There is no need for any office buildings by GO stations for a long time. What js needed is housing and commercial retail near GO like Grocers, or daycares or heck even a dry cleaner and a cafe that’s not a Tim’s. Many European cities with good regional rail have many stores in their stations so people can do some errands to/from the station. The era of driving to the GO station should be over. Start with key stations like Rouge and Mimico, Long Branch and others like Aurora and expand from there.
I would slightly disagree with you on the parking aspect. Often, accessing the Fairview GO station requires a car, there is no public transit north of the 407 in Burlington. Yes I could drive to the nearest bus stop, but where to park? I could ride my bike but that is a longish ride -although downhill going to the station. Even the GO Bus stops along the 407 include a parking function. My view would be that depending on location, there may be a higher of lower need for a parking. Garage parking, as opposed to acres of only surface parking lots. Fairview or Bloomington, or Oshawa would differ from Long Branch, Mimico, certainly a Parkside Station ( if built) ,
But I would also agree that many GO stations could be more cleverly integrated into their communities. Again, Fairview station on the south side , although with a Walmart next door, and good transit outside, and housing there and coming, could be a developing example, but sense of community or neighborhoods is probably not there yet. Fairview is still, in the main, a commercial core. But eliminate the surface parking on the Fairview side of the line, the south side, redevelop that portion of the property, and restrict parking to the northern side, which is comprised of an existing enormous surface lot, plus a parking garage, and flanked by employment lands. Also add the redevelopment of the neighbouring GM dealer on Fairview ( this can only be a matter of time) and you have more opportunities to create, plus you then link to the Garden Gallery development etc. etc.
Oakville station would also be a good test case. With all the development to come for ‘mid-town’ Oakville, almost surrounding the site. What vision will be employed to redevelop the very large parking landscape of this GO/VIA station?
I have a good friend in the planning industry and we argue about planning concepts all the time, usually a beer and dinner are involved, but it is all good.