5300 Dundas Street West (IC Savings, 5s, ?)

[kram74]

Theres a new building going up across the street from "The Kip"

What it used to look like.

 

[kram74]

 

[Gotzvon]

You can see this from Kipling Station now. Hopefully it doesn't turn out super ugly, I need something to stare at while I'm waiting for the bus until I can watch Kip go up

 

[PMT]

From today:

 

[junctionist]

This building demonstrates tasteful use of colour and massing. It meets the street with a storefront by the sidewalk. It is thus a decent "avenues"-style building on a street that is in a state of flux. The old suburban character of strip malls and parking on Dundas west of Kipling is being replaced by more urban buildings.

The street currently lacks character, walkability and a sense of place. It is essentially a conduit to get as many cars onto Highway 427 as fast as possible and to for buses to get to the East Mall and the West Mall. This building makes the street more walkable with its storefront and promotes character by contributing to a street wall.

 

[maestro]

I find the colouring and massing quite bland to awful. It hugs the sidewalk too much and the two framed elements should have been further accentuated by deeper setbacks. Still, I'm surprised how rare lowrise commercial developments of this nature are in Toronto.

 

[toaster29]

It is essentially a conduit to get as many cars onto Highway 427 as fast as possible and to for buses to get to the East Mall and the West Mall.

You say this as if it's a bad thing? Yes, major highways need major arterials feeding into them. Highway 427 is the third busiest highway in North America.. You can't expect Queen St. W-like streets feeding into it. And about the busses connecting East Mall and West Mall to Kipling; Yes, we should be trying to improve local bus route service which service rapid transit subways. It's the MiWay buses that block up the bus-only lanes, not the West-Etobicoke TTC local routes. Lastly, anyone who has lived in the area knows it's much quicker to take Bloor to the 427 than it is to sit through the traffic lights on Dundas.

 

[salsa]

You say this as if it's a bad thing? Yes, major highways need major arterials feeding into them. Highway 427 is the third busiest highway in North America.. You can't expect Queen St. W-like streets feeding into it. And about the busses connecting East Mall and West Mall to Kipling; Yes, we should be trying to improve local bus route service which service rapid transit subways. It's the MiWay buses that block up the bus-only lanes, not the West-Etobicoke TTC local routes. Lastly, anyone who has lived in the area knows it's much quicker to take Bloor to the 427 than it is to sit through the traffic lights on Dundas.

While all this is true, I think you missed the point of the original post.

"The street currently lacks character, walkability and a sense of place. It is essentially a conduit to get as many cars onto Highway 427 as fast as possible and to for buses to get to the East Mall and the West Mall. This building makes the street more walkable with its storefront and promotes character by contributing to a street wall."​

In other words, it doesn't have to be just an arterial road. It can be so much more. Yonge Street in North York is the best example of how a street that serves as a critical assess point to the 401 can also be urban and lively, instead of dominated by cars and shitty suburban buildings.

 

[toaster29]

While all this is true, I think you missed the point of the original post.

"The street currently lacks character, walkability and a sense of place. It is essentially a conduit to get as many cars onto Highway 427 as fast as possible and to for buses to get to the East Mall and the West Mall. This building makes the street more walkable with its storefront and promotes character by contributing to a street wall."​

In other words, it doesn't have to be just an arterial road. It can be so much more. Yonge Street in North York is the best example of how a street that serves as a critical assess point to the 401 can also be urban and lively, instead of dominated by cars and shitty suburban buildings.

Fair. Although, the road was brought to its current form to function as an arterial to a major highway. Taking that away would simply move vehicles to other streets. Also, the area you mention still has high volume traffic for the urban and lively area that it is.

 

[junctionist]

In other words, it doesn't have to be just an arterial road. It can be so much more. Yonge Street in North York is the best example of how a street that serves as a critical assess point to the 401 can also be urban and lively, instead of dominated by cars and shitty suburban buildings.

Exactly. It can still be a wide street that moves many vehicles, but it can be pedestrian-friendly and have its own urban sense of place as well.