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rdaner said:
Just over halfway up! The restaurant owners on Baldwin must be salivating with all of these new customers! Lol ☕️🍸🥩🥑🧀
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They're not supposed to eat the customers. I don't think any places on Baldwin are that sorta establishment anyways.
 
rdaner said:
It will be interesting to see if McCaul becomes a retail/ restaurant strip in its own right! This building has a retail space.
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This reminds me of what I've been thinking about lately - with all the development going up around McCaul and streetcar tracks going down this street, I wonder if it would be worth improving the pedestrian realm along McCaul. I find that that area is becoming something of an Arts district (if it isn't already), sandwiched between the Discovery District and Chinatown. (projects nearby for reference include Artist's Alley, Artistry Condos, Bread Company, 250 Dundas). I think improvements to this street would turn it into a great community for students from OCAD & U of T, families staying at the soon to be expanded Ronald McDonald House, make use of the streetcar infrastructure, boost Baldwin Village up more, etc.

Especially with the 501 temporarily stopping on McCaul near OCAD and AGO, I would be curious to see what the ridership numbers would be like there now, and if demand could warrant alternate routes for the 505, 501 or 506 streetcars down McCaul?

I could be dreaming, but would it be worth bringing up with a city councillor? @Northern Light I know you have pushed for users to reach out with any input like this, but Im also well aware that other streets are in more dire need of an upgrade (coughJohn StreetcoughPeter Streetcough)
 
bhwilkins said:
This reminds me of what I've been thinking about lately - with all the development going up around McCaul and streetcar tracks going down this street, I wonder if it would be worth improving the pedestrian realm along McCaul. I find that that area is becoming something of an Arts district (if it isn't already), sandwiched between the Discovery District and Chinatown. (projects nearby for reference include Artist's Alley, Artistry Condos, Bread Company, 250 Dundas). I think improvements to this street would turn it into a great community for students from OCAD & U of T, families staying at the soon to be expanded Ronald McDonald House, make use of the streetcar infrastructure, boost Baldwin Village up more, etc.

Especially with the 501 temporarily stopping on McCaul near OCAD and AGO, I would be curious to see what the ridership numbers would be like there now, and if demand could warrant alternate routes for the 505, 501 or 506 streetcars down McCaul?

I could be dreaming, but would it be worth bringing up with a city councillor? @Northern Light I know you have pushed for users to reach out with any input like this, but Im also well aware that other streets are in more dire need of an upgrade (coughJohn StreetcoughPeter Streetcough)
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I like your thinking. Vehicle traffic on McCaul also tends to be fairly low, so removing 1-2 lanes leaving the streetcar tracks as the vehicle lanes make some sense to me. I think even just removing the SB curb lane (as that has the super narrow sidewalks could make a lot of sense.

The general challenge here is that there's no BIA with which to share the cost of any improvement.

Here's where I would peg my thoughts.

1) The Green P lot will be up for being changed over to something else at some point, I expect, in part, an expansion of Orde St.Park. That may provide an opportunity to do at least the segment next to said park.

2) The new Mt. Sinai Research Tower might be able to absorb a small cost increment for area improvements that they believe would benefit their workforce. I expect the first priority to be improving Murray Street, but work on McCaul could be played for as well.

3) Maybe try to piggyback a similar idea for McCaul south of Dundas w/the AGO expansion project. Even if it only funds the curb lane of McCaul from Dundas to Grange, it could set the stage for something bigger down the road.

As resurfacing occured here w/track reconstruction as recent as 2019, there is no hope of a 'general' roads program for McCaul in the next 2 decades. So it will have to come from Community Benefits or similar on a development by development basis. I think, as long as the stakeholders believe it will work out for them, something may be possible to cobble together.

For instance, AGO and OCAD could cost-share the Dundas-Grange segment, it might appeal to donors, and could attract 'Community Benefits' dollars from nearby sites to match the AGO/OCAD contribution.
A permanent conversion of the above segment has a fair bit of cost range depending on what were included, but to create a really nice plaza/pedestrian realm, I'd be in the 3.5M-7M range.
I would consider lobbying the councillor, but I think, if I were you, I'd loop in AGO/OCAD, separately, then cc them on any communication to the Councillor if they gave any hint of interest.

Key appeal to AGO: Currently lack a prominent public gathering space outside the gallery, Dundas too narrow,lacks trees; could help improve AGO's branding, could be done in concert w/the expansion project.

Key appeal to OCAD, brand-building w/students globally, integrates w/their showcase building (Alsop), could be combined w/their proposed 100 McCaul expansion, if that ever goes ahead......
 
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