[DSCToronto]

I would have to agree with Parkdalian this design is Very plain and franly disapointing. it raises the question does Toronto really want to be a worl class city? Because with this sort of thing we arent even competing.

If one looks at the Mayor and Councillors we elected recently I would say that the majority of Torontonians do not want our City to be world class.

 

[CanadianNational]

Nor, given this most recent election, do a lot of Canadians. Not just Toronto - but the entire country.

 

[Landscape design ftw]

Architect,

Yes, a lot of people come to Burlington each year to shove ribs down their gullet Apparantly the city isn't that remote or unreachable when it comes to meat... but fish? Maybe if we forget the aquarium and fry up the fish we'd be a bigger draw!



Again, I think you are defining 'tourist' a little too narrowly... and as has already been said there are about 15 to 20 million people annually who are visiting the Niagara Region, either via Toronto or directly from the USA so the idea that Toronto is the lone tourist magnet in the area is completely erroneous.... but forget the draw of Niagara, people in Toronto travel to Stratford, to Wonderland, Prince Edward County, Cottage Country and all over, believe it or not. Your perception that Burlington is too remote or inaccessible is probably only shared by a minority of urbanites in Toronto.

So the fact that Toronto contains the majority of the provinces population would suggest that this urbanite minority being mentioned is actually a majority, making your conclusion erroneous, facts are that when people visit this country let alone this area of it they primarily come to two places montreal and Toronto. Being a 20+ year resident to Toronto and several time tourist of montreal i can safely say we lack character, the Aquarium belongs in the downtown. This provides a higher likelyhood of tourists enjoying their time in our country; therefore increasing the chances of revisits which is when tourists are going to be more likely to want to explore the more outlying areas of the province. This is a basic tested and proven theory. when you visit englan you likely fly into London enjoy london then explore the countryside it doesnt make any sense to put the london aquarium halfway between westminster and stone henge.

 

[Landscape design ftw]

All to true and sad, looks like we"ll be waiting a whole lot longer to compete on a world scale in much of anything other than hockey and curling, which are ofcourse great, but arent doing much for a our green regulations.

 

[Earth Heals Herself]

What is the obsession with being green? Why do urbanites show such great disdain for cars and the filthy fumes they spew, yet you choose to live in the core, where there is the most dense concentration of people and vehicles and the worst air quality in the entire city? If you're so concerned about the dirty air you're breathing why don't you live in the country, where there are less vehicles and the air is fresh? It is such a farce. Are you not alive and healthy? Do you really think people get lung cancer from exhaust fumes? The quality of our air isn't killing us any quicker. Considering our city has more trees to filter out toxins than any other, I think we're ok. Also, what difference will it make if we become a world class city or not? Will that give us a sense of validity? Who cares what the rest of the world thinks about us?

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

So the fact that Toronto contains the majority of the provinces population would suggest that this urbanite minority being mentioned is actually a majority, making your conclusion erroneous, facts are that when people visit this country let alone this area of it they primarily come to two places montreal and Toronto.

And Vancouver.

 

[Landscape design ftw]

vancouver is certainly included. I had intended to give it an honerable mention in the but did not include it in the original passage as the discussion is more eastern sea board oriented.

 

[interchange42]

Toronto does not have the majority of Ontario's population, almost any way that you measure it, unless you consider Hamilton and Niagara to be Toronto.

42

 

[Big Daddy]

Toronto does not have the majority of Ontario's population, almost any way that you measure it, unless you consider Hamilton and Niagara to be Toronto.

42

Not Toronto per se, but Toronto CMA does.

According to Statscan, July 1, 2010, Ontario's population was 13,210,667 and Toronto's CMA was 5,741,419, which means Toronto accounted for 43% of Ontario's population.
http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/economy/ecupdates/factsheet.html

Not quite 50% but darn close.

However, as Ontario's growth rate is 6.6% and Toronto CMA's is 9.8% - the 50% mark is not too far off.

 

[interchange42]

Toronto's CMA contains much more than what we normally refer to as Toronto, including the greater part of the 905. You know the 905, the area that many members here choose to sneer at until it's useful for them when trying to make Toronto more important?

Anyway, as shown above in the stats, Toronto, even the Toronto CMA, clearly does not contain the majority of Ontario's population.

42

 

[Tewder]

So the fact that Toronto contains the majority of the provinces population would suggest that this urbanite minority being mentioned is actually a majority, making your conclusion erroneous,

Oh I think that's a pretty big stretch. Vast parts of Toronto are pretty suburban too, by the by.

facts are that when people visit this country let alone this area of it they primarily come to two places montreal and Toronto. Being a 20+ year resident to Toronto and several time tourist of montreal i can safely say we lack character, the Aquarium belongs in the downtown. This provides a higher likelyhood of tourists enjoying their time in our country; therefore increasing the chances of revisits which is when tourists are going to be more likely to want to explore the more outlying areas of the province. This is a basic tested and proven theory. when you visit englan you likely fly into London enjoy london then explore the countryside it doesnt make any sense to put the london aquarium halfway between westminster and stone henge.

You cannot overlook Niagara Falls. It is one of the top tourist sites on the planet. Lots of people visit Toronto, I agreee (Montreal? really??) but how many are visiting family from overseas, visiting on business or participating in conferences etc? How many come here strictly as tourists. Those that do, I can assure you, will spend a whole day or two travelling down the QEW to see the Falls. It is the only truly internationally famous site in the region.

As for the analogy with England I think it's a bit backwards in terms of the case in Toronto. In other words Toronto aint London. London is the more famous of tourist draws in England than say Stone Henge, whereas Niagara is the more famous draw here than say anything in Toronto would be. Not knocking Toronto but just keeping it real.

 

[Bruvyman]

Just a thought ... Walking down Queen's Quay last night, I noticed that the HUGE parking lot south of the Skydome is just screaming for some development. A low building like the aquarium (which wouldn't interfere with the classic view of the dome from the south) would be a perfect fit here. Its central, would really add life to queens quay, and is close to the water (which seems appropriate for an aquarium) It seems they have aready settled on the CN Tower location, but its worth mentioning.

 

[low_bidder]

FYI everyone... This project just came out to tender

 

[kalvinone]

apologize for my lack of understanding and ignorance here - but I guess that means someone's been picked to build it... any idea who that might be? details etc?

 

[jn_12]

I would have to agree with Parkdalian this design is Very plain and franly disapointing. it raises the question does Toronto really want to be a worl class city? Because with this sort of thing we arent even competing.

This aquarium is not intended to be the thing that puts Toronto on the tourism map. We aren't Atlanta. Not everything needs to be "world class" (whatever that means), and as far as I'm concerned it will be a fantastic addition to the depth of our tourism product, which is all it needs to be.