Recent content by junctionist

It's not always possible, but it's possible to do it a lot more often than at present. For instance, you can switch trains onto a second track to get around the affected section of track that's being replaced. The second track may be existing or a temporary replacement track. Granted, you'll...

I proposed keeping the service going during the construction itself. You could probably keep the construction going even on weekdays like with highways.

All that space and not a tree in sight. It's sad really.

Homes that are end-user friendly and make people happy still sell well. Cramped boxes with window-less bedrooms are being completely rejected by a market where the "retail investor" has largely disappeared.

It's really cool seeing these new rural tourism hotspots developing in Ontario like Elora, Blue Mountain, and PEC. Kingston has always had tourism pull, but it has made some impressive investments into its historic downtown recently, and the towns around it like Gananoque are seeing more tourism...

Councillor Mike Cole recently brought a motion to use section 45 funds to restore it, which was carried. The delays in this project have been unreasonable, but at least it's still on City Hall's radar and budgeted for.

The reason why Giraffe was never built, though, was that the OMB, a provincial tribunal, didn't allow it. With that said, the outcome of the litigation could have been very different today since provincial policies have shifted towards density around transit hubs. Frankly, while the low-rise...

Greige stucco on a Victorian? What were they thinking?

I love that copper changes its colour that way. I love the sheen when it's new, as well as the green patina when it's old (especially when the original architect matched the copper trim well with the facade materials and considered how the building would look when the copper turned green). I...

The brick seems darker than in the renderings. That's not a bad thing, but the facade feels like it needs some more accents or more contrast. Overall, though, it's a good addition to the neighbourhood.

Having transit in the middle of the highway plays a big part in terms of the lackluster feel of the area. It's not just zoning and development. Pedestrians aren't drawn to areas like most of what surrounds the Allen. There are many parts of Bloor with few towers due to zoning like the Annex...

Habitat 67 is amazing because it was built 60 years ago and is a bit more organic in its forms. It was avant garde at the time. Plus, it teases the potential of modular housing units put together to make a single building. On the other hand, there's no weaving of new and old at Habitat 67, and...

Ridley does a lot of the heritage building windows in Toronto. They've done their share of arched windows, so I wouldn't imagine it would be a problem to have a rectangular window with a bowed top.

I hate freeway-based rapid transit lines. Freeways are usually the least pedestrian friendly areas with a surrounding built form that’s almost never transit friendly. Ridership will never be that high, and the lines won’t urbanize the surrounding areas. Witness the ridership, density, and...

It's a really stupid outcome of being car obsessed as a society. People lose their safety and ability to access local shops. Local businesses lose money. It's all done to avoid inconveniencing people sitting in comfy seats, listening to the radio, and having a machine do most of the work...