Maybe the whole problem is that your "what is the heart of downtown Toronto" argument is a splitting-hairs hack argument.
I’m not sure why you refuse to admit that Yonge and Dundas is in the heart of downtown.
Most of it is based on cold and concrete mathematics, the intersection experiences far more pedestrian traffic than either NPS or King+Bay. Also, the intersection is relatively close to almost all major attractions and points of interest/importance, as well as being equidistant between Bloor and the lake, normally perceived to respectively correspond to the northern and southern borders of downtown Toronto.
Possible alternatives like NPS and King+Bay, like I previously mentioned, don’t even enjoy exclusive subway stations, a nice thing to have for the most central intersection in Canada’s biggest city! Furthermore, the former feels cold and desolate, while the latter is dead after 5PM.
Considering how simple my initial assertion was, I’m truly amazed at how people can successfully tolerate your stubbornness!
Like, there has to be one, specific, all-purpose "heart of it all"--well, maybe the closest spiritual candidate is (naturally) Nathan Phillips Square, and it isn't perfect, but what is? Ultimately, "heart of the downtown" urban logic only serves dumb tourists and Sunday painter urbanists, anyway.
So cities like Moscow, Brussels, Milan, and any other city that has a central square (hundreds to mentions) are all just for “dumb tourists” and “Sunday painter urbanists”?
What a horrendously idiotic comment!
There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a physical urban heart. A common pattern that can be detected in most European cities today (if you’ve ever been in one) is that of embeddidness and inclusiveness. Until recently, European cities have always been restricted to grow within their historical fortified walls, in the centre of which lies the church or cathedral, which is surrounded by ring upon ring of buildings extending outward in concentric circles. Everything is tightly knit together with little space separating neighbours. Those places of worship were purposefully in the very centre of their communities, where all social, economic, and religious life took place.
To this day, medieval central squares serve essentially the same purpose they did centuries ago, and impeccably so. They provide a sense of belonging and collectiveness, and are home to numerous festivals, celebrations, and activities.
True, economically and religiously, they don't have the same importance anymore, but socially is where they excel.
And Toronto, with its Jane Jacobs legacy-and-it-shows, isn't worthy of such positive-minded field-trip study and analysis?
As of this moment, hardly.
Nowadays, the city seems to be doing its best to obliterate Jacob’s vision and eclipse her dream… a far cry from when we thwarted the Spadina Expressway. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be having this discussion about TLS in this thread.
