Just as I was about to buy the camera my wife got an infection in her teeth. The bill - $3k, almost exactly the cost of the 6D and lens. C'est la vie.
 
DtTO said:
...and worried about losing that line of crap. I hope that whole street (with a few exceptions) is redeveloped, it looks horrible right now. This isn't just coming from me either, I've had friends visiting the city complain about it. Can you blame them? That whole row of 1/2s seedy retail belongs on Danforth or something, not the heart of downtown.

That cladding looks nice!
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many seem to be under the impression that that "line of crap" is the heart and soul of Toronto, without which our city will cease to exist.
 
DtTO said:
...and worried about losing that line of crap. I hope that whole street (with a few exceptions) is redeveloped, it looks horrible right now. This isn't just coming from me either, I've had friends visiting the city complain about it. Can you blame them? That whole row of 1/2s seedy retail belongs on Danforth or something, not the heart of downtown.
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Why would you take your visiting friends to this area if find it so distressing? What do they think of 10 Dundas St. E.? Maybe just stick to the safety of the Toronto Eaton Centre when you bring friends downtown.
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
Why would you take your visiting friends to this area if find it so distressing? What do they think of 10 Dundas St. E.? Maybe just stick to the safety of the Toronto Eaton Centre when you bring friends downtown.
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Eaton Centre is just a shopping mall. It sells stuff that is sold in most other cities, all the popular brands, mostly American. I fail to see anyone would be particularly exciting to see Eaton Centre. Go to Yorkdale Mall or Fairview Mall, they are all almost identical!

Plus, Yonge st is nationally famous. I am sure people outside imagine it too be all beautiful and interesting and want to check it out.
 
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If I came to Toronto as a tourist and somebody brought me to the Eaton Centre, I wouldn't be happy at all. Why would I want to see a mall that has all the stores I can find in any other city? It's a nice mall but come on. I'd much rather see this Ryerson building.
 
Exactly, it would be pretty ridiculous to take any visitor to the Eaton Centre, as it's just a mall (though a nice one, at that).

bleu, I can't tell from your comments whether you're one of "those people" that like Yonge so much, or you're just speaking in general. From what I see, the only people who actually enjoy Yonge are UT members or NIMBY-hipsters. Between Queen and Bloor, Yonge is quite possibly the worst major street in any city of Toronto's importance/size. It's full of crappy old houses with signs that are falling apart, horrible little sketchy shops, narrow sidewalks, etc. Say what you want about Aura, but the Yonge street is already 100 times better in that area because of it.

dt_toronto_geek said:
What do they think of 10 Dundas St. E.?
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Not sure. They never commented on it, but they said that the whole street looks like crap, which I had to agree with. In my opinion, 10 Dundas is currently one of the best buildings on Yonge, in terms of the way it meets the street. Heck, even Aura and the Eaton Centre meet the street better than most of the crap on Yonge. I'm glad Ryerson and that proposal across the street are starting to change that.
 
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Its unfortunate that the street many consider Toronto's main artery isn't more tourist friendly.

I mean, imagine replacing Yonge with any of the following:
- Queen West (even east depending on the part)
- King East or West
- Bloor East or West
- College West
...
 
DtTO said:
Exactly, it would be pretty ridiculous to take any visitor to the Eaton Centre, as it's just a mall (though a nice one, at that).

bleu, I can't tell from your comments whether you're one of "those people" that like Yonge so much, or you're just speaking in general. From what I see, the only people who actually enjoy Yonge are UT members or NIMBY-hipsters. Between Queen and Bloor, Yonge is quite possibly the worst major street in any city of Toronto's importance/size. It's full of crappy old houses with signs that are falling apart, horrible little sketchy shops, narrow sidewalks, etc. Say what you want about Aura, but the Yonge street is already 100 times better in that area because of it.
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I don't love Yonge st. Yonge St is only worth looking at between Front and Shuter st. The stretch to the north is embarrassing. I don't care how much "history" it may contain, but the fact is MOST people find it ugly.
However, my comment refers to the fact that people outside Toronto may not know about it and definitely want to see it, given its national fame. I avoid showing them anything beyond Dundas St.

DtTO said:
Not sure. They never commented on it, but they said that the whole street looks like crap, which I had to agree with. In my opinion, 10 Dundas is currently one of the best buildings on Yonge, in terms of the way it meets the street. Heck, even Aura and the Eaton Centre meet the street better than most of the crap on Yonge. I'm glad Ryerson and that proposal across the street are starting to change that.
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So did my friends. The same comments were given to Dundas St as well (pretty much the entire street looks bad). And they were surprised why Queen St W is so run down like this. From the newspaper, they thought it was something like Fifth Ave or SoHo but...

Most love King St though. So much character. Probably beats any other street in town. Bloor as well. Call it sterile or whatever but people like clean wide urban streets with buildings in good condition and busy pedestrian footprints on any given day over streets with small houses of uneven height in bad condition with messy signages, no matter what is inside them.
 
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bleu said:
Most love King St though. So much character. Probably beats any other street in town. Bloor as well. Call it sterile or whatever but people like clean wide urban streets with buildings in good condition and busy pedestrian footprints on any given day over streets with small houses of uneven height in bad condition with messy signages, no matter what is inside them.
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Well said. Sadly, any talk of developing (ie improving) Yonge is met with immediate opposition, mostly from "heritage connoisseurs." All this comes at the expense of the large majority of people (and the city itself, which is represented poorly to tourists), who, as you said, prefer clean streets with modern buildings that provide a pleasant urban experience.
 
All this comes at the expense of the large majority of people (and the city itself, which is represented poorly to tourists), who, as you said, prefer clean streets with modern buildings that provide a pleasant urban experience.
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Given this read of urbanity, I would think that University Avenue would be an extremely successful urban destination, instead of Queen Street, etc - and I haven't even gotten started with the international examples. Anyways, what does it has to do with the Snohetta building?

AoD
 
Sterility comes from sterile urban design and laws and BIA practices that go too far in regulating public spaces; it's not inherent in the practice of cleaning up and enhancing the public realm.
 
junctionist:

Of course, my point being that "clean" wide urban streets with modern buildings doesn't equate to success in drawing tourists. I don't think that anyone is necessarily against the idea of cleaning up and enhancing the public realm. Quite frankly, I think Yonge would have been far more successful with strong heritage conservation (none of that EIFS facade improvement crap) and selective rebuild at a sympathetic scale - now that's something relatively unique.

AoD
 
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junctionist said:
Sterility comes from sterile urban design and laws and BIA practices that go too far in regulating public spaces; it's not inherent in the practice of cleaning up and enhancing the public realm.
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I agree.
University is sterile because of the zoning regulation. We could open this avenue to mid to large retail, and given its location, aesthetic aspects as well better transit access compared with Queen W, it could be a much more interesting and vibrant street. Instead we keep it "institutional".

The same can be said to Jarvis St. If rezoned to a commercial st, it can be so much better than a thoroughfare for Rosedale/Moore Park residents to go downtown. We just have so much lost opportunity because too many people think status quo is always the best and nothing should change.
 
There is nothing preventing mid-sized retail from occupying the commercial spaces already available along the stretch - parts of the avenue is institutional, doesn't mean the entire stretch is (it would be like someone arguing that Yonge Street is not vibrant just because you have a dead stretch south of the railway tracks). And if you think large scale retail (boxes) are more interesting than Queen, well...that's your perogative. The point is that wholesale redevelopment and replacement with new and modern buildings isn't a default solution that it was claimed to be.

AoD
 
barVolo is in that scary stretch of Yonge, and for that the entire drag between Dundas and Bloor is worth it. I'll keep the quaint old "houses", leafy side-streets and urban grit in favour of yet more large-scale sterility that would result from the widespread redevelopment suggested. Yonge is unique; clean it up a bit, but let it keep its charm. Besides, the section in question is but a few small blocks of a nearly uninterrupted commercial strip that stretches from the north to south boundaries of the city, yet people act as if it's some massive blight that makes the city terrifying to visitors and residents alike.

With regards to the shabbiness of Queen W or Dundas W, well that's more a result of the city's terrible streetscaping and messy utilities. A majority of the buildings lining these strips are gems that need to be protected fiercely. People see a bit of eroded brick or peeling paint and instantly think the place is derelict.
 
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