Grand Avenue Park | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto

[Full Metal Junkie]

First, great pic!

Second, while I have an appreciation for the urban visual (it does look good); I can't help but see oodles of wasted light escaping these buildings.

Much like waste heat, it has an adverse effect on environment (and one's ability to see the stars); but it's also a lot of unnecessary energy.

T'is what it is... I've had to develop a stern and pragmatic attitude towards my photography posts ever since joining UT: "Shoot'em. Bag'em. Tag'em"
I very much share your sentiments regarding light pollution and energy waste. Hopefully, when this sea of window wall construction goes through recladding decades from now, there will be some energy conservation laws in place to force the issue.

 

[interchange42]

Yesterday:

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[LUVIT!]

I almost bought a house near here two years ago. I think it’s a good area to live and getting more interesting. However my partner thought this area to be too suburban so we bought in Leslieville are happy. We were in Riverdale so perhaps he was correct?

 

[WislaHD]

I almost bought a house near here two years ago. I think it’s a good area to live and getting more interesting. However my partner thought this area to be too suburban so we bought in Leslieville are happy. We were in Riverdale so perhaps he was correct?

I agree with your partner's assessment. Even if the Mimico area is about to change radically in short-time, it is still further away from the core than Leslieville/Riverdale.

Plus, while construction in Toronto is a permanent fixture, this area is going to receive quite a bit over the next ten years - especially as the First Capital 2150 Lake Shore site master-plan is developed.

 

[interchange42]

I agree with your partner's assessment. Even if the Mimico area is about to change radically in short-time, it is still further away from the core than Leslieville/Riverdale.

Plus, while construction in Toronto is a permanent fixture, this area is going to receive quite a bit over the next ten years - especially as the First Capital 2150 Lake Shore site master-plan is developed.

Because the Mimico Creek and rail corridor are between the two, this area won't feel intimately connected to 2150 Lake Shore. Maybe completing Legion Road under the tracks to Lake Shore will help, but walking between the two will likely always feel like crossing a threshold and not staying within the same 'hood. Meanwhile, Freed's Grand Park development and Van Dyk's Grand Central Mimico are closer to this park, and they'll change this area radically over the coming decade. There will be quite a bit of retail coming with those, while just to the west of them, there's already a short but quite nice stretch of shops along Royal York Rd including the locally iconic SanRemo Bakery. That frequently lined-up place is going to need a second location within the same area.

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[Full Metal Junkie]

Because the Mimico Creek and rail corridor are between the two, this area won't feel intimately connected to 2150 Lake Shore. Maybe completing Legion Road under the tracks to Lake Shore will help, but walking between the two will likely always feel like crossing a threshold and not staying within the same 'hood. Meanwhile, Freed's Grand Park development and Van Dyk's Grand Central Mimico are closer to this park, and they'll change this area radically over the coming decade. There will be quite a bit of retail coming with those, while just to the west of them, there's already a short but quite nice stretch of shops along Royal York Rd including the locally iconic SanRemo Bakery. That frequently lined-up place is going to need a second location within the same area.

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I have to agree, from the pedestrian realm perspective, Mystic Pointe is entirely disconnected from the rest of Humber Bay Shores. The combination of the Legion Road extension and future Mimico Trail bridges was supposed to connect the two neighborhoods together. The Legion Road extension tender was awarded years ago, with the projected completion of 2022, if I remember correctly, yet exactly zero work has been done so far. I wonder if it's the fact that the new proposed GO station that is now supposed to straddle the bridge over Park Lawn has put a temporary stop to any project near that stretch of the rail corridor.

 

[interchange42]

I would be surprised if the one would affect the other as the GO station won't also straddle the creek… but I was under the impression that the Legion Road gap completion was still unfunded.

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[Full Metal Junkie]

I would be surprised if the one would affect the other as the GO station won't also straddle the creek… but I was under the impression that the Legion Road gap completion was still unfunded.

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Unless I completely misunderstand the meaning of an awarded tender, AECOM won the legion road + pond tender back in 2017. The financing schedule is in the linked document.
I remember Mark Grimes saying during one of the community meetings that Park Lawn Go station requires a whole new environmental assessment study done around that stretch of the rail, hence why the pedestrian bridges around the Mimico Creek have been put on hold. Not sure if the Legion Road extension is paused because of that too.

 

[interchange42]

Unless I completely misunderstand the meaning of an awarded tender, AECOM won the legion road + pond tender back in 2017. The financing schedule is in the linked document.
I remember Mark Grimes saying during one of the community meetings that Park Lawn Go station requires a whole new environmental assessment study done around that stretch of the rail, hence why the pedestrian bridges around the Mimico Creek have been put on hold. Not sure if the Legion Road extension is paused because of that too.

Wow, I had missed that. Thanks for posting the link! I've sent a note to Grimes' office asking for an update.

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[Jasonzed]

 

[interchange42]

Unless I completely misunderstand the meaning of an awarded tender, AECOM won the legion road + pond tender back in 2017. The financing schedule is in the linked document.
I remember Mark Grimes saying during one of the community meetings that Park Lawn Go station requires a whole new environmental assessment study done around that stretch of the rail, hence why the pedestrian bridges around the Mimico Creek have been put on hold. Not sure if the Legion Road extension is paused because of that too.

Wow, I had missed that. Thanks for posting the link! I've sent a note to Grimes' office asking for an update.

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I put in a request to the City right away regarding the status of Legion Road, and I finally have the answer:

The Park Lawn Lake Shore Transportation Master Plan (TMP) is studying a range of transportation infrastructure improvements for the area bounded by Ellis Avenue, Legion Road, The Queensway, and Lake Ontario. The TMP includes the area of the proposed Legion Road Extension and will evaluate road network scenarios with and without the Legion Road Extension in the network. Stakeholder and public consultation for the TMP is anticipated in the next few months, followed by a staff report to the Infrastructure & Environment Committee and City Council.​

​

Funding currently in the City's budget for the Legion Road Extension includes $775,000 to undertake detailed design. Funding for property acquisition and construction is identified as an unfunded pressure in the "Needs Constraints" category given that the completion of design is taking longer than anticipated. The project budget will be refined for the 2022 Budget Submission and funding relating to property acquisition and/or construction will be requested at the appropriate time through a future year budget process.​

​

More information on these initiatives can be found on the following project websites:​

​

Park Lawn Lake Shore TMP: toronto.ca/parklawnlakeshore​

Christies Planning Study: https://www.toronto.ca/city-governm...studies-initiatives/christies-planning-study/​

Park Lawn GO Station TPAP: https://www.2150lakeshore.com/transitea/​

​

Really, an option to not complete Legion Road is being studied again? I cannot imagine that the study will come back saying it won't be worthwhile, but this feels like a step backwards and opens the door to a scary possibility. Argh! Build links, connect communities, knit cut off parts of the city together!

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[67Cup]

First, great pic!

Second, while I have an appreciation for the urban visual (it does look good); I can't help but see oodles of wasted light escaping these buildings.

Much like waste heat, it has an adverse effect on environment (and one's ability to see the stars); but it's also a lot of unnecessary energy.

Agreed. We do not pay sufficient attention to light pollution and the attendant waste of energy.

 

[formerTorontonian]

Agreed. We do not pay sufficient attention to light pollution and the attendant waste of energy.

Less window and more stone/brick/etc may look better from the outside as well, however, as a condo dweller, I prefer the floor-to-ceiling wall-to-wall windows because they make these small condos feel a lot more open and livable.....I grew up in old buildings with little windows and lots of brick on the outside and I'd never go back

 

[interchange42]

Not moving quickly at all.

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[Northern Light]

Not moving quickly at all.

View attachment 339408View attachment 339409

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Not only is that pokey..........but I feel the need to talk to someone about fence design.........

It's probably adequately sturdy, but gives the visual impression of Popsicle sticks.