[simply Dan]

...great cafes and bars! This one is in Hamburg, Germany, and animates the street better than any Tim Horton's ever could.

I'm thinking Harbourfront, Dundas Square, Grange Park... perhaps in front of the Skydome. Thoughts?

 

[Observer Walt]

High Park outside the Grenadier Restaurant.

 

[TKTKTK]

Along queen from Spadina to almost Beverly (where the street wall comes back to within a couple meters of the curb). That whole wide sidewalk area would be perfect for patio after patio after patio. There's also enough pedestrian traffic to keep it interesting for people watching.

Alternatively we need more streets like Baldwin. Cute, pedestrian-friendly, patio-friendly, zones

 

[unimaginative2]

The Central Waterfront! Kew and/or Woodbine Beach, too.

 

[ShonTron]

Pier 27. It'd fit in and provide an attraction for residents. Dundas Square, and perhaps that corner of SoHo Street and Queen Street West.

 

[wyliepoon]

Every public square in front of every City Hall and Civic Centre in the GTA could use one, from NPS to Albert Campbell to Mel Lastman.

Downtown Markham is modelling its public square like that.

 

[grey]

The problem with these in Toronto is that they're dismantled and deserted in the winter, left to collect dirty snowdrifts. They don't do much to animate the street if it's not patio weather outside. I'd like to see things more applicable to Toronto, like fountains that can be converted into skating rinks! Nathan Phillips Square is a happening, lively place during the winter while streets lined with cafes and outdoor patios are abandoned and do nothing more than remind people how much they wish it was summer.

 

[jn_12]

why couldn't they be outside, with the ability to have a glass awning in the winter? That way the seating area can be used year-round.


Oh, and, how about hTo Park?

 

[BobBob]

Well, Hamburg also gets pretty cold in winter. We should just find out what they do and perhaps avoid re-inventing the wheel, as much as we love to do that sort of thing.

 

[wyliepoon]

The easiest solution is to put up a bubble or a tent (like the sports fields at Varsity Stadium and BMO Field). I'm open to that as long as whatever structure is put up to cover the seating is not any generic dome.

 

[Disparishun]

The easiest solution is to put up a bubble or a tent (like the sports fields at Varsity Stadium and BMO Field). I'm open to that as long as whatever structure is put up to cover the seating is not any generic dome.

Something transparent would be nice. I like the square's visibility -- especially seeing chairs and tables bustling with people. (Or, if empty, at least it's nice to see them and think it's not much hassle to have a seat!)

 

[TrickyRicky]

Some great examples of these can be found in Scandinavia for instance where the winter climate isn't too far off our own. Great point in bringing this up because cafes etc. exist in many of the world's best urban parks and squares, a concept we still haven't really grasped here.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Air-supported structures are a good solution to instant indoor/outdoor patio needs. They're light, transportable, can be made in all kinds of shapes and work in all seasons.

When I was at art school a few guys created and inflated an air structure in the former outdoor courtyard in the winter. They sprayed it with water and coloured paint to make an igloo - the colours from inside were gorgeous.

 

[Hipster Duck]

As hip to the jive as the folks of Toronto might be, our liquor laws aren't. Something like this will never exist.

 

[interchange42]

...great cafes and bars! This one is in Hamburg, Germany, and animates the street better than any Tim Horton's ever could.

I'm thinking Harbourfront, Dundas Square, Grange Park... perhaps in front of the Skydome. Thoughts?

I'd like to see this across from the AGO.

42