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vistaway said:
My plan to make the City Centre more people-friendly would start by adding sidewalks to the roads that don't have them (there are a lot missing), widening all existing sidewalks to an urban standard (that the useless 1.2m suburban one), adding benches, trash cans, transit shelters, crosswalks, pedestrian islands, and re-curbing existing intersections to be more pedestrian-friendly (including getting rid of right-turn slip lanes).
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EXACTLY. This plan reminds me of a quote by the comedian Paul Mooney : Everyone wants to be a European city, but nobody wants to be a European city. Well that's not the exact quote, but it is still quite pertinent. European cities don't have lively plazas because they have a few extra trees. They are lively because of the area they are in. Because of the history behind them. Public squares serve(d) as places to become informed. As marketplaces. As extensions of the home. Why do people go to squares in Europe or Toronto (the Old City of)? Because they are essentially their backyards, their front yards. People moved to the suburbs to have their own self-contained box. Public squares are not needed.

And even so, vistaway has made an excellent point. One could put a money tree in the middle of a revamp square at MCC and the problem still won't be solved. It's like having a grand party at your house, with strippers and tequila and being upset that no one has come even though you never sent out invitations. The area is surrounded by parking lots and high-speed traffic. I used to live in Mississauga and I've never realised that there was any sort of public square there in the first place.
 
vistaway said:
My plan to make the City Centre more people-friendly would start by adding sidewalks to the roads that don't have them (there are a lot missing), widening all existing sidewalks to an urban standard (that the useless 1.2m suburban one), adding benches, trash cans, transit shelters, crosswalks, pedestrian islands, and re-curbing existing intersections to be more pedestrian-friendly (including getting rid of right-turn slip lanes).
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The roads you are talking about are undeveloped to begin with. No point in adding or widening sidewalks through empty fields.
 
Undeveloped? How about:

- City Centre Dr, north side, Duke of York east to the Bay parking structure
- City Centre Dr, east and west sides, Robert Speck to Rathburn
- Duke of York, east side, Prince of Wales to Rathburn

These aren't minor streets, and there are developments on all of them...yet no sidewalks. I always found this bizarre...
 
vistaway said:
Undeveloped? How about:

- City Centre Dr, north side, Duke of York east to the Bay parking structure
- City Centre Dr, east and west sides, Robert Speck to Rathburn
- Duke of York, east side, Prince of Wales to Rathburn

These aren't minor streets, and there are developments on all of them...yet no sidewalks. I always found this bizarre...
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City Centre east of Sq One did not get developed until recently. Duke of York is still undeveloped on the west side.

I have always found the section of City Centre east of the Library annoying.

Yes, the sidewalk network is incomplete, but then again so is the road network.
 
carrefour said:
People moved to the suburbs to have their own self-contained box. Public squares are not needed.
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The problem with this way of thinking is that it's the old way of thinking. Times are changing. You can't say a city the size of over 700,000 is all suburban. Cities change and evolve. Mississauga City Centre will have a downtown of it's own one day. Will it be as grand as the downtown's of major cities around the world as we know it today? Doubtful. Every city has it's own starts and beginnings. Changing from suburban to urban is a slow process. This is all new to Canada and the GTA.
 
Mississauga offers glimpse of park

Stacey Askew, National Post Published: Friday, February 27, 2009

Mississauga's nascent downtown has embarked on the path every urban planning department must eventually pursue: creating more green space.

And so, with this in mind, Mississauga's Community Services Department has given the public a first glimpse at the design of a new 3.4-acre park near Square One and city hall.

"What's so wonderful about this park is it's about making Mississauga more urban," landscape architect Janet Rosenberg said. "People can get out of their cars and at the same time there's going to be a major density of people who are using it."

Mississauga, which has embarked on a plan to fill out its suburban-style downtown, says construction of Community Commons Park will begin in May and take a year.

The $5.6-million Community Commons will be located between Confederation Parkway and Living Arts Drive on the south side of Princess Royal Drive.

Ms. Rosenberg's associate, landscape designer Sandra Cooke, said the park is designed to be a "passive" place.

"It's basically a place people can come to have a picnic, fly a kite, meet up with friends -- it's designed for passive recreation as opposed to a heavily programmed park," Ms. Cooke explained.

The park will have two distinct halves: The west side will be formed by flat terrain and the other will have tilted plains of grass that form a three-metre hill. Community Commons will also include a fountain, promenades on the north and south sides, a plaza area, custom concrete benches, park benches and moveable seating.

"When you look at an urban environment, it's nice to have that green space to relax," said Frank Dale, the area's councillor. "It is going to provide an opportunity for those in town and those that visit to have a place that's open within the city centre."

He added that the planned dog park is desperately needed: "We're experiencing a real challenge right now in the city where there isn't a place for dogs."

There are also proposals to create another three acre park across the street from Community Commons. The second green space would connect to an existing park that's used for games and other recreation.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/story.html?id=1333677


It'll be a small one but its the best MCC-related news I've heard in ages.
 
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The reno idea is back with the Province's budget!

The city is going to request funding for the Civic Square redesign!
 
That's a solid list of projects, however I hope they don't actually refer to the public square as a "piazza" (*cringe*) when it's completed.
 
Kind of late to try to "stimulate" the economy, isn't it? At least the City is taking advantage of it.
 
Work begins next week!

Fencing goes up around Civic Square and Central Library Square next Tuesday.
But don’t worry, City Hall isn’t trying to keep out the yahoos — rather, after extensive public consultation, the vision for downtown Mississauga will start to take shape.
To facilitate construction over the two-year period, City Centre Dr. will be closed from Duke of York Blvd. to Living Arts Dr. When required for events, the road can be opened by means of removable gates.
In addition to revitalization of the Civic Square, Mississauga’s 132 Infrastructure Stimulus Fund projects include road resurfacing, new sidewalks, replaced noise walls, pathway paving and lighting, transit priority lanes, four refurbished branch libraries and two indoor pool replacements.
To meet ISF guidelines, the projects, worth a total of $40 million, must be completed by March 31, 2011.
“Council and staff have been talking with citizens, community groups and stakeholders about making necessary changes to the Civic Square for a long time,†said Mayor Hazel McCallion. “With additional funding available through the ISF program, now is the time to turn those great ideas into reality, and make our Civic Centre the place for citizens to connect through arts, culture, heritage and just plain community spirit."
Some of the design features planned for Civic Square include:
• linking Civic Square and Central Library Square by removing sections of existing walls and improving grade transitions, essentially turning it into one large square
• redesigning City Centre Dr. as a pedestrian-friendly street that can be closed during events
• doubling the size of the existing ice rink and installing new ice-making technology
• replacing the existing reflecting pool on Civic Square with a water feature
• opening up the amphitheatre by removing walls and raising the floor, adding washrooms and a green room, and installing a shade feature
• reconfiguring the lawn surface to make it a large, open lawn for hosting activities
• developing a permanent outdoor stage with sound system, at the southern boundary of Central Library Square
• establishing an area on the Central Library Square for specialized seasonal open-air markets with vending stalls
 
Tuscani01 said:
• redesigning City Centre Dr. as a pedestrian-friendly street that can be closed during events
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I must've missed it earlier, but a redesign of City Centre is almost as good as the civic square overhaul! Especially the treacherous portion east of Kariya Drive that curves around the Square One parkade.
 
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