[mcbg1]

That is true but when there ARE residents and demand the transit will follow - though the City and Waterfront Toronto did promise 'transit first' for those who built along Queen's Quay East and we all know how well THAT has gone.

There won't be residents there until the mid 2030s if we're lucky. We'll all be retired by the time transit makes its way there. Ridiculous for Canada's biggest city.

 

[DSCToronto]

There won't be residents there until the mid 2030s if we're lucky. We'll all be retired by the time transit makes its way there. Ridiculous for Canada's biggest city.

There IS transit there now, it is just not very frequent. (The 114 goes along Commissioners/Cherry to/from Union and the 202 goes to Cherry Beach for 6+ months a year.) OK, it is not great but the TTC, not unreasonably provides frequent transit when demand is there - I have taken 114 several times and was the only passenger on the Commissioners to Sherbourne section. There ARE plans to extend the (long promised) QQE streetcar to Commissioners and the street-layout is being built with that in mind and there are longer-range plans to bring the streetcars east on Commissioners to Leslie. Much as I would like to see frequent LRT service there tomorrow, we live in a world with limited resources (or limited willingness to raise taxes) and I would rather see already overcrowded routes improved before spending money on a future need.

 

[rdaner]

I am loving that this area is the focus of so much attention! And putting the discourse about lrt and housing starts aside I will state the obvious that the number of people using this entire area has been increasing since the bridges opened and will dramatically increase again when the parks open in the summer. This is on top of the thousands that currently work here.

 

[DSCToronto]

I am loving that this area is the focus of so much attention! And putting the discourse about lrt and housing starts aside I will state the obvious that the number of people using this entire area has been increasing since the bridges opened and will dramatically increase again when the parks open in the summer. This is on top of the thousands that currently work here.

Apart from the folk actually building the public realm and parks there are certainly not 'thousands' working in the Lower Don area (YET!) Of course, there are people working adjacent to it and there will be, one day, in the Lower Don but not at the moment

 

[DSCToronto]

Taken 11 January. Now iconic view of the skyline from the Lemon bridge. And a quick shot of the Keating Channel that seems suitable for a few months of skating. Maybe? Doable? And finally a shot of the new sidewalk on the south side of the Promenade adjacent to Commissioners.

View attachment 624951



View attachment 624952View attachment 624953

The Keating is really a river and skating on rivers is generally not a good idea as the moving water causes weak/thin ice.

 

[Natika33]

Very much so agree with @Northern Light here. And want to add that beside Quayside and Parliament Slip being built out, there are also the 3C and the Red Brick Promenade.

@AlexBozikovic I think the planning has been done largely really well in terms of attracting the visitor flow, if you zoom out and look at the bigger alignment by the city and Waterfront.

View attachment 624723

If you zoom out and look at what is being built, all of these projects create a circular walk-flow for locals and tourist, from St.Lawrence Market, to Distillery, down to Quayside and lake front, all the way to Villiers Island. If everything worked out as plan, I can see this area turn into a Well-type focal point of the city.

Yup, all it would take to entice me to head to Ookwemin Minising from time to time would be a fun restaurant street (with some retail) along Keating Channel. Heck, I'd probably go if they just manage to keep the Keating Channel Pub & Grill. But wouldn't it be fun if there were spots along there where you could tie up your canoe while you popped in for food so you didn't even have to rely on the land/bridge connections? Maybe as Toronto embraces it's role as a water city more, we could even extend the water taxi services to the area.

 

[rdaner]

Apart from the folk actually building the public realm and parks there are certainly not 'thousands' working in the Lower Don area (YET!) Of course, there are people working adjacent to it and there will be, one day, in the Lower Don but not at the moment

You are correct. I was referring to Pinewood etc.

 

[ADRM]

 

[xmyth_]

I think one thing not being discussed regarding the car issue, ties into the Villiers question of what kind of neighbourhoods we’re building.

Again, go tall, jack up resident numbers, get that density going aaaand guess what- now parents have to drive two hours to get their kids to something because we tore everything down in the city to build homes with a bank and shoppers in the base.

I’d be curious to know how much Regent Park 2.0 residents need a car to scramble their kids across town. They’ve got an aquatic centre, soccer fields, schools, Riverdale Farm nearby baseball diamonds just by the ravine. Fresco, Wendys, etc. Easier to bike to Brickworks than try and find a Sunday morning parking spot.

I think it’s a combo of badly planned neighbourhoods and over-scheduled kids.

I feel like every family on Villiers is gonna be driving their kids around a lot. They’ll walk to the beach, to the Y, the Distillery- but it’ll always be “too many groceries” to walk, and there’s going to be 2 tweens with 6 hockey tournaments across the GTA on the weekend. And all those folks are gonna get caught up on the three bridges they got off the island.