[dt_toronto_geek]

Undoubtedly. But people are attached to trees and sometimes undesirable trees simply look established, green and lush to some park users. I'm sure that the folks who voiced concerns, however, are pleased with the final result. I moved out of the area 12 years ago, so I personally don't even remember the trees in question.

True, I get it with the trees. Some of the trees were memorial trees too, but more toward the middle of the park. I'm not sure if they were taken down or not, I just remembered.
There was also a group last fall that were protesting and collecting signatures out front for several weeks because they didn't like the money being invested in the park, they wanted the money to go into shelters for LGBT youth. They continued postering and tagging the signs around the park all winter and spring, so that was also some of the resistance you may have seen or heard of.

 

[JasonParis]

Am I remembering correctly that liquor laws have been loosened up for special events so that you can drink out on the street now and that beer gardens won't be necessary this year, or is that just wishful thinking on my part?

I think you can declare a certain part of a street a "wet zone" so to speak, so long as it is fenced-off and has security, etc. That's not quite the same as what you were saying (I think). Also, I don't think it's part of Pride Toronto's plans either.

 

[ttk77]

I think you can declare a certain part of a street a "wet zone" so to speak, so long as it is fenced-off and has security, etc. That's not quite the same as what you were saying (I think). Also, I don't think it's part of Pride Toronto's plans either.

Thanks. Yes, that was exactly what I was asking.

 

[DTowner]

Am I remembering correctly that liquor laws have been loosened up for special events so that you can drink out on the street now and that beer gardens won't be necessary this year, or is that just wishful thinking on my part?

This has been rumoured for ages. It can never happen (I don't think) like Montréal where they close down entire streets as there are too many residences on Church and Toronto's by-laws (oh, those crazy by-laws) don't allow for that. I am not sure if that's the reason for it, though. It very well may be as simple as cost of obtaining a licence, permit, etc.

 

[JasonParis]

I think the city and/or PrideTO really dropped the ball by not starting the street closure last night at least on Church. It should have been from 7:00 p.m. last night (all day today) until the end of Pride early Monday morning. There's really a dangerous amount of people spilling into the street and they should have frankly expected this for years.

(picture courtesy of Mark German)

 

[khris]

I agree. It was not safe for pedestrians at all. There was no room on sidewalks.

 

[Roy G Biv]

Yeah, it was bad. Cops had to show up and basically form a line to keep people off the middle lanes.

I attended Starry Night in Barbara Hall Park, and I must say that the park handled an event like this beautifully. It is a lot more dynamic now. T'was a fun night!

 

[khris]

Off topic, but I noticed that events held at Yonge-Dundas Square say Molson Canadian Yonge-Dundas Square instead of Virgin Mobile. Is the sponsor changing?

 

[androiduk]

Yorkville cafe Zaza is taking the old Java Jive spot at Church & Isabella. According to a staffer, the place won't be recognizable once they've finished with it. Along with the new townhomes and retail between Isabella & Charles, it looks like the 'North Village' is shaping up nicely.

 

[Torontovibe]

The World Pride Parade seemed to go on forever. I'm sure the parade was over 4 hours long. My feet and back were killing me, when I got finished. (getting old sucks!)

 

[ttk77]

Yeah, it was pretty long.... started an hour earlier than usual too. The crowds were incredible though. I was standing at Dundas facing north on Yonge and it looked like a solid mass of people packed in all the way up. I got home less than an hour ago after getting drenched, and my feet are throbbing. It looks like World Pride was a great success.

 

[LNahid2000]

The World Pride Parade seemed to go on forever. I'm sure the parade was over 4 hours long. My feet and back were killing me, when I got finished. (getting old sucks!)

By my count, it was a little over 5 hours and we got there early so I was standing for 6 hours. So tired now!

 

[khris]

The World Pride Parade seemed to go on forever. I'm sure the parade was over 4 hours long. My feet and back were killing me, when I got finished. (getting old sucks!)

Yes, it was very long. There were some really long gaps which killed the atmosphere and made the parade longer.

 

[Tuscani01]

5 Hours and 50 minutes to be exact. They managed to lose Justin Trudeau as a marcher, since we were told it would be 3 hours. 4 hours in, and we were still waiting for our turn to march.

Trudeau had to leave for another event in Scarborough.

 

[Tewder]

We bailed after a while too, there's just only so much of it i can take. We noticed that a lot of the stops in the parade were due to having to let east/west streetcars through periodically.

Overall there was a great vibe in the area all weekend. Church Street looked great... though i was disappointed that you couldn't see into Cawthra Park for all the hoarding put up.