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Markham VIP said:
LOL....true
However, my point is that "Centre of the GTA" is just a general term used to describe the location of Markham relative to the other municipalities in the GTA.
Is it 100% accurate...maybe not. But does it give u a general idea of where markham is in the GTA...YES!

I didn't mean to be offensive with my previous "it doesn't take a genious" remark. However, I really do think it is quite obvious though when u look at a map of the GTA that markham is approximately the centre.
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Let's move on.....I gotta get going if I am gonna beat the traffic and find parking for that first event!
 
CDL.TO said:
Curiosity got the best of me...

Using the 2006 Census numbers, the geographic mean centre of population in the GTA is located at Wilson Ave and Allan Road (Wilson Subway station). Who knew?

There you go. Maybe a stadium is a better use of that big box land under the Downsview Airport runway approach?
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Thanks for answering those two questions, CDL.TO! This proves that while Markham is not the centre of the GTA, it's not all that far off either. It would be interesting to see what things look like in 2031? Much of the growth will be along the 407 in places like Seaton, Brampton, Milton, etc.

I do find that UT seems to have a bit of a Western GTA bias for whatever reason.
 
The eastern GTA has some really rural-dominant municipalities with Brock, Uxbridge, and Scugog. They count towards any calculation, but are very rural. (They aren't even part of a CMA, reinforcing their disconnect from the urban parts of the region.)

While the western GTA doesn't really have similar equivalents. When you drive west out of Burlington, you're in another big city. But after Oshawa, you don't hit another city until Kingston.
 
When you specify that Markham is the "geographic" centre of the GTA, that makes sense. But saying "centre" on its own, then no, it doesn't.
 
CDL.TO said:
Using the 2006 Census numbers, the geographic mean centre of population in the GTA is located at Wilson Ave and Allan Road (Wilson Subway station).
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I wonder which part of the urban GTA is farthest from rural areas. I would guess Etobicoke Lakeshore would be.
 
I just read this....
Official Town of Markham document - Report to General Committee
RE: Changing Markham from a Town to a City.

Just thought you guys would find this paragraph interesting:
"In today’s networked world, every municipality has to compete with every other municipality for its share of the world’s consumers, tourists, business, investment, respect and attention. Cities, not nations, are increasingly the focus of this global competition for funds, investment, talent and recognition.

Places have long felt a need to differentiate themselves from each other, to assert their individuality in pursuit of various economic, political or social objectives. This competitive environment is a reality of our times. How a municipality positions itself and communicates its distinct place largely decides which places succeed and which fail in the race for economic prosperity.

Markham is well positioned to succeed in this competitive environment. It is a City in everything but name."

http://www2.markham.ca/markham/ccbs...2/General/gc120507/City of Markham Report.pdf
 
People have been calling Toronto the centre of the universe, or centre of the hockey world. Right or wrong most people knew this was more marketing and not based on any fact. Furthermore nobody used that comment while making policy decisions. In Markham it seems to have created this promotion as centre of the GTA in order to gain approval of the new arena.
 
I think the whole "centre of the GTA" thing really started as a preemptive response to the typical "Markham is almost in cottage country" snipes from downtowners. It's more a case of pointing out that the GTA is much larger than it used to be, and that Markham Centre is hardly remote.

The focus should be more on making Markham Centre the best -- or at least one of the best -- regional centre outside of Downtown Toronto. Similar to how old Unionville attracts people from all over the GTA, Markham Centre should become an attractive place to visit (and of course live or work).

gtakp.jpg
 
^funny, when I look at that map...somewhere between the dots MCC and Etobicoke Centre catch my eye as the centre.....holy jet engine bat man....someone put an airport in the centre of town!
 
Markham VIP said:
Within the next 5 years, Markham will have arena, casino, and NHL team!
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That casino will be very hotly contested. If the Toronto councillors can reach an agreement on the harbourfront, there is no way it winds up in Markham. I'd be surprised if Markham is #4 on the list.
 
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Markham VIP said:
I am not the one who made that term up: "geographic centre of the GTA".
I have seen other sources use that term many many times over the years when describing Markham.
I have also heard it used to decribe Vaughan as well.
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Yes, the developers use this phrase to sell their projects. It's 100% marketing.
 
taal said:
My only beef with this theory is 2 councilors voted against this ... and re-coping the costs based solely on concerts was one of their stated concerns, frankly all their concerns stemmed around that. Seems strange they would make that statement if they know something else is in the works ... even if they can't say something about it. Unless it was all part of the show ...
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I think there are things going on behind the scenes with the developers. There's a January 2010 PDF on the Markham website that clearly shows "Markham Live" on the East side of the Go tracks. Fast forward two years, and now it's on the West side, on a different developer's land. In addition to the switcheroo, there are the unpopular "voluntary" development fees being asked from every developer in Markham, the entire process was kind of rail-roaded through council, and until very recently the project had always been talked about being 100% privately funded. So I don't think it's surprising at all that some people are getting cold feet. Even from a councillor who was previously one of the biggest supporters, if I'm not mistaken.
 
benbola said:
I think there are things going on behind the scenes with the developers. There's a January 2010 PDF on the Markham website that clearly shows "Markham Live" on the East side of the Go tracks. Fast forward two years, and now it's on the West side, on a different developer's land. In addition to the switcheroo, there are the unpopular "voluntary" development fees being asked from every developer in Markham, the entire process was kind of rail-roaded through council, and until very recently the project had always been talked about being 100% privately funded. So I don't think it's surprising at all that some people are getting cold feet. Even from a councillor who was previously one of the biggest supporters, if I'm not mistaken.
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Jim Jones, of maid assaulting fame (http://www.thestar.com/article/279165), was the one pushing the Markham Live concept (http://jonesformarkham.com/quality-of-life/creating-the-destination-“markham-live”/). I think his objection has mostly been around it not being 100% privately funded, and maybe it also differs in some ways from how he envisioned it.

The NHL must have given at least some indication that a team might be possible, and I hope that Live Nation was able to back up their claims of 130+ concerts with some realistic figures.
 
canarob said:
Jim Jones, of maid assaulting fame (http://www.thestar.com/article/279165), was the one pushing the Markham Live concept (http://jonesformarkham.com/quality-of-life/creating-the-destination-“markham-live”/). I think his objection has mostly been around it not being 100% privately funded, and maybe it also differs in some ways from how he envisioned it.
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What does his conviction in 2007 have to do with his opinion on this matter?

canarob said:
The NHL must have given at least some indication that a team might be possible, and I hope that Live Nation was able to back up their claims of 130+ concerts with some realistic figures.
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The NHL have denied giving such indication and, quite the opposite, have repeatedly stated that Markham should consider this rink on the assumption that there would be no team.

As for Live Nation, I am sure they just pointed to all the other rinks/arenas where there are 130+ shows per year.
 
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