urbandreamer
recession proof
University of Etobicoke? Has a nice sound to it. Perfect location: Queensway near Royal York! Perfect kick start to revitalizing the strip into hipster central.
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New University...where should it go?
- Thread starter samsonyuen
- Start date
EnviroTO
Senior Member
I think the dying of Peterborough is a good reason to provide GO service there. It is better to put a GO station in Peterborough to reverse the downward trend there on non-greenfield properties than to open stations at Mount Pleasant to make greenfield developments more attractive.
scarberiankhatru
Senior Member
Looking at the Downtown Markham site on google maps again, it's really too bad a university couldn't be put somewhere there...the site is an A+ as far I'm concerned. Right on the Stouffville GO line, highway and arterial road access, a potentially beautiful campus featuring the Rouge Valley (as long as they don't build crap like UOIT or a campus resembling an office park), hundreds of thousands of people living nearby (as well as decent shopping/amenities; it's not isolated, at least it won't be when it's built), etc. Residentially, both for students on campus and profs who want to live nearby, Markham/Unionville beats Jane & Finch or scarborough.
Realistically, though, Humber, Seneca, and Centennial all have oodles of parking lots that are ripe for redevelopment...I'm sure each could effortlessly double in size to accommodate all the kids that are in university but should not be there. George Brown would probably have to expand to new sites (portlands?). If the colleges expand, one or several small colleges focusing on quality undergraduate education/experiences could be founded in places like Stratford or Barrie or wherever.
Oh, and Peterborough is projected to grow by over 20% between now and 2031..."dying" might be a little exaggerated.
Realistically, though, Humber, Seneca, and Centennial all have oodles of parking lots that are ripe for redevelopment...I'm sure each could effortlessly double in size to accommodate all the kids that are in university but should not be there. George Brown would probably have to expand to new sites (portlands?). If the colleges expand, one or several small colleges focusing on quality undergraduate education/experiences could be founded in places like Stratford or Barrie or wherever.
Oh, and Peterborough is projected to grow by over 20% between now and 2031..."dying" might be a little exaggerated.
ShonTron
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Peterborough is too long a trip to be served by GO. It would be better for VIA service, or some sort of VIAOntario regional service (that would be feasible if the government ever passed a VIA Rail Act). The GO Train would make probably 2 stations in Peterborough - downtown and somewhere near the 115/The Parkway interchange, then the next stop wouldn't be until at least Highway 35 (Pontypool), the next not until Myrtle Station, or possibly also Simcoe Street, then the Pickering lands, then Locust Hill, then Malvern. It's not a short-stop GO type service. Even Barrie is pushing it.
GO Coaches are not that comfortable or suited to long-distance travel of more than 45 minutes to 60 minutes at most. I also hate the exclusive quad set-up, with zero knee room if someone sits in front of you.
GO Coaches are not that comfortable or suited to long-distance travel of more than 45 minutes to 60 minutes at most. I also hate the exclusive quad set-up, with zero knee room if someone sits in front of you.
adma
Superstar
Presumably as an upgrade of Etob Sch for Arts?
Oh, re Peterborough: hardly "dying". We're not talking anything downtown-Brantford-like there: it's a stable city, and the Trent U influence gives it a bohemian tinge. It's just not hyper-growing a la Barrie or even super-growing like Guelph or Cambridge...
MisterF
Senior Member
I'll join the chorus that Peterborough is hardly dying. It grew by 4.8% between 2001 and 2006 and the CMA grew by 5.1%. Which is similar growth to London and faster than Hamilton and Kingston. Its downtown is easily one of the healthiest in Ontario. Even the old Zellers is now being renovated, into a medical centre.
In any case I think the ideal rail service for the city would be something like VIAOntario that SeanTrans mentioned. The feds are at best apathetic to rail, so it's up to the province to provide service. I think we might see that happen in the next couple years, considering the high speed rail study that's happening now.
In any case I think the ideal rail service for the city would be something like VIAOntario that SeanTrans mentioned. The feds are at best apathetic to rail, so it's up to the province to provide service. I think we might see that happen in the next couple years, considering the high speed rail study that's happening now.
jn_12
Senior Member
Well that's great that the population went up by a few thousand people. I really don't think that tells the whole story though. People are moving to Peterborough because its a cheap place to live. I lived in Peterborough for four years. Trent and in the south end, Fleming, are really the only things the city has going for it right now (well, and maybe hockey). And the thing is, they may be attracting students, but the students aren't staying after they're done their 4 years, unlike what we see in other university towns. There's no reason to stay unless you score something with the MNR.
It's an old factory town that hasn't found a way to make the transition. It suffers from geography and really only acts as a hub for the surrounding smaller towns like Lakefield, Douro, Omemee, and even Lindsay. Other than Professors and maybe the odd GM worker, I don't think there are enough people travelling between Peterborough and toronto everyday. Maybe you get a weekend surge of students heading back home, but that's about it. It's basically a self-sustaining community where people work, shop, and live without having to leave.
Downtown Peterborough is great. I agree George and Water are in good condition for a few blocks, but take two steps off of these roads and you're likely to find out why Peterborough is often considered the homeless capital of Canada and why Anti-poverty groups have such a loud voice in the city. Racism and Homophobia are prevalent, and it's fairly easy to spot drug deals. I grew up in Welland, which is one of the poorer cities in the province, and there are some parts of Peterborough that make Welland look like Oakville.
Would a go station improve things? Maybe it would attract people looking for cheap land to build big homes on, and who don't mind 2 hour commutes, but I'm skeptical that even that would happen when there are much better choices out there.
It's an old factory town that hasn't found a way to make the transition. It suffers from geography and really only acts as a hub for the surrounding smaller towns like Lakefield, Douro, Omemee, and even Lindsay. Other than Professors and maybe the odd GM worker, I don't think there are enough people travelling between Peterborough and toronto everyday. Maybe you get a weekend surge of students heading back home, but that's about it. It's basically a self-sustaining community where people work, shop, and live without having to leave.
Downtown Peterborough is great. I agree George and Water are in good condition for a few blocks, but take two steps off of these roads and you're likely to find out why Peterborough is often considered the homeless capital of Canada and why Anti-poverty groups have such a loud voice in the city. Racism and Homophobia are prevalent, and it's fairly easy to spot drug deals. I grew up in Welland, which is one of the poorer cities in the province, and there are some parts of Peterborough that make Welland look like Oakville.
Would a go station improve things? Maybe it would attract people looking for cheap land to build big homes on, and who don't mind 2 hour commutes, but I'm skeptical that even that would happen when there are much better choices out there.
MisterF
Senior Member
Well I hope we're not getting too far off topic here, but I'll have to disagree with you on most of that. I know quite a few successful people who went to school in Peterborough and stayed. It's an easy argument to make about any city though...after all hardly anyone I went to Waterloo with still lives in Waterloo. It doesn't really mean much. Peterborough's manufacturing is still fairly strong, the biggest employers are stable and GE is expanding. The city's also strong in arts and it's a regional centre for health care and education. Its geography is actually an asset when it comes to that, and that's the main reason VIA service would be more appropriate than GO.
I think you're underestimating demand for travel to Peterborough. It used to have VIA service until the Mulroney government axed it and about half the VIA system. Buses are always full, sometimes standing room only, which I've never seen on the Greyhound buses to Kitchener.
Just curious, which areas make Welland look like Oakville?? The Stewart St area maybe? The Park & Sherbrooke area? They're pretty routine working class neighbourhoods. By the same token a good portion of the neighbourhoods around downtown are gentrified or even rich. Racism and homophobia? Just the opposite, Peterborough is one of the most liberal, arts-minded small cities I can think of. Definitely more so than Oshawa, Barrie, London, Kitchener, Brantford, Welland...
I think you're underestimating demand for travel to Peterborough. It used to have VIA service until the Mulroney government axed it and about half the VIA system. Buses are always full, sometimes standing room only, which I've never seen on the Greyhound buses to Kitchener.
Just curious, which areas make Welland look like Oakville?? The Stewart St area maybe? The Park & Sherbrooke area? They're pretty routine working class neighbourhoods. By the same token a good portion of the neighbourhoods around downtown are gentrified or even rich. Racism and homophobia? Just the opposite, Peterborough is one of the most liberal, arts-minded small cities I can think of. Definitely more so than Oshawa, Barrie, London, Kitchener, Brantford, Welland...
adma
Superstar
If I may quibble, is there *any* sizeable city in the province which doesn't have parts that make Welland look like Oakville?
DENTROBATE54
Banned
Brampton's still a no-brainer for me. We are (or at least were) discussing a GTA locale for this new university, right? McLaughlin Road in West Brampton has got it all. Convert the existing Sheridan College campus into U Bram with a satelite campus right up the road at Flowertown Community Campus. Both these locations are within minutes of Shoppers World, major bus/GO connections and Hwys 10 and 407.
Ummagumma66
Active Member
Put it in Barrie, when I went to Georgian, that was the long term plan, and plus Georgian University sounds really good.
scarberiankhatru
Senior Member
As much as I think Barrie is a great spot for a new campus, I think I'd really like to see one go just far enough away that 90% of students won't flock back to Toronto the minute classes are over, leaving the campus/community a ghost town over the weekends.
But there's no reason why we can't build more than one new university, especially if they're kept in the 10-15K enrollment range, in which case Barrie is an obvious choice. "Georgian University" is a good name, but it does sound like it's located in Atlanta...or Tbilisi.
But there's no reason why we can't build more than one new university, especially if they're kept in the 10-15K enrollment range, in which case Barrie is an obvious choice. "Georgian University" is a good name, but it does sound like it's located in Atlanta...or Tbilisi.
adma
Superstar
Simcoe University?
ShonTron
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How about Huronia University?
scarberiankhatru
Senior Member
Kempenfelt University!