Leaside

[ehlow]

Yes, I always consider Rosedale pure suburban. Yes it is close to downtown and stuff, but within Rosedale itself, there is absolutely nothing urban about it.

I agree that being suburban doesn't mean it is cheap or unattractive for homeowners. I believe almost all Toronto's most expensive neighbourhoods are very suburban (Lawrence Park, Sunnybrook, Bridle Path, York Mills etc.)

My definitely of suburban
1) highly car dependent
2) not self sufficient (you would have to go outside the neighbourhood for all necessities including shopping, dining, entertainment.)

Rosedale isn't car dependent though.. I mean, I'm sure most Rosedale residents have cars for sure, but it's only a 15 min walk from Bloor & Yonge.

I'd say Leaside is more car-dependant than a place like the Annex, but it's less car-dependant than say Finch & Kennedy or something. It has fairly good bus service to the subway and there are shops & retail in walking distance.

I don't get what makes Lawrence Park, Leaside, Rosedale so suburban but the Annex, Forest Hill or Parkdale not. Are we defining suburban as lowrise? That is dumb, you are missing the context of the area; these are all walkable neighbourhoods with access to amenities and frequent public transit.

Bridle Path is certainly very very suburban though.

---

@ehlow, what exactly are you defining Leaside as?

Like I said, everyone has different definitions of "suburban". Personally I'm interested in the history of cities & planning and transit so I'd define most of the city of Toronto as "suburbs". Ever since people invented horse carriages & streetcars it made it possible to live and work in different places, I'd consider that an early "suburb" or "streetcar suburb". Almost all of downtown outside of the core falls under "streetcar suburb", places like the annex, Yonge & Eg, the beaches, the Danforth, Bloor West, Leslieville, Parkdale, Little Italy. Places that developed because of new transit technology: the streetcar.

To me, these are the nicest parts of the city. They were oriented around streetcars and trains, not cars & highways. They were walkable where you could pick up things on the way home walking from the train. They tend to have straight narrow roads with large trees.

I consider Leaside to be either a fairly late version of the above, or an early version of more auto oriented suburbs. It's not black and white.

The biggest differentiator in suburbs and what most people call "suburban" is when cars became so popular that we started building cities to purely accommodate the car. This generally happened after WW2 and the 50's which is why "post war suburbs" or "auto dependent suburbs" came to be. Examples: most of Scarborough which was farmland in the 40's.

Of course now we have new urbanist suburbs in places like Markham. We also have new car-oriented suburbs which can be quite different than earlier 50's and 60's car oriented suburbs.

I personally think Leaside is a very nice place, especially if you want a fairly quieter place to raise a family but not too far away from downtown. Transit wise the bus service is good but personally I'm more into living a bit closer to the subway, so I'd prefer the housing closer to Yonge. Of course, the Eglinton LRT will be a big upgrade.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

I meant what do you consider the borders of Leaside as? I define it the same as google maps.

So I consider myself to live just outside of Leaside, in what I consider to still be the Yonge-Eglinton/Midtown (or I guess Davisville) neighbourhood.

(Good explanation on the history of suburbs, I agree with you on all points. I'd argue though that in the modern context I think that suburbs = car-oriented sprawl.)

 

[ehlow]

I meant what do you consider the borders of Leaside as? I define it the same as google maps.

So I consider myself to live just outside of Leaside, in what I consider to still be the Yonge-Eglinton/Midtown (or I guess Davisville) neighbourhood.

(Good explanation on the history of suburbs, I agree with you on all points. I'd argue though that in the modern context I think that suburbs = car-oriented sprawl.)

I agree with those boundaries. Thanks

 

[Therion]

I agree with those boundaries. Thanks

As do I. It's the traditional definition. As far as feeling suburban, there's enough traffic going thru even the minor streets that no one would confuse Leaside with say, Aurora. It may look suburban, but living here definitely does not feel suburban.

 

[donoreo]

I also agree with those boundaries. My wife really, really wants to live in Leaside. The problem is she does not want to pay for it. You can see my problem here.

I want to live there as well for all the reasons mentioned above in the thread. I just do not see it happening now.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Haha, why Leaside over say Davisville a little to the west? It would be just as costly but then you are walking distance to all three of Yonge, Mt. Pleasant and Bayview.

 

[Anna]

I meant what do you consider the borders of Leaside as? I define it the same as google maps.

I define it as the same as the actual municipal border of the Town of Leaside (pre- or post- annexation of Thorncliffe Park, your choice)
The Birth of Leaside

So I consider myself to live just outside of Leaside, in what I consider to still be the Yonge-Eglinton/Midtown (or I guess Davisville) neighbourhood.

(Good explanation on the history of suburbs, I agree with you on all points. I'd argue though that in the modern context I think that suburbs = car-oriented sprawl.)

You live in North Toronto. Or Davisville.
The Manifest Destiny of North Toronto

 

[r937]

Oh wow, I had no clue a Tims was coming here.

it may not be

http://www.bayview-news.com/2015/04/what-tim-horton-a-no-show-at-roehampton-premises.html/

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Hmm, that is surprising considering that this area is like a Tim Horton's dead spot.

 

[Therion]

Hmm, that is surprising considering that this area is like a Tim Horton's dead spot.

Well there's a mini TH in the gas station just to the north from here. It's pretty basic, though.

 

[donoreo]

Haha, why Leaside over say Davisville a little to the west? It would be just as costly but then you are walking distance to all three of Yonge, Mt. Pleasant and Bayview.

Houses are not nearly as nice, lots are smaller, and closer to Yonge is a downgrade to me.

 

[Therion]

Got a letter from planning about community consultation for the Sunnybrook plaza redevelopment. April 28 7-9 pm at Leaside Memorial Community Gardens. I can't go, but can anyone make it? Would be interesting to hear the community "feedback"*.

*feedback - handwringing about density, shadows, change in general and why we're not thinking about the children.

 

[r937]

Hmm, that is surprising considering that this area is like a Tim Horton's dead spot.

apparently timmie has nabbed a *very* prime spot on the southwest corner of bayview and eglinton, and this could explain why they pulled out of the beer store location

http://www.bayview-news.com/2015/04/tim-hortons-will-open-in-condo-at-of-bayview-and-eglinton.html/

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Got a letter from planning about community consultation for the Sunnybrook plaza redevelopment. April 28 7-9 pm at Leaside Memorial Community Gardens. I can't go, but can anyone make it? Would be interesting to hear the community "feedback"*.

*feedback - handwringing about density, shadows, change in general and why we're not thinking about the children.

If I attend, my handwringing will be exactly the opposite, how there isn't enough retail coming to replace the existing retail.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

apparently timmie has nabbed a *very* prime spot on the southwest corner of bayview and eglinton, and this could explain why they pulled out of the beer store location

http://www.bayview-news.com/2015/04/tim-hortons-will-open-in-condo-at-of-bayview-and-eglinton.html/

Interesting. Well, Tim Hortons does alright at one of the corners of Davisville-Yonge, maybe it will serve to actually liven up this intersection somewhat by providing a place at one of the corners.