From said survey:
How can an underground subway line deliver an "important new landmark"? What's so landmarky about the station entrance- which isn't designed as some architectural tour-de-force pavilion (nevermind the rest the development programme for the site)? That's trying to sell the project for what it isn't - Metrolinx is so annoyingly BS*tty sometimes.
AoD
I did the survey... there's a lot of history to absorb in a few screens, but I did my best.
We've lived a very short distance from this location for almost 20 years, and we have no plans to move. I have to say I am thrilled at the idea of there being a subway station there, one that we can make use of in the future, as we get older and don't want to walk to Yonge or rely on surface transit to leave our neighbourhood without a car. It would also help the Distillery District become much more accessible to the greater GTA population, especially since most of the surrounding parking is vanishing.
So I have to say I'm somewhat puzzled by all the knee-jerk opposition to this proposed project and the fact that it includes some additional condominiums. I hate sprawl. This is the city center. It's a big lot, most of the subway station will be underground, and there is no more sensible place to create more density than here. If the condos help make this development financially viable, it's a reasonable tradeoff. The neighbourhood has changed a ton in the past decade or two, but mostly for the better. Most challenges have stemmed from the fact that new infrastructure tends to lag the population growth a bit: and there is no better urban infrastructure than a subway.
That said, I also feel like Toronto's history is under-celebrated, and I liked the city's First Parliament plan. I hope/believe that some of it can be incorporated into the new plan, with some reasonable compromises. Ideally I would like to see some additional park area extend a bit north of the current soccer field, and in my dreams, some exposed archeological foundations of the First Parliament buildings, if any exist that are worth exposing -- we've come across those in parks and squares in Europe and I would love to see that idea implemented here as well. I don't see why some of this couldn't be incorporated into the subway entrance or condo courtyards or similar.
As for some of the other plans that predate the subway -- like the new library -- I hope that people are flexible. I'm happy to have a new library located elsewhere in the neighbourhood if it means we get a subway.
Naming the subway station First Parliament Station or Parliament Station is not a bad idea, though I was kind of liking the idea of Corktown finally landing on the map -- I'm not sure many Torontonians have any idea where it is.
