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The Gardiner is way less of a barrier between downtown and the lake than the rail lands. It was put there for a reason which pretty much still exists. It makes more sense to me to open the land around and under it to other uses. Of course it would be nicer buried, but it would also be nicer if we hid it more or (gasp!) decorated it.
 
People knew it was there when they bought and likely had no realistic expectation of it coming down. I would argue that a lot of people who live near the Gardiner moved there precisely so that they could gain the benefit of quick access to the highway.
 
As Ramako says, we're one of those folks who bought near the Gardiner for reasons of access. As for noise, I'd argue that Lake Shore is just as noisy. If the Gardiner were to come down, what would replace it? It is ugly though, and walking underneath it to get to/from the waterfront/rest of the city isn't pleasant.
 
The streetcars are far more noisy than the Gardiner which is really just a white noise.
 
Walking under the highway should improve bit by bit: Pierre Poussin's Mitosis courtyard outisde of Panorama's front door goes a long way to show how funky a space can be amongst the Gardiner's columns, while the upcoming Patkau-designed Fort York Visitor Centre enhances and revels in the man-made nature of the space. Meanwhile, future redevelopment at 90 Harbour Street, south of the Air Canada Centre and Maple Leaf Square, will come with PATH bridges over Lake Shore, but still under the Gardiner: the height of the Gardiner structure is sufficient to allow for these weather-protected extensions to the city's walkway system.
 
I am sure most of you are aware that one of the main focuses on Toronto's mayoral debate is infrastructure, transit, and just getting people in and out of the city. The last thing this city needs is to tear down an existing highway, causing even more gridlock for the next 5-10 years until something else is built.
 
PinkLucy said:
As Ramako says, we're one of those folks who bought near the Gardiner for reasons of access. As for noise, I'd argue that Lake Shore is just as noisy. If the Gardiner were to come down, what would replace it? It is ugly though, and walking underneath it to get to/from the waterfront/rest of the city isn't pleasant.
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"If the Gardiner were to come down, what would replace it?"
PinkLucy makes a a valid point. Most people who talk about taking down the Gardiner, gingerly avoid considering the ramifications.
For the City of Toronto, this is the elephant in the room that we have all adapted to living with. eg.Condominium towers tucked right up against it.
There have been some interesting proposals put foward in the past few years to make this expessway a little easier to live with.
One the most fascinitating was having a level put on top of it and making it an elevated long park like setting with bike/walk/jogging paths.
It was agreed on by many, that cost would not be that prohibitive and the idea seemed to garner a lot of excitement. ..and then everything went quiet. I wondered what happened.
 
I live at 18 Yonge, which is the building on the right side of the photo. I must agree that the rail lands are the far worse eye sore than the Gardiner. As all the high-rises are going up to bracket the Gardiner, the presence of the highway actually adds to the sense of density down there.

What I would like to see, is development underneath the Gardiner. There are many areas under the gardiner, such as underneath the onramps that could accommodate retail development. Lighting upgrades underneath the gardiner expressway could also make it a much more pedestrian friendly area.

I see no reason why the Gardiner has to be a wasteland. There's so much opportunity for the city to allow creative development under and around it.
 
Just take a look at the lower right portion of the photo. The railway tracks are far and away the real eyesore in the downtown core. The tracks simply do not mesh accordingly with the urban landscape, and they take up far too much space. It's unrealistic to say this, but they really need to be buried. (There's a big dig for ya Rossi)

The Gardiner doesn't impose too much of a presence either due to it's relatively narrow lane configuration. I could see people having a problem if it was a near 20 lane behemoth like the 401.
 
4pook said:
The Gardiner is way less of a barrier between downtown and the lake than the rail lands. It was put there for a reason which pretty much still exists. It makes more sense to me to open the land around and under it to other uses. Of course it would be nicer buried, but it would also be nicer if we hid it more or (gasp!) decorated it.
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YES! exactly. the rail lands are also much wider than the gardiner. they separate the city even worse. the gardner looks good at night :)
 
The drive on the Gardner through those towering condos is MAGNIFICENT!
 
Dress it up to look like a bridge -- towers could be spaced across the downtown portion, with LED light strings running between them. Very quickly, and probably quite cheaply, Toronto would have its own version of a Lions Gate Bridge of Sydney Harbour Bridge. And no one ever wants those structures taken down.
 
Goldie said:
The drive on the Gardner through those towering condos is MAGNIFICENT!
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ya. it almost looks like you're driving into a futuristic city! the way the condo towers border the freeway. And it's only gonna get better with ICE condos along the way..One of a kind feeling :D!
 
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