TOareaFan
Superstar
Neither of those buildings, however, is in "downtown" Brampton.....the Police HQ is south of Downtown on Highway 10 towards the 407 and the PRH is east of dt by the Bramalea City Centre.
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- Thread starter ShonTron
- Start date
Neither of those buildings, however, is in "downtown" Brampton.....the Police HQ is south of Downtown on Highway 10 towards the 407 and the PRH is east of dt by the Bramalea City Centre.
A
arnold
Guest
^that would be fantastic.
i'm always glad to see any brampton news (and pics!) on these forums, especially now that there are actually interesting things to read up on. after years (and years) on life support, DT brampton is actually turning into an interesting place to watch.
great thread.
TOareaFan
Superstar
OK then, I will try and get out on the weekend and update each of these projects (and maybe a couple more from around town).
More pictures from all parts of the GTA are always most welcome.
Just_Chris
Active Member
My observations of downtown Brampton. Though this is mostly from driving through there another a number of times - I've only briefly walked in it maybe once or twice.
-the downtown is quite pedestrian friendly, but also quite small for a city of Brampton's size
-there's a beautiful park outside what I think is the city hall (?) on Hwy. 10 near the south end of the downtown
-though there are restaurants and shops there, it appears it's just smaller stuff to serve the people in the area. all of Brampton's major retail seems to be at the Shopper's World, Bramalea, and Trinity Commons shopping centres, and on strip malls along Queen Street.
-though there is plenty of auto traffic passing through the area at night, there seems to be almost no pedestrians. The area to the East around Queen/Kennedy seems much livelier at night, due to a number of bars and a few fast food places with late night drive-ins. That area though is not at all ped-friendly.
Nice pictures
-the downtown is quite pedestrian friendly, but also quite small for a city of Brampton's size
-there's a beautiful park outside what I think is the city hall (?) on Hwy. 10 near the south end of the downtown
-though there are restaurants and shops there, it appears it's just smaller stuff to serve the people in the area. all of Brampton's major retail seems to be at the Shopper's World, Bramalea, and Trinity Commons shopping centres, and on strip malls along Queen Street.
-though there is plenty of auto traffic passing through the area at night, there seems to be almost no pedestrians. The area to the East around Queen/Kennedy seems much livelier at night, due to a number of bars and a few fast food places with late night drive-ins. That area though is not at all ped-friendly.
Nice pictures
W. K. Lis
Superstar
You have the same problem occurring with other former villages in the GTA. Instead of the villages growing and expanding around their main streets to become natural downtowns, we got suburbia, with their asphalt deserts and nocturnal creatures who try to hide from the view of passing metal dinosaurs. Villages like Cooksville, Port Credit, and Streetsville became stagnate due to politicians, single-use zoning rules, and the developers who followed them.
adma
Superstar
Remember: it's scaled for what Brampton was up to regional mega-amalgamation in 1973/4 (population, maybe, 50-60 thousand tops).
And all things considered, probably better off that way than a North York Centre treatment...
taal
Senior Member
It's pretty hard to compare any other *small* downtown in the GTA to NYCC ... sure a lot may look nicer but none are as busy ... just take a walk in the summer! It's crowded! Even in the winter.
So yes other area's might be better in terms of look but in terms of usage it's really hard to beat NYCC ... I bet if you combined all the pedestrians in all the other small *downtowns* you wanted you still wouldn't have as many as NYCC ... : - ) well not quite but you get my point which is NYCC is a success but that's likely more because of it's location and easy access. Either way it's a success and it's only getting better, not in terms of the built form, other then a few projects unfortunately, but in terms of the # of people.
So yes other area's might be better in terms of look but in terms of usage it's really hard to beat NYCC ... I bet if you combined all the pedestrians in all the other small *downtowns* you wanted you still wouldn't have as many as NYCC ... : - ) well not quite but you get my point which is NYCC is a success but that's likely more because of it's location and easy access. Either way it's a success and it's only getting better, not in terms of the built form, other then a few projects unfortunately, but in terms of the # of people.
maestro
Senior Member
c'mon, let's see some construction photos!
TOareaFan
Superstar
My bad....I can't believe that over 2 months have passed since I offered/volunteered to periodically update the pics on this site....will try and correct that.
TOareaFan
Superstar
Transportfan
Senior Member
Highway? Just outside downtown? It's not that small!
TOareaFan
Superstar
Not sure if that is a legitimate question or if you are mocking their use of the word highway. On the assumption that it is legit......Main Street in Brampton (where Gage Park and City Hall are) is the same stretch of road that is often called Hurontario and, in places, Highway 10........when my daughter was younger I had to explain this to her so I reworked the lyrics to the U2 song and it became "Where the Streets have 3 Names"....now, if you are just kidding around, I have just made a fool of myself but it is not the first time!
TOareaFan
Superstar
So, I know I have only been promising more pictures of Downtown Brampton since April....but I finally went out and did it!!!
First a bit of commentary.......for a small centre to have a successful downtown it needs several things to be there:
1. People living there
2. People working there
3. Things for people to do (eat, shop, be entertained)
4. Ways for people who don't live and/or work there to get there.
In the past, Brampton's downtown whithered because, in varying degrees, it was missing all of the above.
In some ways they are all being addressed....it is a long haul....but the size of an overall task should not deter anyone from taking the small steps.
So, here goes (assuming I can figure out how to add images).
Since I started by stopping (ie. I went into Coffee Cultures for a brew) the closest project was the affodable housing project on John St. John runs right behind Queen St. and this project is just off of Main....in Brampton terms...centre ice!
The first pic is a bit hard to figure out but it is, essentially, the view from between Coffee Culture (left) and TD Bank (on the right) taken from Queen Street.....if you know Brampton at all, I think this lets you see how close to the intersection of Main and Queen this residential project is....this project is one of many that addresses downtown Brampton's biggest weekness (IMO) without a significant number of people living downtown (and the current residential neighbourhoods there are beautiful and charming but they do not deliver the numbers or density required) the other aspects of a downtown (restaraunts, shops, bars, theatre) can't survive and then they whither and there is no reason for people outside of the downtown to leave the malls and come "downtown".
This is an interesting project to watch as it brings people to a great location....pretty bold move, though, making this a site for an affordable housing project....I think the right move as a downtown needs a good mix of people of different income stratas....but it was not the intuitive move.
So that these do not get to long.....I will make each part of my downtown walkabout the subject of a separate post. That also will allow anyone who wants to comment on a specific part able to do so.
First a bit of commentary.......for a small centre to have a successful downtown it needs several things to be there:
1. People living there
2. People working there
3. Things for people to do (eat, shop, be entertained)
4. Ways for people who don't live and/or work there to get there.
In the past, Brampton's downtown whithered because, in varying degrees, it was missing all of the above.
In some ways they are all being addressed....it is a long haul....but the size of an overall task should not deter anyone from taking the small steps.
So, here goes (assuming I can figure out how to add images).
Since I started by stopping (ie. I went into Coffee Cultures for a brew) the closest project was the affodable housing project on John St. John runs right behind Queen St. and this project is just off of Main....in Brampton terms...centre ice!
The first pic is a bit hard to figure out but it is, essentially, the view from between Coffee Culture (left) and TD Bank (on the right) taken from Queen Street.....if you know Brampton at all, I think this lets you see how close to the intersection of Main and Queen this residential project is....this project is one of many that addresses downtown Brampton's biggest weekness (IMO) without a significant number of people living downtown (and the current residential neighbourhoods there are beautiful and charming but they do not deliver the numbers or density required) the other aspects of a downtown (restaraunts, shops, bars, theatre) can't survive and then they whither and there is no reason for people outside of the downtown to leave the malls and come "downtown".
This is an interesting project to watch as it brings people to a great location....pretty bold move, though, making this a site for an affordable housing project....I think the right move as a downtown needs a good mix of people of different income stratas....but it was not the intuitive move.
So that these do not get to long.....I will make each part of my downtown walkabout the subject of a separate post. That also will allow anyone who wants to comment on a specific part able to do so.
Attachments
TOareaFan
Superstar
City Hall and Gage Park
These were not part of the original poster's tour but they are integral parts of what is a long process of revitalization of a small downtown.
City Hall was/is important because it brought people to work downtown Brampton......this was a controversial decision because many wanted the "old" (70's vintage) Bramalea Civic Centre rehabbed and expanded to become the new City Hall.
On its own, City Hall has not proven to be a big catalyst to revitalization....in fact it might actually point out how important all 4 aspects I mentioned earlier are together. At 5 o'clock (for the most part) the workers here pile out of downtown to head back to their sub-division housing. So, after work, there remains little life downtown.
Across the street from City Hall is Gage Park. This gives people something to do and, as home to the best outdoor skating in the GTA, it brings people from outside the downtown. (it also answers the earlier question about the city hall, the park and the highway....these were all taken from the corner of Wellington and Main - "highway 10")......the last one shows the view looking north from outside of City Hall.
These were not part of the original poster's tour but they are integral parts of what is a long process of revitalization of a small downtown.
City Hall was/is important because it brought people to work downtown Brampton......this was a controversial decision because many wanted the "old" (70's vintage) Bramalea Civic Centre rehabbed and expanded to become the new City Hall.
On its own, City Hall has not proven to be a big catalyst to revitalization....in fact it might actually point out how important all 4 aspects I mentioned earlier are together. At 5 o'clock (for the most part) the workers here pile out of downtown to head back to their sub-division housing. So, after work, there remains little life downtown.
Across the street from City Hall is Gage Park. This gives people something to do and, as home to the best outdoor skating in the GTA, it brings people from outside the downtown. (it also answers the earlier question about the city hall, the park and the highway....these were all taken from the corner of Wellington and Main - "highway 10")......the last one shows the view looking north from outside of City Hall.
