the railway expansion is certainly making it seem less important in taking it down - currently hides the new steel retaining walls and sheds from view
 
What on earth are "politically correct ideologies" and how on earth do they relate to a highway?
 
I wonder how busy Bremner and the streets off it will be once all these projects are done...the PATH connections will be very heavily trafficked.

"Obviously, you guys are suburbanites because everyone I know who lives within walking distance of the Gardiner, wants it to come down, desperatly! I think the people who have to live with this monster 24/7 are the ones who should decide it's fate, not people who live outside of Toronto."

Why are the almost 2 million suburbanites living in the 416 always excluded like this?

Lots of people downtown want the Gardiner to stay and lots of suburbanites want it torn down...opinion isn't cleanly divided along geographic lines.
 
I don't mind the Gardnier and I believe it would be too costly to take it down or bury it. The money would be better spent on the many other sevices the City has difficulty paying for. If money was to be spent on it on top of the amount allocated for annual repairs and such, it should to towards trying to beautify it underneath in any way possible.

IMHO it's not the Gardnier that is the real problem, or "barrier", between the City and the waterfront. It's Lake Shore that is the problem. I've always felt a bit uneasy crossing LS because of the 6-7 lanes of traffic going ~80km/h, the small sidewalks along the streets intersecting LS, the long amount of time waiting for a green light to cross LS and the few actual places to cross LS, epecially east of Yonge.
 
Well, if you have to drive, you might as well be entertained by the urbanity of Toronto.

Skyscrapers walling you in on a freeway is a pretty cool experience and yes it is the best thing about the Gardiner.

Anth said:
Exactly. Personally, I'm also a bit nostalgic for The Bump. ;)
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Ahh. the bump. Memories from childhood. - Your going back to the late 1970's and early 80's with that ...

AlvinofDiaspar said:
One doesn't build a city based on the high from travelling on an urban expressway, period.
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True, but as it is there, and it is not going anywhere anytime soon..you might as well enjoy it and not complain about it. - Later on we can pressure city hall to put a toll on it, then we can have some real fun.
 
Darkstar416 said:
The Humber Hump (not bump) was around until the mid-1990s though.
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Thats right, they upgraded the highway there in the late 90's. I remember as I use to drive to work in Islington at the time. I guess the bump was not as memorable to me as a 23 year old as it would have been to me as a 6 year old....
 
Ooooh, look at all the PATH connections! I work at 20 Bay, and would LOVE the opportunity to walk inside from Union to work on rainy / snowy / cold days.

marcus_a_j said:
IMHO it's not the Gardnier that is the real problem, or "barrier", between the City and the waterfront. It's Lake Shore that is the problem. I've always felt a bit uneasy crossing LS because of the 6-7 lanes of traffic going ~80km/h, the small sidewalks along the streets intersecting LS, the long amount of time waiting for a green light to cross LS and the few actual places to cross LS, epecially east of Yonge.
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I agree completely with that. Lakeshore is an absolute awful thing to cross, and in an area where there is not a lot that would be especially appealing for pedestrains, it's one of the biggest barriers. Add to that the unnecessarily dark and retail free tunnels under the tracks, the masses of parking lots (thankfully now being replaced) between the tracks and lakeshore and the complete lack of any street life (how about a few shops or hot dog vendors) in the area, and I understand why most people stop at Front street and don't venture south.

The area is getting more pedestrain friendly, though. I think all the buildings going up in the area, and luckily some of them with some street level retail, will help things, as it'll be an indicated to pedestrians that there is something worth walking down the street for. As well, they recently added a pedestrain cross-walk crossing Bay on the south side of Lakeshore, which used to have a "Pedestrains cross at North Side" sign instead.

Now if they will just remove the need to push the button to cross Lakeshore at Bay and fix the pedestrain mess that is the crossing from Union Station to the GO Bus Terminal, I'll be a much more happy walker.

Greg
 
GregWTravels said:
Ooooh, look at all the PATH connections! I work at 20 Bay, and would LOVE the opportunity to walk inside from Union to work on rainy / snowy / cold days.



I agree completely with that. Lakeshore is an absolute awful thing to cross, and in an area where there is not a lot that would be especially appealing for pedestrains, it's one of the biggest barriers. Add to that the unnecessarily dark and retail free tunnels under the tracks, the masses of parking lots (thankfully now being replaced) between the tracks and lakeshore and the complete lack of any street life (how about a few shops or hot dog vendors) in the area, and I understand why most people stop at Front street and don't venture south.

The area is getting more pedestrain friendly, though. I think all the buildings going up in the area, and luckily some of them with some street level retail, will help things, as it'll be an indicated to pedestrians that there is something worth walking down the street for. As well, they recently added a pedestrain cross-walk crossing Bay on the south side of Lakeshore, which used to have a "Pedestrains cross at North Side" sign instead.

Now if they will just remove the need to push the button to cross Lakeshore at Bay and fix the pedestrain mess that is the crossing from Union Station to the GO Bus Terminal, I'll be a much more happy walker.

Greg
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Getting from the Union train station to the bus terminal is easy. Jay-walk :)
 
This is going to be an intensely urban and dense intersection. The streets are decently narrow, and the towers are massive and have some presence.
 
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