From said survey:



How can an underground subway line deliver an "important new landmark"? What's so landmarky about the station entrance- which isn't designed as some architectural tour-de-force pavilion (nevermind the rest the development programme for the site)? That's trying to sell the project for what it isn't - Metrolinx is so annoyingly BS*tty sometimes.

AoD

Perhaps the station entrance could be designed as a "ghost" appearance of the first parliament buildings...
 
"Important New Landmark" is Metrolinx speak for "chance to make Conservative Party donors richer". ;)

Ideally I would love if they actually came up with something special here, but the plans they've showed so far are some pleasant if unremarkable condos (which do make sense above a subway, but condos aren't exactly anything remarkable in downtown Toronto), a lack of the civic infrastructure the city wants, and a subway entrance that is just integrated into a condo podium. Nothing about any of that says they are remotely serious about making this anything special.
 
"Important New Landmark" is Metrolinx speak for "chance to make Conservative Party donors richer". ;)

Ideally I would love if they actually came up with something special here, but the plans they've showed so far are some pleasant if unremarkable condos (which do make sense above a subway, but condos aren't exactly anything remarkable in downtown Toronto), a lack of the civic infrastructure the city wants, and a subway entrance that is just integrated into a condo podium. Nothing about any of that says they are remotely serious about making this anything special.
Or possibly the District Gaol that replaced it?
 
I did the survey... there's a lot of history to absorb in a few screens, but I did my best.

We've lived a very short distance from this location for almost 20 years, and we have no plans to move. I have to say I am thrilled at the idea of there being a subway station there, one that we can make use of in the future, as we get older and don't want to walk to Yonge or rely on surface transit to leave our neighbourhood without a car. It would also help the Distillery District become much more accessible to the greater GTA population, especially since most of the surrounding parking is vanishing.

So I have to say I'm somewhat puzzled by all the knee-jerk opposition to this proposed project and the fact that it includes some additional condominiums. I hate sprawl. This is the city center. It's a big lot, most of the subway station will be underground, and there is no more sensible place to create more density than here. If the condos help make this development financially viable, it's a reasonable tradeoff. The neighbourhood has changed a ton in the past decade or two, but mostly for the better. Most challenges have stemmed from the fact that new infrastructure tends to lag the population growth a bit: and there is no better urban infrastructure than a subway.

That said, I also feel like Toronto's history is under-celebrated, and I liked the city's First Parliament plan. I hope/believe that some of it can be incorporated into the new plan, with some reasonable compromises. Ideally I would like to see some additional park area extend a bit north of the current soccer field, and in my dreams, some exposed archeological foundations of the First Parliament buildings, if any exist that are worth exposing -- we've come across those in parks and squares in Europe and I would love to see that idea implemented here as well. I don't see why some of this couldn't be incorporated into the subway entrance or condo courtyards or similar.

As for some of the other plans that predate the subway -- like the new library -- I hope that people are flexible. I'm happy to have a new library located elsewhere in the neighbourhood if it means we get a subway.

Naming the subway station First Parliament Station or Parliament Station is not a bad idea, though I was kind of liking the idea of Corktown finally landing on the map -- I'm not sure many Torontonians have any idea where it is.

Ideally I would love if they actually came up with something special here, but the plans they've showed so far are some pleasant if unremarkable condos (which do make sense above a subway, but condos aren't exactly anything remarkable in downtown Toronto), a lack of the civic infrastructure the city wants, and a subway entrance that is just integrated into a condo podium. Nothing about any of that says they are remotely serious about making this anything special.

I don't really have any "skin" in this particular game, unlike those who live in the community who might be invested in one outcome or another - what irks me is Metrolinx PR-speak in this particular instance. I absolutely hate flowerly rhetoric with no actual bearing on reality - don't call it a "landmark" if you haven't put forward anything so far that will lead to that outcome. What's been promised is a subway station with mixed uses like @TossYourJacket said.

AoD
 
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When it comes to the station itself.......as opposed to any interpretive centre that may be on-site............

The first thing I'd like to see is simply attention to quality finishes throughout. No cheaping out!
What I don't want to see is a half-assed effort on the station, followed by tacking together a few historical plaques/photos/representations that most people won't read and won't enlighten anyone about anything.
Then, if you're going to make it 'First Parliament Station'..............you want to ask, is there anything in particular that's do-able, and realistic that might be appropriate in terms of architecture/interior fit-out/colour-scheme in telling that story.
On this, I'm quite dubious, as the station box will largely be determined by a form meets function build. Moreover, the original Parliament buildings were quite modest, nothing about a large subway station is going to evoke them or the feel of them particularly well. As such, I'd be inclined to mostly focus on quality over a particular style; but with the admonition that if a large-scale mural is employed somewhere in the station, likely as a tile-mosaic, then the adjacent tile/ceiling finishes should be chosen to create a sympathetic framing.

When it comes to emulating heritage more broadly, I'm skeptical that this could be done well. I don't see real, heritage-appropriate brick or stone being used anywhere in the station. I'd be open to the thought; but I'm adamant that a cliche-ridden faux job be avoided. I think the easiest thing to do with 'flavour' would to emulate a general industrial vibe, with a colour-scheme that evokes the older buildings in the area + St. Lawrence, but which does so with mainly contemporary finishes. If appropriate, and properly funded, a portion of the mezzanine could be done with historically accurate finishes.

Last thought...........way too many themes. If you're talking about 50 different things, you're talking about nothing at all.
Stick to the knitting of the Parliament itself and the other direct uses of the site that make it distinct/important.

There is absolutely a place for social context; and for the evolution of the City more broadly. But those belong in an interpretive centre and at a Toronto Museum, ideally in Old City Hall.
 
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Speaking personally, I'm less interested in how impressive the potential station can be and more cautious about what it will look like at the surface. Looking just to the southeast, I'd love if the first parliament site linked to or played off of the distillery district and became a destination in of itself instead of just a blob of condos.
 
There seems to be a large tent going up at the south end of the site.
PXL_20211123_222010824.NIGHT.jpg
 
I walked by today, and didn't take a picture because a dump truck was mostly blocking my view, but there's a pretty large tent covering the south end of the site now.
 
I walked by today, and didn't take a picture because a dump truck was mostly blocking my view, but there's a pretty large tent covering the south end of the site now.
This is to shelter the archaeological dig and would seem, to me, means they have found 'something unexpected or interesting". If they have to move to a Stage 4 archaeological excavation it will probably delay things on the site. From earlier excavations and old plans of the area, the area is where the gaol was - the first parliament buildings are (were) a bit further north but I guess we will see.....
 
Is there still a tent covering a dig here? If so, it would be great — if anyone is going by the site — to have some pics in the thread to show what's going on!

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Wow! Much larger than I imagined! Any ground-based images in the area would also be cool!

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Err...why is there a big tent being put up there...

"Think of Time Team, Uta."

...oh!
 

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