How Can Toronto improve? How can Toronto become a better city overall?

[Thanos]

I'm with you on this. Wasn't the Toronto Act supposed to give the city that power?
Why isn't Rob Ford jumping on this opportunity if he's supposedly pro-business? I would completely support him in such a move.

 

[Electrify]

Isn't this what the Places To Grow plan is supposed to be about? Too bad they don't seem to be advocating for it! There are lots of little 'urban' nodes throughout the GTHA region and it makes so much sense to link them together through transit.

The Places to Grow plan focuses more on existing major cores rather than creating new ones, at least in Toronto proper. Weston is arguably one of the best examples of a mini core. Imagine if every Torontonian was within 4 or 5 kilometers of something like that - a microsized downtown they could call their own. The sad irony is that we could have been like this, but we decided to tear them down to make way for strip malls several decades ago.

 

[uptown]

What is not needed is more taxes to drive people and business out of the city. Taxes are always the answer if you're not the one who has to bear the burden. De-amalgamation will not happen, its been too long and it would be an incredibly expensive venture to start setting up separate bureaucracies to establish "new" cities.

 

[Torontovibe]

What is not needed is more taxes to drive people and business out of the city. Taxes are always the answer if you're not the one who has to bear the burden. De-amalgamation will not happen, its been too long and it would be an incredibly expensive venture to start setting up separate bureaucracies to establish "new" cities.

Yeah, raise taxes. We have too many people in Toronto anyway. Oh, and bring on those toll booths. Why should we Torontonians pay to maintain our roads, while so many people from outside the city, use them and cause them to deteriorate much quicker. Pay up you suburban freeloaders. Why can't we put an income type tax, on people who work in Toronto but don't live here? Doesn't New York City do that to people living outside NYC? If they use our infrastructure, why shouldn't they pay for it?

 

[toraerach]

What is not needed is more taxes to drive people and business out of the city. Taxes are always the answer if you're not the one who has to bear the burden. De-amalgamation will not happen, its been too long and it would be an incredibly expensive venture to start setting up separate bureaucracies to establish "new" cities.

Where will people go? The suburbs? The ones with higher property taxes?

 

[carpediem]

More green space! Living downtown Toronto for the last 4 years (moved from Vancouver) and it's a refreshing feeling when I can walk around and see some things other than concrete buildings and sidewalks.

 

[Torontovibe]

More green space! Living downtown Toronto for the last 4 years (moved from Vancouver) and it's a refreshing feeling when I can walk around and see some things other than concrete buildings and sidewalks.

You need to discover our ravines or walk along the eastern waterfront. There is miles of green space. You also have the massive Rouge Valley, right in the city. It makes Stanley Park seem tiny by comparison. (though not quite a scenic)

 

[nstuch]

one thing i've always been mystified by in Toronto is the general neglect of both public and private space and people's either tolerance or ignorance of it. if you look at 10 houses randomly in Toronto i would venture to say 2-3 would be well kept, with the others in various states of disrepair. i don't think i've ever been to another major city in the world and seen this. similarly with public space, every street and sidewalk is neglected in some way, weeds growing all over the place, patches of asphalt, old wooden poles covered in rusty staples and tattered posters, sidewalk trees with massive weeds growing around them etc etc etc. I think Toronto would be a better place if people had some pride in the city.

 

[sodapop]

ithink toronto needs to work on streetscape beautification, and work on redeveloping some empty lots in the port lands to bring some life into that area before the pan am games, other than that i say we live in a pretty good city! oh and work on our transit.....alot on our transit

 

[PUTOTO]

When I look at the grid system in Toronto, I see imperfection and that somewhat bothers me.
We could finish the job and make it more handsome, complete, and efficient.

 

[jje1000]

Our grid is definitely imperfect. When you compare our grid with others around the world, it becomes clear that our grid is not as strict as in other cities. In the downtown area, we have more side roads (2 lanes), fewer through roads (4+ lanes) and narrower sidewalks than other cities. Maybe that's because our downtown has grown into areas that were previously residential, but I think that why Toronto never feels as grand as other cities. We will never have any sweeping vistas other than on Spadina or University.

Minneapolis
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=minne...oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&channel=np&t=h&z=16

Seattle
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=seatt...3,-122.448936&sspn=0.025372,0.066047&t=h&z=15

Vancouver
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Vanco...995,-122.332935&sspn=0.0252,0.066047&t=h&z=15

Chicago
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=chica...41,-71.044184&sspn=0.001737,0.004128&t=h&z=15

Buffalo
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=buffa...267,-81.688556&sspn=0.00088,0.002064&t=h&z=14

Detroit
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=detro...03,-78.876686&sspn=0.054767,0.132093&t=h&z=14

Pittsburg
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Pitts...6,-121.884681&sspn=0.235551,0.528374&t=h&z=15

 

[Tewder]

I think we should get a handle on the 'grand' streets we already do have before worrying about a lack of them elsewhere in the city... besides, why not work with what we do have that is unique rather than trying to make everything conform to what you find in other cities?

 

[jn_12]

how boring are grids? I'd argue the most intriguing roads and cities in the world are ones that break away from the grid (Basically most non-North American city, or streets like Broadway which cut across the grid). These quirks add an element of surprise and individuality to a city. It also tells a greater story. Why is this road here and why does it go this way instead of that way? There's nothing wrong with a combination of style (see Boston as an example), but there's something far more curious about deviations.

I'd also argue that some of you need to trek overseas to see some sweeping vistas in cities without grids. In fact, I'd argue that the vistas are better there, especially if you're doing something like standing in Trafalgar Square.

 

[jje1000]

Cities like Boston and London have winding roads, which makes them feel more intimate (you see buildings, not the horizon) and also allows the public squares to feel grander.

 

[TO City of Light]

one thing i've always been mystified by in Toronto is the general neglect of both public and private space and people's either tolerance or ignorance of it. ...... I think Toronto would be a better place if people had some pride in the city.

So true. Related to this, I cannot recall ever seeing in Toronto a shop keeper sweeping the sidewalk in front of their shop. It's a common sight in European and Asian cities to see merchants cleaning the sidewalk and street in front of their business.

All part of a total lack of respect of public space that Torontonians seem to exhibit more than folks in any other major city I've been to.