Toronto Garrison Point | 118.56m | 35s | Cityzen | Hariri Pontarini


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They really missed a golden opportunity to get rid of this roller coaster of a road. Going north from Lake Shore to King, Strachan rises up to one bridge over the first rail corridor, then down to East Liberty, then back up over another bridge over the second rail corridor, then back down towards King. With zero development along Strachan in this segment, they could have levelled it off and then built all the developments along it at one level.
 
They really missed a golden opportunity to get rid of this roller coaster of a road. Going north from Lake Shore to King, Strachan rises up to one bridge over the first rail corridor, then down to East Liberty, then back up over another bridge over the second rail corridor, then back down towards King. With zero development along Strachan in this segment, they could have levelled it off and then built all the developments along it at one level.

??? The 'roller coaster' only exists because we sunk the rail corridor level crossing beneath Strachan. You were on this website for that project...

Bentall is also removing the railing / barrier between Strachan Avenue and 45 Strachan as part of their landscaping.
 
Maybe @MetroMan means that East Liberty Street could have been raised to meet a higher Strachan between the two bridges?

(Personally, I'm not sure there's any harm in having a roller coaster here, when most traffic is moving slowly because there's so much of it now, and the light keeps it bunched.)

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Traffic on this stretch of Strachan is pretty terrible right now, I imagine it will just get worse after these all develop.

East Liberty rises up a large hill directly to the west of the intersection too, so raising the grade probably would have made a bit of sense.. probably just too many moving parts and various landowners fronting onto it for it to actually happen though for what little benefit it would accrue.
 
East Liberty rises up a large hill directly to the west of the intersection too, so raising the grade probably would have made a bit of sense..

Correct. All streets sink down to meet this intersection.

probably just too many moving parts and various landowners fronting onto it for it to actually happen though for what little benefit it would accrue.

There were no developments whatsoever here. The city could have mandated a common level or could've simply rebuilt the street at the desired level and every new development would have built on it.

Maybe @MetroMan means that East Liberty Street could have been raised to meet a higher Strachan between the two bridges?

Yes.

(Personally, I'm not sure there's any harm in having a roller coaster here, when most traffic is moving slowly because there's so much of it now, and the light keeps it bunched.)

I think this roller coaster promotes speeding. The high angle grade encourages speeding both on the way up — nobody drives slowly on an incline, intuition is to use speed to reach the top without stalling — and then on the way down where the momentum alone results in speed.

A level street would feel more urban. Lining it with buildings and wide sidewalks would discourage speed.
 
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I believe MetroMan has me muted but I'm curious to know who he expects will pay for the +/- 130m of demo, fill, and road resurfacing required to elevate Strachan to his desired height...
 
This was a prime location for something unique and tall like the Hudson yards in NYC.

I'm not sure there's anything about Hudson Yards that should be replicated other than perhaps its density, and I am also not sure what aspect of it could be considered unique.

Certainly does feel like there are a number of missed city-building opportunities in this specific area, but I can't think of a single thing that could have been taken from Hudson Yards to rectify the problems here.
 
I think this roller coaster promotes speeding. The high angle grade encourages speeding both on the way up — nobody drives slowly on an incline, intuition is to use speed to reach the top without stalling — and then on the way down where the momentum alone results in speed.

A level street would feel more urban. Lining it with buildings and wide sidewalks would discourage speed.

I believe that the speeding problem is solved with the anticipated traffic on Strachan.
 
I'm not sure there's anything about Hudson Yards that should be replicated other than perhaps its density, and I am also not sure what aspect of it could be considered unique.

Certainly does feel like there are a number of missed city-building opportunities in this specific area, but I can't think of a single thing that could have been taken from Hudson Yards to rectify the problems here.
By a missed opportunity I meant similarly to the Hudson Yards, Toronto could have built something on a much larger scale on top of the adjacent eyesore rail tracks that are running through our city. Taller and more prominent structures that will add to our skyline. We could have had art installations like the "Vessel", resturants, a World class hotel, a venue for art/music. A new tourist hub for the city of Toronto.
 
By a missed opportunity I meant similarly to the Hudson Yards, Toronto could have built something on a much larger scale on top of the adjacent eyesore rail tracks that are running through our city. Taller and more prominent structures that will add to our skyline. We could have had art installations like the "Vessel", resturants, a World class hotel, a venue for art/music. A new tourist hub for the city of Toronto.
When you leave it to other people to care about and build your personal dreams, it's not likely to happen. You could have proposed the idea at least to the city ;) . Maybe next time?
 
By a missed opportunity I meant similarly to the Hudson Yards, Toronto could have built something on a much larger scale on top of the adjacent eyesore rail tracks that are running through our city. Taller and more prominent structures that will add to our skyline. We could have had art installations like the "Vessel", resturants, a World class hotel, a venue for art/music. A new tourist hub for the city of Toronto.
"Yeah, that's gonna be a no from me, dawg..."
 

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