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Ervin

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Just today I began to think about the advantages of building over the Toronto Island Park. I know that the first opposition to this (the same thing I used to think) is that why get rid of a beautiful park that's surrounded by water and is so close to the core?

But let's be honest here, not that many people go to that park, 99.99% of people in the down town probably don't see it as anything other than 'that clump of trees off the coast'. Majority of it's visitors are boating enthusiasts who really don't need to be close to the core to enjoy boats.

What I'm thinking about is a Venice like piece of the city that would give the city both the feeling of Venice/Amsterdam as well as of New York/Hong Kong with the neat body of water in the midst of the buildings. Most importantly, the shore of urban Toronto would greatly increase.

Also think: 100% pedestrian & public transit neighbourhood.
 
I don't think we should build over it, but something needs to be done to make accessing it easier. The current ferry is overpriced and they literally put you in a cage as you wait for the boats.
 
The Toronto islands are sandbars. Subject to alterations by the weather and the lake currents and waves. Permanent structures are not guaranteed to be there, like the houses close to the Scarborough Bluffs.

BTW. Erosion of the Scarborough Bluffs is what is needed to keep the islands in existence. If the sands from the Scarborough Bluffs are stopped, the lake waters will wash the sands of the islands away. The sands from the bluffs replace the sands washed away from the islands.
 
I think Ervin does have a point. Historically the Toronto Islands community was bigger, until Metro Toronto took control of the islands and removed much of it to make way for parkland that we see today.

Perhaps the Islands have too much parkland - it's too big and too isolated from the rest of Toronto, making it look underused most of the time. I would like to see a balance between development and preservation of parkland. I think a good place for a little bit of development is around the ferry docks on the Islands. They could be developed into urban villages with a mix of residences, waterfront retail, dining and entertainment centred on a public square next to the dock. They could also serve as gateways and information centres for visitors to the rest of the island park.
 
I was thinking of turning the whole island into a district of it's own. I mean putting down actual tall buildings and making the whole place relatively dense.
 
No thanks. Green space needs to be preserved for future generations. Most of this city can withstand increased density. Let's do that first and when we're done intensifying everything in 1000 years, then look at the Islands.

I think what we need to do is look at ways to make people use the islands more, and i think one of the greatest deterrents is the price. $6.50 to use a public space is blasphemy. You shouldn't have to pay to access any public space in this city and I think people would be more likely to go over to the Islands if it was free to get there.
 
Ervin said:
I was thinking of turning the whole island into a district of it's own. I mean putting down actual tall buildings and making the whole place relatively dense.
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That would be a terrible idea. There's enough monotony of buildings downtown.
 
What the city should do is construct a bridge to island airport and a bus can take people across and over to the islands.
 
I love the pedestrian oriented communities that are there right now. I think the Toronto Islands would be a great place for a small hotel, but not much other development. It's great to have a large greenspace, and it's a very popular park which allows for a lot of activities.

But let's be honest here, not that many people go to that park, 99.99% of people in the down town probably don't see it as anything other than 'that clump of trees off the coast'. Majority of it's visitors are boating enthusiasts who really don't need to be close to the core to enjoy boats.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding? That park is very popular. In the summer, the lineups for the ferry sometimes get quite long. It's not "that clump of trees off the coast" but a public space which attracts various people. Some enjoy cycling there, others go for the beaches, some picnic there, some take their kids to the amusement park, and indeed, boaters like it. It's a major park.

I like the concept of new communities on islands with canals, though. It's not like we couldn't build some more islands with our long history of infilling the lake and the Port Lands presents a good opportunity for innovative approaches to new neighbourhoods connected with the water.
 
junctionist said:
I love the pedestrian oriented communities that are there right now. I think the Toronto Islands would be a great place for a small hotel, but not much other development. It's great to have a large greenspace, and it's a very popular park which allows for a lot of activities.



Are you kidding? That park is very popular. In the summer, the lineups for the ferry sometimes get quite long. It's not "that clump of trees off the coast" but a public space which attracts various people. Some enjoy cycling there, others go for the beaches, some picnic there, some take their kids to the amusement park, and indeed, boaters like it. It's a major park.

I like the concept of new communities on islands with canals, though. It's not like we couldn't build some more islands with our long history of infilling the lake and the Port Lands presents a good opportunity for innovative approaches to new neighbourhoods connected with the water.
Click to expand...

Living on the islands makes no sense. What do residents do if there's an emergency and they need an ambulance?
 
I wouldn't be opposed to perhaps a couple of smaller hotels but mostly I'd like to see them stay as is and continue to be served by the Ferries which to my mind is half the fun of going to the islands. The islands are interesting, they're unique public spaces minutes away from a major city which has somehow managed to stay practically frozen in time for around half a century, a strong contrast to the city across the harbour which has exploded with growth and has evolved so dramatically in the same amount of time.
I'll concede that memory can be tricky, but if I'm not mistaken most everything at Centre Island is just as it was when I was a young kid in the early to mid 70's. I find some comfort in that with so many wonderful and warm memories of Centre Island when I was young.
 
Maybe a hotel or resort on the island? A la The Prisoner's The Village:
Portmeirion.750pix.jpg


Once you check in, you can't leave The Village, Number 6.
 
A graphic designer I know who lives on Ward's she says they've lost an enormous number of residents in the past year to diptheria and malaria and cholera because the medical staff on the mainland refuses to go over there and treat them when an epidemic breaks out and the hospitals here in town won't accept them.

...............................................

I think it would be a fine thing to build up the residential population of the Toronto Islands again. The urban renewal initiatives of the 1950s that gave us the Regent Park experiment also removed many Island homes in the name of improvements and drastically reduced a perfectly legitimate neighbourhood. Why so much venom is directed against this little community for still existing I'll never understand.
 
I think maybe just once in our lives we should keep out damn hands off of something. You want to improve an area of Toronto? Take yourself up to Jane and Finch. Sorry to hear about the cholera deaths, by the way.
 
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