My guess is that the $10 million the City is getting from Menkes for that is just a portion of what it will cost to remove the ramps plus build the replacement one at Simcoe. No idea if it's in this year's City transport capital budget. It should be.

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Even if they remove it that park is a dump today, just a pile of grass, hopefully funds can be put aside to make it over ... honestly that's where the RBC funds should be allocated, and that in theory could even happen without taking the ramp down.
 
It will be nice to finally have a north-south sidewalk on the east side of York, alongside the park, once the ramp comes down. The park could easily be made over into a little gem - it's got some tremendous mature trees in it.
 
IIFC RBC WPP III Section 37 funds are going towards fixing up the park. It's 90 Harbour's S37 funds that are going towards ramp replacement.

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Jasonzed said:
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I find it fascinating to stare at the 1970s apartment complex to the south of the RBC development. It's so funny how it does absolutely eveything wrong from a modern urban planning standpoint. It completely blocks of the water from the rest of the city for about 1 kilometer. Then it has a MASSIVE 8 story parking garage fronting on to the south side of Queens Quay. Kinda like a big F.U. to everyone, "You wanted to see the lake? Too bad suckers, the lake's only for residents of this complex. Here, looking at this parking garge instead." So crazy.
 
^I was thinking the same thing. I normally roll my eyes when I hear NIMBYs complain about a wall of condos blocking the view of the lake, but they may have a point here when viewing from Queen's Quay.
 
Not only that, but when one actually goes to the waterfront, the building meets the really quite fantastic water path in the worst possible way also. The parking garage looks onto the water, there are long stretches of windowless concrete, and then there is actually a large surface parking lot on the other end. Why not rebuild this and have some small shops facing the water or something? If this were fixed up - and the bridges connecting the quays finally built! - I would LOVE this stretch of water. The concrete sphere is one of my favourite features of the waterfront. Oh, and the ferry landing could be completely rebuilt!
 
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In fairness, one has to remember what the area looked like when those towers went up. It wasn't exactly a bustling pedestrian zone, and I don't think anyone anticipated it becoming one. That said, it would be nice to see them do something with it.
 
True - when that building went up along with the Toronto Star, they were built like brutalist fortresses - to shut out the vast amount of rail lines and track space, piles, industrial brownfields and half-used areas and a nearby power plant. (There used to be a medium-sized two-stacked one at the foot of York, I believe. Or was it Bay?) Anyway, these buildings were to function almost like little worlds unto themselves. When they were built, the tunnels to get under the rail lines into the city proper were easily double the length they are now, or more.

That said, times certainly have changed, and the back of these buildings - and the park back there too could really use a rethink. If West8's waterfront plan is ever fully realized, and we see the ferry dock moved to the foot of Yonge, that would be a great opportunity for a rethink.
Having an open-to-the-sky pathway carved straight through the middle of that parking garage from north to south would be a helpful connector as well.

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There is it - the little power station right up against the Gardiner at York.


From 2006
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fedplanner said:
^I was thinking the same thing. I normally roll my eyes when I hear NIMBYs complain about a wall of condos blocking the view of the lake, but they may have a point here when viewing from Queen's Quay.
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The Harbour Castle Hotel and the Harbourside Condos have to be Toronto's worst urban planning mistake. It's certainly number one on my hit list. There is not much we can do about it now but Waterpark Place will at least help to block out that ugly parking lot. I wish there was some way that parking lot could be hidden from pedestrians on Queen's Quay. At least the retail portion could be improved by a renovation. (if they ever get around to doing ti)
 
I remember someone who lives In the building mentioning that the retail will be getting a Reno in 2015 or 2016 when current leases are up.
 
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