Toronto Ripley's Aquarium of Canada | 13.11m | 2s | Ripley Entertainment | B+H

You know what else we shouldn't have? Arenas. Ice is naturally produced every winter so there's no reason why kids and NHLer's should take up so much energy in preserved indoor arenas when they could just be playing on natural ice.

Showers too. Do you need to waste water and energy having a shower everyday? Why not wait until it rains then go outside? Or you could melt some snow! And doesn't anyone realize that if everyone smelled bad then no one would smell bad? The nerve of people...

AND We shouldn't have concerts either. Think of all the energy that goes into plugging in amps and setting up speakers. And imagine if those were songs about sex and drugs? Our society would be heavily corrupted. Not to mention all anyone does at these shows is get drunk and start fights. Then you're left with people who need to go to the hospital to fix their broken noses and now you're imposing costs on the taxpayer! Oh, and don't forget about the long term effect of alcohol on the body. We're all gonna pay for concerts.
 
have any of you ever tried to maintain a salt water aquarium?

the water they will be dumping will be Salt water... into a fresh water lake...
Salt water composition is very different from fresh. Maybe it will take 10 years to have an effect on the lake, but it will

I'm pretty sure they would not be allowed to dump the water into the lake. It would most likely be treated by the sewage facilities like other water waste.
 
js97:



Did you know that this is a private sector project?



Yes...and how much public and private money was spent on THAT? $270M + 205M private.

AoD

It's a private project on public lands. Canada Lands is a crown corporation and indirectly they are using your money to create the plans, etc. But the actual development and construction of the aquarium, retail and commercial buildings will be private.

Speaking of Chicago, Millennium Park is one of the best investments the city had made. It attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists and it increased property values in the immediate area. Yes, tt did require a lot of money, but without taking that risk you will be left with nothing. Toronto needs to take the risk and try something new, bold and different. Yay for an aquarium. It would be something that Toronto doesn't have, great for the public and a great way to generate tourism dollars in the city. I work at a very popular tourist hub and the numbers have been going down. With this development, we can use the underdeveloped land. Other than the CN Tower, Rogers Centre (still the Skydome imo, but that's another story), and the ACC there isn't much down there for tourists to do and locals, i should add (aside from harbourfront). Toronto needs another all year round destination to go to.
 
Millenium Park by the foot of the CN Tower is what I had in mind all along when it was suggested in the Waterfront competition (which West8/DTAH won) that the Roundhouse Park would be extended to include the CN Tower grounds.

A beautiful outdoor stage off to the side of the CN Tower with a grand lawn would be the best use of this real estate. Cluttering up the base of the tower even more could prove to be a mistake.
 
Actually when I got back from a school trip from Chicago, we devised a plan that mirrors Millennium Park. It being disputed as the largest green roof in the world, we created that over a section of the rail lines to connect CityPlace to Front Street better and serve as a large downtown park, something that Toronto lacks
 
I'm glad that Toronto may finally be getting an aquarium, but the selected site next to the CN Tower is awful. That area already feels very cramped with all the new condo and office buildings, the convention centre, CN Tower, ACC and Skydome all there.

Why would we want to cram yet another attraction to this small area? Do the developers think this is the only area with tourist traffic?

An aquarium could be a signature building on our redeveloping waterfront, a perfect spot would be at the foot of Yonge Street or somewhere just east of there.

I hope they don't allow it to be build at the foot of the CN Tower.
 
I'm glad that Toronto may finally be getting an aquarium, but the selected site next to the CN Tower is awful. That area already feels very cramped with all the new condo and office buildings, the convention centre, CN Tower, ACC and Skydome all there.

Why would we want to cram yet another attraction to this small area? Do the developers think this is the only area with tourist traffic?

An aquarium could be a signature building on our redeveloping waterfront, a perfect spot would be at the foot of Yonge Street or somewhere just east of there.

I hope they don't allow it to be build at the foot of the CN Tower.

the lands in front of the CN Tower is perfect for redevelopment. For what exactly, i'm not sure but is it restricted. imo, the restrictions may be a small building (in height...less than 8 storeys), a public space instead of private (condo/office space), etc. Putting another building along the waterfront or at the foot of anything would be another way reduce access to the waterfront. an Aquarium is an attraction that can be placed anywhere and somewhere that seems logical. For a viable and feasible attraction, it would be in the city's and the developer's best interest to place it near high traffic tourist position. It is also accessible by transit and adds more use to the City Place development. no one wants homogeneous development.
 
I would guess that Fairmont Hotels would love to see this here. It would mean that their new development at Bremner and Lower Simcoe would have the Air Canada Centre just to its east, and the Rogers Centre + CN Tower + Aquarium of Canada just to its west (plus Harbourfront just to the south).

The new hotel would be right in the middle of numerous walking-distance tourist attractions.
 
Putting another building along the waterfront or at the foot of anything would be another way reduce access to the waterfront.

I completely disagree. If it's done with pedestrian in mind, and thinking of vehicle access for parking, it can be done no problem.
It's only when developments are built without thinking of these things that the problem happens with cutting off access to the water.
 
I completely disagree. If it's done with pedestrian in mind, and thinking of vehicle access for parking, it can be done no problem.
It's only when developments are built without thinking of these things that the problem happens with cutting off access to the water.

Sorry i may be misunderstood what you have said but vehicle access for parking? along the waterfront? seriously?

it seems interesting and conflicting that you want pedestrian friendly zones with vehicle access.
 
I'm glad that Toronto may finally be getting an aquarium, but the selected site next to the CN Tower is awful. That area already feels very cramped with all the new condo and office buildings, the convention centre, CN Tower, ACC and Skydome all there.

Why would we want to cram yet another attraction to this small area? Do the developers think this is the only area with tourist traffic?

An aquarium could be a signature building on our redeveloping waterfront, a perfect spot would be at the foot of Yonge Street or somewhere just east of there.

I hope they don't allow it to be build at the foot of the CN Tower.

Do you come down here at all? Yes, condos are being built but the area feels very sparse and open especially with the Roundhouse Park, the Enwave building, the parking facility to the south of the Dome and the Convention Centre being set back away from the road. You should come down and experience it for yourself.
 
Sorry i may be misunderstood what you have said but vehicle access for parking? along the waterfront? seriously?

it seems interesting and conflicting that you want pedestrian friendly zones with vehicle access.

You NEED both. Not everyone is a pedestrian.
The new Canada Square is going to have lots of parking for example, yet still be very accessible to transit and pedestrians.
 
I would guess that Fairmont Hotels would love to see this here. It would mean that their new development at Bremner and Lower Simcoe would have the Air Canada Centre just to its east, and the Rogers Centre + CN Tower + Aquarium of Canada just to its west (plus Harbourfront just to the south).

It wouldn't at all surprise me if this accelerates Fairmont's development plans for the very reasons you give.

Personally, I'd favour a bigger aquarium built on the vacant lot at Queen's Quay and Rees. I think an aquarium at this location would do more for the waterfront as it would not only draw people to the crown jewel the city's trying to create, but it would also help spread out the pedestrian traffic along QQ (which looks to be fairly concentrated between QQ Terminal and Harbourfront Centre, especially with the impending addition of Canada Square).
 
Yes, I do come there once in a while. I agree that the area right around the Skydome/CN Tower is sparser than what is just east of Simcoe. However, that is my point. The area east of Simcoe will be jam packed once all those office buildings, ICE 1 & 2 are all completed.

I would not like to see the same happen west of there. Sparseness and open space is not a bad thing in this small area. I would have like to see some nice restaurants, cafes with huge patios rather than an aquarium. I feel that with the area's booming young population, more amenities like this as in order, rather than another tourist attraction.

Yes, it is close to Union, but if we're serious about redeveloping the waterfront and making it spectacular, than we need some year-round attractions, and what can be more perfect for a waterfront than an aquarium? If built right it can be a tremendous asset. It would not 'block' access to the waterfront as some have claimed, but rather it can open up the waterfront for many visitors and locals alike.
 

Back
Top