Don't they have parks? I know that they have very few libraries, but I hadn't realised that they were deprived in other ways, poor things.

It's obvious you don't live in a place with a large front yard, backyard or grass lining along the street.

Mississauga has very large parks. Not the puny downtown kind where its wedged between a row of stores and a rental apartment, about a half acre but labeled a "park" by the city. Mississauga ones also don't have shady people hanging around them at night or have people sleeping on benches.

 

[hockeybuddy]

So, it's not pedestrian friendly because, being pedestrian friendly, there's too many pedestrians? Yeah, it'd be sooo much better if no one ever walked there...the sidewalks would be so much more efficient!

Lots of people does not mean its pedestrian friendly.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Worse than Fairview. It lets you off in a level of the parking garage that feels and looks very much like the bus depot on Dundas. Then you proceed into the parlour, err, the dropped ceiling washroom, and then wiggle your way into the mall like some kind of worm. The only people taking the Hiawatha line to the MoA were tourists, and each scratched their head at the awful connection. The Bronx mall bus causeway is for locals, who presumably can put up with awkwarder or uglier connections.

At least at Fairview you're let off into a parking garage with some light and air and then straight into Sears (unless one considers entering Sears worse). An escalator would help.

I guess the mall with the best/easiest connection to transit is either Eaton Centre or STC...perhaps STC wins because there's no tunnels to get to opposite-bound trains, though you do have to go outside very briefly and face a barrage of smokers and thugs. Square One's isn't horrible but it could be a lot better and probably will be in the future.

Yet Cadillac-Fairview owns both Fairview Mall and the Eaton Centre. Maybe because Eaton Centre had more community input than Fairview Mall. Let's hope the Mississauga community has more input into how Mississauga matures than it did before with just the developers deciding what they want.

 

[nfitz]

It's obvious you don't live in a place with a large front yard, backyard or grass lining along the street.

No thank god ... I think I'd shoot myself if I was that environmentally irresponsible ... either that or because I had to spend all my time cutting the grass.

Mississauga has very large parks.

And yet the poor children still have to resort to playing on the fictional grass between the sidewalk and the street.

Not the puny downtown kind where its wedged between a row of stores and a rental apartment, about a half acre but labeled a "park" by the city.

Are you for real? Though your American spelling is giving you away ...

Mississauga ones also don't have shady people hanging around them at night or have people sleeping on benches.

I can't say I've ever seen anyone sleeping on a bench in the parks around my house (which are far bigger than a half-acre); typically the sleep in the ATMs.

I can't say I've ever seen a shady person hanging around the parks around my house at night either ... other than me perhaps ... (what on earth is a "shady" person).

But let's get to the point. You compared an urban downtown street like Yonge to Mississauga - however the photographic evidence suggests your completely full of it ... there are no grass strips in urban Mississauga ... nor many pedestrians ...

 

[nfitz]

Lots of people does not mean its pedestrian friendly.

So your saying that Yonge street, full of pedestrians, is not pedestrian friendly, however downtown Mississauga, with lots of concrete, but no people IS pedestrian friendly?

That has to be the biggest load of bullshit anyone has shovelled here for a long time ...

 

[hockeybuddy]

Hang on ... where are the strips of grass:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie...=Q2AWN-MWMIgC_gruUGu1Dg&cbp=11,143.33,,0,0.49

This is a downtown Mississauga intersection. There's no strips of grass, instead there is bricks between the sidewalk and the street.

More bizarre, is where are all the pedestrians?

Looks very concrete junglish to me!

I think someone is having us on ...

Not all parts of Mississauga have grass, but as you just posted (thanks), you'll notice how more space there is for whatever is needed. That is near Square One and people/car traffic is no problem there. Also, with the influx of condo developments coming in the near future in the area (I heard there are at least 10 more going up in the next 5 years or so), the area will be well equipped to handle it. Downtown on the other hand has had lots and lots of development over the years, yet what kind of sidewalk, subway, TTC transit and bike lane planning has Toronto implemented lately?

That area is also part of the Mississauaga overhaul around City Hall which is to reengineer the area. With so much space, they can do whatever they really want.

In downtown areas, space is basically used up. Any kind of significant overhaul for space usage means things are torn down to make extra room. Good example of space usage, at Mavis/Eglinton all the way up to Mavis/Britannia, they had construction on the east side of Mavis. They added an extra car lane (expanding to 3 lanes going north) while not interfering with the 2 north lanes already there. They simply used up some extra space along the side of the road. No problem.

 

[nfitz]

Not all parts of Mississauga have grass, but as you just posted (thanks), you'll notice how more space there is for whatever is needed.

So the strips of grass will come later? What do they do, close the parking lane?

You specifically compared Yonge Street ... you can't start comparing Yonge Street to some suburban street where you've apparently never wandered far from ...

 

[TonyV]

Simply contributing to the thread where the latest posts have to do with pedestrian-friendliness. Before I joined in, I sensed lots of snobbishness and anti-Mississauga posts from concrete jungle downtown urbanites.

I couldn't resist this post, while this isn't my kind of thread: just call me a snobby downtowner, the type that hangs out on the Urban Toronto (umm, get it?) website.

I moved away from the likes of Mississauga years ago and found my soul. Yup, I step over homeless people every day, and walk by those shady types lurking in doorways, and I'm here to talk about it. In general I have a lot of fun every day living in, and enjoying, downtown - oh, I mean urban Toronto.

 

[hockeybuddy]

No thank god ... I think I'd shoot myself if I was that environmentally irresponsible ... either that or because I had to spend all my time cutting the grass.

You know that most of Toronto live in typical residential housing with front yards and backyards too right? Not everyone in Toronto lives downtown.

And yet the poor children still have to resort to playing on the fictional grass between the sidewalk and the street.

Why would kids play in a downtown Mississauga area which is government buildings and a shipping mall nearby. Small kids should play safely in parks or on their own property.

Are you for real? Though your American spelling is giving you away ...

I'm not American. I'm Canadian. But even if I was American, why should that matter. What do you have against people south of the border?

I can't say I've ever seen anyone sleeping on a bench in the parks around my house (which are far bigger than a half-acre); typically the sleep in the ATMs.

I can't say I've ever seen a shady person hanging around the parks around my house at night either ... other than me perhaps ... (what on earth is a "shady" person).

Gimme a break. I don't live downtown and I've seen this many many times.

But let's get to the point. You compared an urban downtown street like Yonge to Mississauga - however the photographic evidence suggests your completely full of it ... there are no grass strips in urban Mississauga ... nor many pedestrians ...

You are making a generality based on one photo of a two block strip? LOL

Did you now that if you walk along that street going left (east) exactly one block, you will get grass along the street. Not sure about parts of that area, but no doubt east has grass. That building on the left is the library.