[calimehtar]

I am all for any variation of a transit mall on king it queen.

I would also like to see the recent announcement about narrowing traffic lanes turn into wider sidewalks on the length of Yonge, king, queen, and Dundas as well as spadina. And bike lanes on dufferin and Bathurst.

On the subject of pedestrian malls, I am totally in favour but I think we should look at maximising what we already have first. Kensington market should be converted to a woonerf. But also what the hell happened to the saint Lawrence neighbourhood? There is a big pedestrian plaza on the building that currently has a rainbow cinema. Where are the people? Why are there so few restaurants with patios? The entire neighbourhood is beautiful and underused.

 

[SunriseChampion]

I would take higher quality architecture over taller buildings any day.

The two don't have to be mutually exclusive, ya know.

 

[SunriseChampion]

I don't think an epic ferris wheel is a bad idea. If a developer wanted to build the worlds largest epic ferris wheel, I'd happily approve.

...but....but....I was being facetious. Channeling my inner Ford.


(ew, did I just....*shudder*)

 

[SunriseChampion]

If you're going to close a street for pedestrians I'd suggest Queen Street between Spadina and University. You could still have the streetcars and local traffic, but make it discontinuous for cars so through-traffic would have to take Richmond or Adelaide.

I was going to suggest Queen Street West between Bathurst and Strachan. Though my idea doesn't have the same alternate routes of Richmond and Adelaide to accommodate car traffic.

...and since I've stopped being facetious.....the one big build I'd love to see (other than the wonderful transit ones you guys have proposed) is the burial of the Gardiner from Park Lawn to its eastern end. Please. If I had the money, I would pay for it to be done. Alas, I am but a working class peasant.

 

[SunriseChampion]

If we're talking fantasy here, my fantasy would be to see a subway going from Ritson rd and Highway 2 in Oshawa all the way down Highway 2 into Pickering. Eventually it can even connect with the Bloor subway.

Yeah, maybe if we had bothered building our entire urban area with European densities.

 

[rbt]

The two don't have to be mutually exclusive, ya know.

Sure they do. Most projects begin with a largely fixed budget. At some point you debate height for architectural features. It's not by accident that Scotia Plaza was not taller than FCP but is quite a bit nicer looking.

Arguing for both is arguing for larger budgets, or higher prices/rents. I don't think Toronto is ready for $1M 600sqft condos to be the norm quite yet, and businesses have made it clear that they're chasing maximum employee happiness with the lowest triple-net rates.

 

[Johnny Au]

It would be interesting if there were a cable-stayed bridge linking Toronto with St. Catherines (as an extension of Highway 406) named the Marilyn Bell Bridge. This would put the Marilyn Bell Bridge as one of the longest bridges in the world. This would shorten commuting between Toronto (and York Region, Simcoe County, Muskoka and north of there) and St. Catherines, NOTL, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, and the American Eastern Seaboard.

Likewise, a bridge can be built between Nanticoke and either Erie, PA or Cleveland.

 

[Johnny Au]

Toronto can take Atlanta's cue and construct a Spanish solution at Bloor-Yonge station (though there is no room for such, but hey, this is a dream thread).

Not just that, but note Underground Atlanta. Toronto can do the same and build a city atop the current city, because why not?

Only if time, money, and environmental conditions were not factors, then we can have everything.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Instead of spending money on a Scarbrough subway, we should use the money to build an enmorous heater so this city doesn't get so cold.

 

[innsertnamehere]

I still remember when I was 5 or 6 years old I put one of those little space heaters on the back deck to "warm up outside" because it was so cold out. TheTigerMaster, you aren't 5 years old by any chance?

 

[ehlow]

Instead of spending money on a Scarbrough subway, we should use the money to build an enmorous heater so this city doesn't get so cold.

What about heat lamps and/or heated areas in well used bus/streetcar stops and the subway stations that don't have heating now (Rosedale, High Park etc)

 

[Jonny5]

What about heat lamps and/or heated areas in well used bus/streetcar stops and the subway stations that don't have heating now (Rosedale, High Park etc)

My experience with the electric heat lamps at GO stations is that they are barely noticeable. I'm sure gas ones would be great, but I doubt safety rules would allow that. Perhaps GO just isn't using robust enough models.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

I've seen motion activated heaters that blow hot air on you. These would be perfect for the bus shelters.

 

[LNahid2000]

The CTA in Chicago has heat lamps at a lot of stations, and they work VERY well.

 

[diminutive]

This might not fit neatly into this thread, but Toronto's 'downtown' should really be much further north, somewhere near Yonge/Finch or so. That would allow more directions of travel into the CBD (North, East, West & South) and would reduce the mean distance to the core for most of the GTA.

Clearly impossible now given how infrastructure and settlement has occurred over the past century, though.