Isn't that pretty much what the ancient Romans did with the Colosseum when they wanted to stage naval battles? So we would simply be following an old tradition.
 
kettal said:
what crowd?
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True. Although I got tickets to the game this saturday and the place is practically sold out. I believe I got the last tickets available in my section :cool:

Anyway, I hope we get a tower that won't overpower the market. Because that would be a shame. Otherwise, I love the podium (in context with the market and the housing co-op across the street).
 
Ah, the mysteries of geo-location and synaptic misfires.

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Mongo said:
Isn't that pretty much what the ancient Romans did with the Colosseum when they wanted to stage naval battles? So we would simply be following an old tradition.
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No, let's just follow the tradition of naval battles for our entertainment on Lake Ontario :) .
 
The problem with that whole Bremner "neighbourhood" is that there's absolutely no reason to go down there other than a hockey or baseball game. There are vast park-like areas, but they're not particularly inviting. There are a handful of shops and restaurants, but they're clearly geared to the condo residents. There are vast empty plazas of concrete, but no discernible reason for them to exist. The elevation changes are met with meandering and completely counter-intuitive staircases. It's one of the city's most planned neighbourhoods, and it shows just how bad planning can be. I live just north of the area but I almost never go down there.
 
The very positive public reception that the new Railway Heritage Museum, just across the street from this proposal, got during its Doors Open opening weekend, makes me hopeful that people will start putting this area on their radar.

Meanwhile I agree with you, u2, that the plaza space and staircases around the 'Dome need some serious rethinking.

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Unimaginative: Well good thing almost every night of the year there's either baseball, football, hockey, basketball, lacrosse or a concert going on to bring 20,000+ people to the area. And I live just south of there and I'm there at least once a week. The joys of being a sports fan and living beside the sports stadiums. What you're saying though is no different than someone saying "why is that (random) park here? it's a waste because I live around the corner from it and I never go there. Horrible idea."

Fact is, it's clearly a tourist/entertainment area and everyday use by locals isn't the focal point or the goal. In fact, I'd argue it's a space planned for people who don't live here. As someone who focused a fair bit on planning for tourism in my grad studies, you wouldn't believe the inquisitive looks I would get in class when I would discuss how regular planning and tourism planning are essentially the exact opposite. In one case you're planning for people who live there, in the other you're planning for an unknown. Considering most planners and planning students view planning as an exercise in community building, planning spaces for people who don't live here and have no voice is mindblowing.

The only changes I'd like to see to the area is for the Jays to have more a street presence. Most MLB stadiums have statues outside of the stadium depicting their former greats. It'd be fantastic to see some of the Jays' greatest immortalized considering how important the teams of the late 80s-early 90s were to the psyche of the city.
 
jn_12 said:
The only changes I'd like to see to the area is for the Jays to have more a street presence. Most MLB stadiums have statues outside of the stadium depicting their former greats. It'd be fantastic to see some of the Jays' greatest immortalized considering how important the teams of the late 80s-early 90s were to the psyche of the city.
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Maybe they could put them on the bridge over the tracks. Or of course in the plaza along Bremner.
Hey, imagine this... Along Bremner between Spadina and the ACC a whole plaza of statues immortalizing Jays, Argos, Leafs and Raptors (as well as Rock) greats. This is quite the sports street when you think about it.
 
jn_12 said:
Unimaginative: Well good thing almost every night of the year there's either baseball, football, hockey, basketball, lacrosse or a concert going on to bring 20,000+ people to the area. And I live just south of there and I'm there at least once a week. The joys of being a sports fan and living beside the sports stadiums. What you're saying though is no different than someone saying "why is that (random) park here? it's a waste because I live around the corner from it and I never go there. Horrible idea."
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No but I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that I could either go a block north to Clarence Square or a block south to the far larger parks along Bremner. Almost without exception, I would go north if I was looking to relax in a park. That says something about the quality of public space (and the value of big trees). Obviously loads of people go to the area for sports games, but how many linger before or after the game? Some go up to the touristy restaurants along Front but pretty much everybody else gets into their car or on the subway when the game is over (or when the Leafs have lost all hope of winning).

Fact is, it's clearly a tourist/entertainment area and everyday use by locals isn't the focal point or the goal. In fact, I'd argue it's a space planned for people who don't live here. As someone who focused a fair bit on planning for tourism in my grad studies, you wouldn't believe the inquisitive looks I would get in class when I would discuss how regular planning and tourism planning are essentially the exact opposite. In one case you're planning for people who live there, in the other you're planning for an unknown. Considering most planners and planning students view planning as an exercise in community building, planning spaces for people who don't live here and have no voice is mindblowing.
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I completely agree with you. Toronto has very few good spaces for tourism--as in accessible, contained, unusual, walkable areas. I'd say Queens Quay Terminal, the Distillery (for now), and maybe Yorkville are just about it. I'm not saying that none of Toronto's neighbourhoods could be attractive to tourists, I'm just saying that they don't fit the traditional attractive to tourists mold. Bremner from the ACC to the Skydome would have been a perfect spot for a real tourist neighbourhood close to the waterfront and most of the city's main attractions. Instead, nothing has been done to tie the stadia and other spots into a cohesive whole.

The only changes I'd like to see to the area is for the Jays to have more a street presence. Most MLB stadiums have statues outside of the stadium depicting their former greats. It'd be fantastic to see some of the Jays' greatest immortalized considering how important the teams of the late 80s-early 90s were to the psyche of the city.
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Agreed, though I'd say they should do more than that.
 
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