mcbg1
New Member
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
Superstar
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.
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rdaner
Senior Member
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
Superstar
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
Superstar
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
Active Member
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.
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rdaner
Senior Member
You are correct. I was referring to Pinewood etc.
ADRM
Senior Member
xmyth_
Senior Member
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.
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.
Tyrang
New Member
Well, there will be two transits system available at least. The Waterfront East LRT (https://www.toronto.ca/services-pay...work-expansion/waterfront-east-lrt-extension/) which I see no reason why they won't extend it to at least the Cherry Bridge entrance, and also the Ontario Line Station at Corktown. Once they open the Red Brick Promenade from 3C site to Distillery District, I am guessing it would take around 15 mins to walk to the station, which isn't be too bad.
In the renderings you can see streetcar inside the island. I guess they can prolly extend the cherry street streetcar down to the Island, tho I am not sure how they would do that without it being a pain. Most likely they will link it to East Harbour Hub, which should be about 20 mins walk? That will be really convenient.
Pretty sure there will be buses. There are always buses in Toronto. Owning a car in Villers Island would prolly suck tho. In my personal experience living in several cities, anytime there are bridges, there are traffic jam.
Honestly, between Regent Park, 3C, and Quay Side, and also East Harbour Hub (and the potential Hearn District), it will be a catastrophic planning failure if the residents cannot at least find something to fill their day to day needs.
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stevedean
Active Member
*hopefully we will get the Waterfront LRT and the extended streetcar. There are no concrete plans for either yet.
evandyk
Senior Member
There are quite a few families in places like Regent Park and St. Lawrence that don't have cars. Hockey would definitely be a challenge for those families, but I don't think most kids in Toronto play hockey these days.
Once they decided to put over 10,000 units on Villiers, the choices are to build the streetcar or to have lengthy car trips in and out of the island. You can put that many people in a small space and accommodate car travel for most of them regularly. And unless you are going to put in oceans of parking that's often unused (or a garage like Ontario Place is getting), thousands of people aren't going to visit the new snowy owl park by car.
Once they decided to put over 10,000 units on Villiers, the choices are to build the streetcar or to have lengthy car trips in and out of the island. You can put that many people in a small space and accommodate car travel for most of them regularly. And unless you are going to put in oceans of parking that's often unused (or a garage like Ontario Place is getting), thousands of people aren't going to visit the new snowy owl park by car.
denfromoakvillemilton
Senior Member
You never know with the upcoming provincial election.
rdaner
Senior Member
Great points! I do know that there is a rink on Shuter as well as Moss Park. I imagine that the Portlands will have several outdoor rinks and two or three indoor ones.
stevedean
Active Member
So many unknowns with that... will it be this year or next year? Will Ford win another majority or minority? Hard to predict what impact that will have.