[Transportfan]

The report says the pond isn't even natural. So this being a "downtown" intersection, why not just get rid of it?

 

[innsertnamehere]

.. Because it is required for proper stormwater management?

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

Cosmos condos

Thanks for the link. The rendering there is....chunky. Looks like it's inching to towards something actually happening.

And, yeah, as insertnamehere said, the pond is required for stormwater and it's part of Black Creek so we don't get rid of thinks like that anymore.

 

[BMO]

The report says the pond isn't even natural. So this being a "downtown" intersection, why not just get rid of it?

Unfortunately stormwater ponds are one of the few things you can't just get rid of without aggressive environmental additions that would drastically reduce runoff.

 

[downtownordinary]

Unfortunately stormwater ponds are one of the few things you can't just get rid of without aggressive environmental additions that would drastically reduce runoff.

There are other solutions such as underground holding tanks, they're just drastically more expensive.

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

FWIW, a fairly sizable VMC project moving through the planning process:
Liberty Developments, 15-storey office tower + 4 residential towers (14-35 storeys) at Maplecrete Road (so, right across from Expo and the beautiful pond we've discussed lately.).

https://www.vaughan.ca/news/city_page_online/General Documents/Public Meetings/Z.15.021 - PH Notice - Simplified.pdf

14-35 stories? That's it? *yawn*

 

[Transportfan]

There are other solutions such as underground holding tanks, they're just drastically more expensive.

This being the future downtown core of Vaughan, they could spend the money and put in holding tanks and put a public square over them. Ponds just don't fit in here.

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

This being the future downtown core of Vaughan, they could spend the money and put in holding tanks and put a public square over them. Ponds just don't fit in here.

Yeah! Hey, Frederick Law Olmsted! Your little reservoir and pond don't fit fit here in Manhattan! This is the city where we have buildings and subways and concrete and squares and stuff! Put your water features in the country, where they belong!

Something like that? I mean there's already so much natural greenspace to spare in this beautiful corner of Vaughan what's a pond worth? Nothing a fancy fountain couldn't do better, and at greater cost to boot!

#WeirdestDebateEver #Ponds4Downtown #GiveVaughanItsH2O

 

[W. K. Lis]

Some jurisdictions are adding storm-water features such as this:

 

[nfitz]

Some jurisdictions are adding storm-water features such as this:

In subway stations?

Toronto is doing this on streets already - I've certainly seen it in my neighbourhood.

 

[BMO]

Some jurisdictions are adding storm-water features such as this:

Downtown Kitchener is a good example of this being done.

 

[Transportfan]

Yeah! Hey, Frederick Law Olmsted! Your little reservoir and pond don't fit fit here in Manhattan! This is the city where we have buildings and subways and concrete and squares and stuff! Put your water features in the country, where they belong!

Now you're just being a smartass. Central Park isn't the same thing. It's manicured. This will probably end up still looking like a natural pond situated on a street corner.

 

[muller877]

14-35 stories? That's it? *yawn*

Why a yawn? I think its the right size for this newly developing area. Four 25 to 35 story condos (with podiums) and a 14 story office tower replacing a non-descript low-rise industrial park. About the right commercial/residential mix to ensure that there are jobs near the condos (lowering commute time).

Add a dozen or so of these developments to this area and it will become a substantial commercial and residential area. These buildings are a great start. The beauty about this area is the current size of the buildings. You don't have to parcel together ownerships to develop a cluster of building but can do so with one or two owners.

I just wish the city of Toronto demanded this type of mixed use in the plan for the city. Would spread out the jobs beyond just the downtown core (one area where Toronto has failed the inner suburbs). By forcing developers to include commercial it lowers commercial rents (subsidized by the residential sales) and may bring in jobs where people live.

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

Why a yawn? I think its the right size for this newly developing area. Four 25 to 35 story condos (with podiums) and a 14 story office tower replacing a non-descript low-rise industrial park. About the right commercial/residential mix to ensure that there are jobs near the condos (lowering commute time).

I thought/hoped he was just being ironic with his yawn. If you proposed that development near any Danforth subway station the residents - living along a subway line with a-few-minutes-access to downtown Toronto - would lose their minds.

That Vaughan is doing it on the site of an ugly-ass concrete plant, in an area with literally zero residents is obviously impressive. We could quibble about the design, once it's revealed, but this thread is always amusing for people insisting that the "subway to nowhere" won't work in terms of generating density etc. That single project is an impressive scale and, like Expo, it's on the fringe of VMC. It gives you a sense of what you're likely to see in the core, once things get going.

 

[ehlow]

Interesting the talk of "generating" density around subways when one of the densest areas for both employment & residential has no subway and badly needs it: King St West from Spadina to Liberty Village.