Palma said:
I do not see any 20 storey buildings in the photo. I don't know why Toronto seems to think it needs 20-90 storey buildings. Who gives approval for these tall structures as no one wants them. Europe does not have them but here they talk like its the only thing to do. Maybe, if they want to look like Asia but I think most would rather the city look more like a European city.
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Toronto wants to be NYC, or Chicago. It's never going to be like a European city despite how much some people want it to be. The best it can do is to increase the number of low-midrise buildings; but the skyscrapers are here to stay.
 
11th said:
Toronto wants to be NYC, or Chicago. It's never going to be like a European city despite how much some people want it to be. The best it can do is to increase the number of low-midrise buildings; but the skyscrapers are here to stay.
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exactly, as long as people are looking for cheap places and want to spread fixed maintenance costs over more units, high rise condos are here to stay.
 
drum118 said:
How many tall building do you see in the old Buda of Budapest looking from old Pest from the photos below??
8343696553_2a5febc782_b.jpg
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Sorry to quibble, but I believe that you are looking at the Elizabeth Bridge (Erzsébet-híd) in the foreground with the Liberty Bridge (Szabadság-híd), which is to the south, in behind. The means that the photo was taken from the NW looking towards the SE. From the Buda side of the river, looking down at the flatter Pest side, probably from the Castle District on the hillier Buda side.
 
BurlOak said:
Sorry to quibble, but I believe that you are looking at the Elizabeth Bridge (Erzsébet-híd) in the foreground with the Liberty Bridge (Szabadság-híd), which is to the south, in behind. The means that the photo was taken from the NW looking towards the SE. From the Buda side of the river, looking down at the flatter Pest side, probably from the Castle District on the hillier Buda side.
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Regardless if I have posted the wrong direction, the building height is still the same as the photo shows. Buda looks the same except for the hills it sits on and you can see that in the photos.

As for Barcelona, they may not be 20's, but it shows what mid-rise can do for a block. I never said they were 20's, but did say buildings in Europe range from 4-20 without saying where,

Yes high-rise are here to stay since that the only place you are going to put the wave of new residents, but not every block needs them. Better use of podiums for street edge is need and can be that mid-rise look if done right.

All glazing and current wall will not cut it as well gaps between them including driveways.

After seeing the first phase for Parkside Village, I don't have much hope for that area now, other being glass city.

I don't expect buildings should look like Europe 100%, but some can be by using our old buildings. Maybe we should go back and build replicates of building that were there once like Europe is doing, that were destroy by the wars.

The problem with the current extension, no real density is plan for it and relying on feeder riders from other areas that have low density now.
 
Palma said:
I do not see any 20 storey buildings in the photo. I don't know why Toronto seems to think it needs 20-90 storey buildings. Who gives approval for these tall structures as no one wants them. Europe does not have them but here they talk like its the only thing to do. Maybe, if they want to look like Asia but I think most would rather the city look more like a European city.
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Toronto needs high-rises because, unlike most European cities, we have decided that most of the city should remain 'stable' single family or semi detached homes. My all time favorite example is Yonge and Eglinton's 50 storey condos basically fronting onto two level semi detached homes.

Toronto could be entirely mid-rise, but that would entail pretty much all of "old toronto" (including residential areas) being redeveloped. The planning and heritage consensus in this city would have a conniption fit. Most European cities were designed and built under authoritarian governments who could ignore public opposition.

Not trying to say highrises are better or worse than midrises, but there are reasons why Toronto's developed the way we have. High-rises have allowed a pretty substantial increase in residential units while mostly bypassing existing buildings.
 
diminutive said:
Toronto needs high-rises because, unlike most European cities, we have decided that most of the city should remain 'stable' single family or semi detached homes. My all time favorite example is Yonge and Eglinton's 50 storey condos basically fronting onto two level semi detached homes.

Toronto could be entirely mid-rise, but that would entail pretty much all of "old toronto" (including residential areas) being redeveloped. The planning and heritage consensus in this city would have a conniption fit. Most European cities were designed and built under authoritarian governments who could ignore public opposition.

Not trying to say highrises are better or worse than midrises, but there are reasons why Toronto's developed the way we have. High-rises have allowed a pretty substantial increase in residential units while mostly bypassing existing buildings.
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Exactly. I don't understand why Palma doesn't see it.

Toronto needs highrises only because those damn low rise single family houses already took like 85% of the city's land. You either get rid of them, or go highrises on existing developable land, otherwise, there is no way to achieve density.

Your Yonge/Eglinton example is excellent. If that area is not predominantly extremely low density, we wouldn't need 50 storey towers at all.

Yes many Torontonians want us to be more like Europe, but Toronto will NEVER look like an old European city. Paris has hardly any highrises but it achieved a density of 20,000/sq km. If we move the entire GTA population of 6M to the city of Toronto (630km2) , we have a density of about 9500, less than half of what paris does, and you know why? Because all those damn low rise single family houses with large yards, driveways and basements are taking up all the space. Paris and other EU cities don't have much of that. Most people live in apartment buildings 4-10 storeys high. Do Toronto families want to give up their large houses to live in apartment buildings?

Toronto wouldn't need 20-90 storey buildings only if it didn't have so many 1-3 storey buildings. You wanna Toronto to be like a European city? Live like a European person first.

I would want the entire Eglinton-Keele-Coxwell-Lake Ontario area be developed for higher density, replacing all 2 level homes with 4-10 storey apartments, and then we probably wouldn't need 20-90 storey towers and have the chance to look like an European city.
 
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I took a visit to the Finch West Station construction site today.

Looking south along Keele:
8689451117_ae2e3df6dc_z.jpg


Wooden planks supporting traffic on Finch on the east side of Keele:
8690577572_488a57991f_z.jpg


Looking south at the crossover box from Finch Avenue. Keele is on the right.
8689466073_4dee068729_z.jpg


Overview of the crossover. Since the concrete is recessed where the tracks will go, you can clearly see the crossover. The platform itself will start just off the bottom of the image.
8689470859_498941ac2f_z.jpg


A passageway leading off of the crossover area. Not sure what it's for.
8690580968_161ca6c109_z.jpg
 
Oh yeah a question about the future Finch West station:

Is it being designed with both a bus loop and an (underground) LRT loop? If the Finch LRT is complete by 2020 that's still 4 years of the Finch West bus feeding the station. Also I guess it will need a bus loop for buses heading east anyways. Hopefully it will be designed so that the Finch LRT can be extended to Yonge in the future, going through the station.
 
The LRT stop is a separate project, though the station is designed to make space for it. The platform won't be built until the LRT opens. Also, the LRT doesn't need a loop, it will look like a scaled down subway terminus, and is designed for an eastern extension as well.
 
innsertnamehere said:
The LRT stop is a separate project, though the station is designed to make space for it. The platform won't be built until the LRT opens. Also, the LRT doesn't need a loop, it will look like a scaled down subway terminus, and is designed for an eastern extension as well.
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Oh yeah I forgot that they can reverse directions without looping, thanks.
 
New front page story here about changes to the plans at Finch West.

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