[spasongs]

A year ago we moved to this area. This is an area of huge potential and big problems. There is lots of room to grow, and improve. On my end we have the Parklawn condo's coming which should help with retail for the area. There has been a few really nice retail and food places of late too around Royal York.

However, the main concern is that the Queensway is in danger of becoming Toronto's unofficial Red Light district. There are over a dozen "massage parlours" lining the street. No one wants to move their business next to these. Except perhaps the cash for gold and Sex toy shops.

I am no prude and believe we should have fully legal brothels in an industrial area. But you have these lovely streets of townhomes, bungalows and newer mega homes. Tree lines streets that are very welcoming. But you walk out to the stip and it just dies.

I have cofounded a group to work with Peter Milicyn in the area " The Friends of the Queensway" . Our first real meeting is on the 26th this month. Hopefully we get a strong turnout, strength in numbers. Once going we are going to be helping set up a BIA for the street.

As I said there are a lot of great restaraunts, shops doting the street now. And each of the side streets are really nice. Hopefully we can turn the tide on rub and tugs and make the Queensway a great place to shop locally.

 

[adma]

You mean the House of Lancaster strip, right? Yeah, it's definitely got that "Motel Strip of the 2010s" thing going...

 

[spasongs]

Ironically, the Lancaster owner has a good rep for wanting to better the area!? The real issue is rub and tugs. The only people opening shop near them are Cash for Golds and Porn shops.

 

[adma]

And Michael Ignatieff's constituency office;-)

 

[GPStar444]

A year ago we moved to this area. This is an area of huge potential and big problems. There is lots of room to grow, and improve. On my end we have the Parklawn condo's coming which should help with retail for the area. There has been a few really nice retail and food places of late too around Royal York.

Congrats on forming the group....I used to live at Loggia on I/Q and enjoyed 2 years of life on the Q! (We recently moved up to Bloor) The Q was great...everything nearby and close to TTC and highways. Yes, the strip between Islington and RY is crappy, and needs to be entirely demolished bit by bit....we rarely walked that area at nite, there were many late nite "bars" and rub and tugs with seedy individuals strolling thru. If I was a developer, I would be buying as much property on the Queensway as possible, it is going to explode eventually with condos and development, its has alot of potential!

 

[starry]

I'm resurrecting this old thread to see how things have improved since 2011, it's been a while. I'm really close to signing a lease at Queensway, just east of Islington. I did notice an adult video store, and maybe one or two shady people, but I figured, hey, it's the city. Just wondering how residents are finding the area these days.

 

[Vitor Fragoso]

News about this topic? I would like to know too.

 

[starry]

Well, I live there now. I haven't explored much on foot, except for walking my dog in the side streets, which are nicely kept for the most part and I'm sure will be beautiful in the spring/summer. And there does seem to be an abnormally high proportion of middle aged men frequenting the businesses around. The people in my condo and people I've met walking my dog are great though.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the decent traffic. Mind you, I don't drive into downtown, more towards the west and north, or as far as the Junction. It's nice to be so close to the Gardiner and Sherway.

I do absolutely HATE that there are no good grocery stores around. I've go two No Frills and a Sobeys, all of which I don't like. The mall that houses the Sobeys is so run down. The Metro at Cloverdale is an ~8 min drive and not the best either. I may try the Metro at Lakeshore & Parklawn, as I recall it was nice, but I'm not sure how parking is there. I hope they put a good grocery store where the Chapters just closed down across from Sherway. I also couldn't find a (non-Timmys, non-Starbucks) coffee shop on the Queensway to meet with a friend, which is surprising and also disappointing. They could also really use a Shoppers Drug Mart and a Goodlife close by, then I'd be set.

 

[Vitor Fragoso]

Cool! Thanks for the feedback @starry!
Next month I will be moving to the 1040 Queensway building. That's why I'm curious to know how this region is.

 

[W. K. Lis]

King, Queen, Queensway, Roncesvalles, Sunnyside, et al to undergo reconstruction of TTC track, road, sidewalk, watermain, sewers, and platforms April to November, 2017.

See link.

Included in the plans are for the streetcar tracks to be in a right-of-way, traffic lights at Sunnyside Avenue, left turn lanes at Glendale and Sunnyside, widening on the south side of The Queenway, and a redesign of the southwest corner of the Queen/Queensway/King/Roncesvalles intersection.

From link.

However, an EA will be needed for a farside bumpout on Queen Street West for 501 eastbound streetcars. The current island for 501 eastbound streetcars could be replaced with a left turn lane from eastbound The Queensway, if that happens.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Upon further inspection, noticed that there will be a loss of the left turn from eastbound The Queensway to St. Joseph's Melnyk Entrance.

Likely there might have to be a U-turn at the proposed Sunnyside traffic lights from eastbound The Queensway, if people still want to use the Melnyk Entrance. St. Joseph's Emergency Entrance would still be accessible from the Glendale traffic lights.

Big change from the pre-1950's, when Queen Street ended at Parkside Drive & Indian Road.

 

[starry]

Does anyone know when the Kipling Queensway mall will get demolished, and the highway ramp work will happen? I'm thinking to move back to the area, but maybe not if construction will begin anytime soon. Yes, that was me a few posts above in 2016, right after I moved to the area. I actually loved the place I had there, but ended up moving for various reasons, and now I'm thinking to move back.

 

[rdaner]

Really surprised by Queensway and Royal York as it has the bones of a decent city neighbourhood. Photos taken 9 April.

 

[EBITDan]

I've been living in the neighbourhood since late 2020 and in that brief time have seen it evolve quickly. There's clearly been a migration of folks (especially young families) out from the core into the area given its accessibility to the Gardener, Mimico GO, and Park Lawn GO (soon), and lots of parks. When I last drove down the Queensway I counted about 5 or 6 cranes, so there's clearly a lot more development happening. However, I'm still disappointed at the absolutely terrible quality of transit on the Queensway itself, lack of bike lanes, lack of cafes and restaurants to cater to all the new families, etc. It still feels like the neighbourhood is 5-10 years away from being great. And please don't get me started on the Queensway Motel. That place needs to be replaced with something more appropriate for what the neighbourhood is today. I'd love to reduce my reliance on my car, especially for a commute into the core, but without a streetcar extension/LRT along the Queensway, which is not on the radar to my knowledge, it'll be hard to enjoy the neighbourhood without easy access to the vehicle for the forseeable future.

 

[Northern Light]

I've been living in the neighbourhood since late 2020 and in that brief time have seen it evolve quickly. There's clearly been a migration of folks (especially young families) out from the core into the area given its accessibility to the Gardener, Mimico GO, and Park Lawn GO (soon), and lots of parks. When I last drove down the Queensway I counted about 5 or 6 cranes, so there's clearly a lot more development happening. However, I'm still disappointed at the absolutely terrible quality of transit on the Queensway itself, lack of bike lanes, lack of cafes and restaurants to cater to all the new families, etc. It still feels like the neighbourhood is 5-10 years away from being great. And please don't get me started on the Queensway Motel. That place needs to be replaced with something more appropriate for what the neighbourhood is today.

I'd love to reduce my reliance on my car, especially for a commute into the core, but without a streetcar extension/LRT along the Queensway, which is not on the radar to my knowledge, it'll be hard to enjoy the neighbourhood without easy access to the vehicle for the forseeable future.

On the radar: A Park Lawn GO station, though a few years out.; to the south, some exclusive ROW for the streetcar on Lakeshore to about Parklawn with an on-street loop there, though that could be a bit later.

There is absolutely no plan for rapid transit on Queensway itself past where the streetcar diverts south to Lakeshore.

Maybe, in the mid 2030s, an extension of Line 2 to East Mall.