I think we have enough big parks for large events if needed as it is. We have Olympic Island which is perfect, and is used for many concerts now.
 
It's a great venue, until the show ends and 20,000 people head to ferry and it takes almost 2 hours to get back to the mainland, unless you pay for a water taxi
 
Can anyone point me to the *final* renderings for this park. I know there are a couple of designs a little further back in this thread but what's the final one?
 
It's a great venue, until the show ends and 20,000 people head to ferry and it takes almost 2 hours to get back to the mainland, unless you pay for a water taxi

It would be better if they had a larger ferry.
 
It's a great venue, until the show ends and 20,000 people head to ferry and it takes almost 2 hours to get back to the mainland, unless you pay for a water taxi

A pedestrian bridge at the foot of Bathurst St.would solve all this madness.

0727herethere2aljahnicky3_b1.jpg
 
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Kind of. You'd have to walk for about 30 mins first to even get to the bridge. Maybe longer.

Not really. But if that's the fear, I prefer my earlier suggestion of making it a streetcar and pedestrain bridge only. This way the streetcar lanes could be used for emergency vehicles if needed and everyone has access to the park/island. Again, my fantasy is conditional on the elimination of the airport and a fixed, fast-rail link between Union and Pearson.
 
I think a simple green space here could actually be very effective given the chaos of noise (architecture, roads and rails, development) around it, and I will give a respectful nod to US's principle of blank spaces here. Allees of trees could surround the park to define its space, and there is no reason to preclude fountains, parterres or other forms of ornamentation, but filling the park with trees will deny the function of gathering place which would have been very useful in Toronto for large-scale events and protests and so on.

Trinity, Queen's Park, the Islands etc. are all amazing green spaces in Toronto but they all have their limits as gathering space in terms of size or accessibility.

I'm sure the park as designed will be a welcomed addition and I've been looking forward to seeing it there for a long time. Coupland seems to have some very interesting visual ideas too, so it should turn out good anyway.
 
I am not convinced we need another 'gathering place for protests and large-scale events', that this site is big enough for such (it is not), that it is an appropriate place for 'protests and large-scale events (being surrounded on three sides by residential, it is not an appropriate place for protests or loud/late-night concerts) or that such would even work on this spot (there is no 'here' here. Queens Park and City Hall are the seats of government and have larger public spaces, and Yonge-Dundas is a dynamic spot best suited for 'dynamic' events such as protests, concerts and public displays of every kind - if you want to be seen, go to a spot where there are people, not a spot surrounded by condos and a highway).

The downtown core needs more spots to wonder, ponder and exercise. This spot should provide some of that.
 
I think Riverdale park should be used for more events. It has an amazing view of the city and the shape is like a natural amphitheatre already.

That said I wouldn't want to deal with all the sprained ankles and other injuries as people try and climb the hill in the dark.

Getting back on the topic of the thread. Will this park component have a recreation centre or anything? Living near the waterfront I feel we have quite the lack of indoor pools, gyms in the area.
 
^ I'd be less enthusiastic for two reasons. Firstly, I really like the way that Pelli's WFC encircles that small harbor, and secondly, that bridge is just hideous!
 
Here's the "Esplanade Riel" pedestrian bridge in Winnipeg. The bridge is only one of a few in the world that has a restaurant on it.

Esplanade_Riel.jpg
 

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