Stockyards, The (30 Weston Rd. @ St. Clair, retail, Trinity, 2s, GreenbergFarrow)

[junctionist]

Yes, traffic in the area is bad, and this place will only make it worse. The St. Clair streetcar should never have been given a separated right-of-way through the underpass until the underpass was widened (which all should have happened at once). Keele, I dunno how to fix. The area should get a station either on the GO line (after CityRail-ification) or the DRL west subway extension sometime in the future. Good luck until then.

They prioritized the needs of transit users over cars. The ROW was built on St. Clair to make the streetcar more reliable. If you throw in mixed-traffic operation anywhere along the route, you're negating the benefits of the ROW. The streetcar is going to get stuck in that section and the service will be delayed everywhere along the line. With that said, of course the underpass should have been widened to avoid a traffic bottleneck. It's true that a DRL would help traffic on Keele by giving more people a viable transit option to get to their destination. A lot of the traffic on Keele is headed to and from downtown.

 

[Big Daddy]

This "Big Box" typr of retail layout is just not compatible with the canadian climate.
I get a chill just looking at these photos.
An enclosed mall would make much more sense - this isn't L.A.

 

[junctionist]

Walking from store to store in our climate isn't an issue on all but the coldest days. It's the traditional Canadian way of shopping in cities.

 

[Towered]

Is there still going to be a Best Buy and Goodlife Fitness here?

 

[juliets_whisper]

More of a MESS than a Mall

This "Big Box" typr of retail layout is just not compatible with the canadian climate.
I get a chill just looking at these photos.
An enclosed mall would make much more sense - this isn't L.A.

I was at this so called "MALL" today and let me tell you that after waiting so many months for it to be open I am extremely disappointed! As someone else mentioned, our climate is too cold for this type of "separated design" and just going from Dollarama to Target I had to cross over a couple of parking lots to get there! I am a mother of three kids, my youngest is 5 and I can't imagine having to shop at this mall in the winter with my 5yr old, going from one store to the other with the snow and cold winds, not to mention having to cross through the parking lots to get there. I understand it's not complete yet and there are still a lot of things that will come but looking at the layout I can't see them making it anymore convenient for parents with small children or the eldery for that matter. I get that once completed it might look "pretty" in the summer but come on people, this is Toronto and we don't have a very long summer. While I was discussing the layout with my friend in Dollarama, a mom with two small children (one in a stroller) told me it was her 2nd time there and she felt so LOST. She said she didn't think she would return for it wasn't convenient for her to move from store to store with her two small kids. She also mentioned that typically in a mall when shopping from store to store you tend to remove the children's coats, snowsuits etc. to make them more comfortable but having to move from store to store on the outside makes that more difficult not to mention the bridge from one building to the other isn't covered! Imagine walking across that with the snow we've had and especially with high winds! Just a BAD idea for a mall in my opinion altogether. They have the space, I wish they would have made it all indoor like the other malls in Toronto with a proper Food Court etc....What a Shame!

 

[picard102]

I am a mother of three kids, my youngest is 5 and I can't imagine having to shop at this mall in the winter with my 5yr old, going from one store to the other

Sounds like this place is a good candidate for people who want to shop free of children.

 

[Standard]

Juliet, I don't think they intended this to be a mall. It is more like a large stacked shopping plaza.

 

[christiesplits]

I'm surprised by the lack of restaurants in the development. Not that Toronto needs crappy suburban casual dining chains like Boston Pizza or Milestones that are mainstays in GTA power centres.

 

[interchange42]

There'll be a number of fast food options here: Second Cup, Subway, Sunset Grill, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Marble Slab, Thai Express, Panda Express, Hero Burger, but no, it looks like no "casual fine dining" type places.

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[W. K. Lis]

There'll be a number of fast food options here: Second Cup, Subway, Sunset Grill, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Marble Slab, Thai Express, Panda Express, Hero Burger, but no, it looks like no "casual fine dining" type places.

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Or a banquet hall for receptions? Plenty of parking for wedding guests.

 

[ehlow]

This "Big Box" typr of retail layout is just not compatible with the canadian climate.
I get a chill just looking at these photos.
An enclosed mall would make much more sense - this isn't L.A.

I've heard this before and I find it interesting. Do those who have this point of view usually drive to and shop in an enclosed indoor mall in the winter? I would think this point of view is more common among the suburbs than downtown.

I would say most who live in the old city of Toronto shop at stores on commercial streets, and are always walking outdoors in the winter, to get to work, to a transit stop, or any daily travel. I don't think there's as much of an aversion to being outside in the winter. At least, that's my experience & observation. What do others think?

However even in the suburbs, indoor malls are starting to fall out of favour, and big-box stores surrounded by parking lots like this development or what you'd see in the Golden Mile in Scarborough seem to be the new suburban shopping development. Another example is Shops at Don Mills.

 

[junctionist]

Yorkville and Queen West don't shut down for the winter.

 

[picard102]

I would say most who live in the old city of Toronto shop at stores on commercial streets, and are always walking outdoors in the winter, to get to work, to a transit stop, or any daily travel. I don't think there's as much of an aversion to being outside in the winter. At least, that's my experience & observation. What do others think?

I'd prefer to be indoors, where the climate is controlled, than outside in the freezing cold, or blazing heat.

 

[Torontovibe]

I avoid shopping malls but then again, I'm a downtown guy who prefers walking and shopping at street level, even in winter, to the warmth of PATH or The Eaton Centre. I'll take Queen Street any day, so I'm sure I'll prefer the Stockyards to a typical indoor mall. Don Mills Centre is pretty decent. I think most urbanites prefer to avoid typical indoor malls. Going to Yorkdale once a year for a quick look, is fine for me.

I do not want to see any typical suburban malls built south of Eglinton.

 

[Wrenkin]

I like walking outside. I like Queen Street. But if you're building a new development full of "mall stores" then I don't see why it shouldn't be indoors. It's never going to feel like Queen Street anyways. The worst are actually malls that combine a traditional indoor experience with a new-build outdoor component. For example, Park Royal in North Vancouver has 2 legacy indoor buildings (separated by a major street) some stores built into the edge of a parking structure, and a couple dozen new stores in an exterior Don Mills-like area, accessible via the south food court.

I don't really know why we're generalizing about "urbanites". Do you mean the people south of St. Clair who go to Gerrard Square or Dufferin Mall? Come to think of it, Eglinton Square is south of Eglinton, though not downtown. For someone in the Annex it may be less trouble to go to Yorkdale via the Spadina Subway than get to the Eaton Centre, which is itself always busy. Or are we begging the question re the definition of urbanites?