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In my opinion, the lights on Yonge are one of the better looking ones in Toronto; even though they are "mass produced" by Phillips. IIRC they're also used by Corktown Common/Lower Don Lands.
 
Yep but they are grey there, which I don't mind either.
I do like those lights in Vancouver to be honest ! Wouldn't mind seeing those here instead, maybe on Queen W for example.


Believe it or not I think even Markham must have jumped on that contract because I believe the new lights there (hi-way 7) match Yonge.
 
MafaldaBoy said:
In my opinion, the lights on Yonge are one of the better looking ones in Toronto; even though they are "mass produced" by Phillips. IIRC they're also used by Corktown Common/Lower Don Lands.
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I am not a fan of those lights. From what I've seen, most other cities have much better street lights than Toronto. I love how Montreal has a different style light on different streets. It's designed to reflect its neighbourhood.

The only nice street lighting in Toronto, is in St. Lawrence and Old Town. Do we really need more grey anything? I'm sick of grey spandrel, grey window frames, grey lights, grey skies and everything else. Enough already!
 
Torontovibe said:
The only nice street lighting in Toronto, is in St. Lawrence and Old Town. Do we really need more grey anything? I'm sick of grey spandrel, grey window frames, grey lights, grey skies and everything else. Enough already!
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Are you talking about the imitation gas lamp lights that are really just the Toronto standard streetlights with a fancy case for the bulb? I want to like those, but the implementation is poor. They installed them sporadically, sometimes only three in a row, and on only one side of the street. It should be all or none.
 
I've heard from Pam McConnell's office, that they will be extending those lights along Front Street, from Jarvis, right into the Pan-Am Village. Those lights may not be the top quality but in Toronto, I think they are the best we've got. I'll take those over the dull, grey poles they have on Yonge Street. Sadly, even Yorkville has shitty street lights.

It's funny, (or sad, depending on how you look at it) even a seriously deteriorating city like Detroit, has a nice public realm in parts of it's downtown core. It's streetlights are much nicer then anything in Toronto.
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Considering this is bankrupt, down in the dumps Detroit, their public realm is pretty nice. Look at all the landscaping and decorative planters. I much prefer their lights, as well as their garbage cans. When I was in Detroit, I was expecting the whole downtown to look decayed but I was surprised to see it was mostly in pretty good shape.
 
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Do you know how many Chinese investors are investing in Detroit?

They are partly responsible for the revitalization of downtown Detroit (along with Canadians).
 
Not really, Detroit has always maintained its core (or part of it I should say) yes in the last 5 years it has been revitalized somewhat more (i.e. a new office / lrt / ...).

But those street lights have been there for a long time.

It should come as no surprise, just about every North American city likely surpasses Toronto when it comes to public realm ...

But to be fair we do have some nice parts; Take the gas lit lights around the St. Lawrence market, those are very nice.

Honestly I don't love those lights in Detroit, while I agree the ones on Yonge don't scream unique, they're more modern and appropriate for certain areas ...
 
Detroit always does well with architecture and urban design. It's like a city that can't imagine not doing things boldly; it seems to come naturally to them. Downtown Detroit is doing better and better now while the rest of the city decays. In terms of street lights, I think the city did it right in several places. Among others, they are:

-Dundas West in the Junction (historicist black)
-St. Clair West in Corso Italia (modern grey and historicist black)
-Financial District (circa 1960s modern black)

I'd like to see Bay Street get something lavish, like black lights with gold leaf accents (whether historicist or contemporary).
 
Junctionist, I've always liked the modern Financial District street lights. Their colour is definitely starting to fade though. They look charcoal grey.

One street that definitely needs a new set of street lights is University Ave. For a "grand boulevard" it is unacceptable to be using the same street lights that grace Christie St. or Coxwell Ave.
 
I would like to see lights that resemble the large ones at Yonge and Dundas Square. Smaller versions of these:

02436320-2.jpg
 
I've always thought that those light masts at Y+D square should be equipped with coloured lights to animate the surface of the square at night. And maybe a few spot/searchlights to add a bit of movement. As you can see in that pic, the billboards are bright but the square itself is actually very dark.
 
Those light masts indeed have projectors on them. They were used frequently when the square opened but they seem to have gone into disuse. The square itself was equipped with tiny coloured LED lights built into the floor but they didn't last into the first few months.

Hopefully the city will take a second look at the square now that it's mostly fulfilled its original goal of becoming a popular gathering place. The stage for one needs to be rebuilt as it's become a mishmash of poor cumulative decisions.
 
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