Sure, but the entire existence of 'planning'' both as a profession and as a body of rules, is fundamentally to deal with the disastrous wounds the car has inflicted, and continues to inflict, on cities. Land values have always been speculative, just now the exponential rise in the last few years has made many things unworkable and we now have to try and claw back all density possible.

It is rational to have wider sidewalks where there's more density, which brings us back to my original point: increase sidewalks by taking away road space and introducing setbacks at grade, then give that space back in the form of an additional floor on top. I can guarantee that if that were the 'agreement', there isn't a developer in town who wouldn't go for it.
 
The thing with Toronto is that we dont have a general template that should be followed with major arterials and roads as a whole. Things are just a mish-mash of 100 different combinations which results in incoherent street networks.

We have blatant examples of streetscapes that work, but for whatever reason this city fails to implement them on a wide scale and seemingly changes their mind on how roads should be designed every 5-10 years in order to make things "safer", "cleaner" or whatever other mumbo jumbo they come up with.

Take for example Spadina Ave between Bloor and King. Asides from the sharrows, it is a perfect example of the model streetscape that should have been used downtown where feasible, but instead of doing that the city decided to be indecisive on what they wanted and as a result the streetscape is just a mess in the core. On Bremner we see one style, Queen Quay another, etc..

I'm deviating a bit, but a big part of the problem is that city planning is so incoherent on what they want, it's actually dizzying seeing all these studies coming up with different street designs that just dont work. In the case of Liberty Village, the city didnt even come up with a plan and it's just the wild wild west over there with a streetscape that can be described as laughable at best.
 
In the case of Liberty Village, the city didnt even come up with a plan and its just the wild wild west over there with a streetscape that can be described as laughable at best.
It is laughably Toronto though.
 
BA55A86A-C0AF-477F-A89F-65155651FED3.jpeg
29DD5D94-654E-4D03-97FA-C64298C5463E.jpeg
 
Aesthetically, it's nice but sterile like one of those office buildings on Dundas west of Kipling. I think it looks better on account of its interesting surroundings.
 
As an office building this looks pedestrian but not particularly offensive IMO. I agree that it's surrounding influences like the neighbouring smokestack and the Brunswick Balke Collender Co building do enhance its visual presence though.
 

Kevric’s 99 Atlantic is now fully leased, with the addition of Sony Music’s 19,000 square feet and Blue Ant Media’s 38,000 square feet.
 
Sony and Universal music both made moves from Don Mills to Liberty. Leaves the fate of their old buildings up in the air.
 

Back
Top