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Toronto: Most Significant Possible Improvements

Evergreens.

Thousands of them, particularly in large projects that haven't planted yet (Cityplace park, West Donlands, waterfront etc.).

From November to April, great swaths of green will add much needed colour to the cityscape and no doubt improve everyone's mood.

Never understood why they aren't used more.
 
A couple reasons:

- Pine needles are messy
- Widest at the base, you can't walk under them, they don't provide shade so they're not logical for sidewalks.

We could definitely use more in our parks, though.
 
Pine needles are messy? Nature is - well - kinda messy. That's its appeal.

I guess I'm just a big evergreen fan, too.
 
Revamp our health regulations which limit street food to mostly sausages and hot-dogs. Allow for diversity to be introduced to our street food.
 
Harbourfront

I think the closing of one lane at Queens Quay if it happens would be an amazing improvement to the city. Also the Canada Square project, glad to hear that it is still progressing.
 
Leaves are messy. Particularly when there's a bunch of them still on the trees in late November and then Bam... a blast of snow.

There are a few million deciduous trees in town offering shade. Mixing it up with evergreens would dramatically enliven grey winter days.
 
Another change that would be good long term is for construction of high-rise condo/office to create areas away from the main streets that allow for the creation of restaurants and small plazas that are away from the exhaust fumes of the cars/trucks. i.e. street / building / non-traffic area with commercial area / building / street - type of orientation. These coves could then have different trees in there as well.
 
more mid rises along streets...
 
Revamping the GO network would probably be the biggest bang for our bucks.

We should relax/reduce the parking/amenities requirements for new residential projects.

3Dementia said:
There are a few million deciduous trees in town offering shade. Mixing it up with evergreens would dramatically enliven grey winter days.
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I agree, especially if all kinds of evergreens are used so there isn't just one tone of dark green. Also, instead of token, puny deciduous trees that die in an hour, we could plant evergreen shurbs along streets.
 
back to the rail lands and the city being able to force Concord into decking over them....

not a possibility. Concord is already having one heck of a time trying to construct a simple pedestrian birdge over the rail lands. The issue is that CN wont allow any structures over the land that they own there. If they cant build a pedestrian bridge, what makes you think they can deck over an entire section?

I agree - I would have liked to see the entire stretch from Union Station to Bathurst decked over and a linear sculpture park constructed on top. The existing linear park along Blue Jay Way could have had another 2 towers or at least a loft building contructed in it's place.

It all rests with CN rail and their ownership of that strip of land under the tracks (and by extension the air rights over it).


Back to other improvements for the city - a Toronto Lottery Corporation. It would make money for the city which could be directed towards new infrastructure projects. Does the new City of Toronto Act allow for such a thing? It could be a city version of the UK Millenium Lottery Fund which bank rolled a building program in the build-up before the year 2000.
 
I think the below grade corridor only has a certain amount of nominal height linked to the rail owners, and the city owns the rest (from 20 feet up to the moon or something).

Can't remember how much (enough to allow for future electrification?). Mike in TO would know.
 
Jdot said:
back to the rail lands and the city being able to force Concord into decking over them....

not a possibility. Concord is already having one heck of a time trying to construct a simple pedestrian birdge over the rail lands. The issue is that CN wont allow any structures over the land that they own there. If they cant build a pedestrian bridge, what makes you think they can deck over an entire section?
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Simple: CN doesn't own the tracks that would be decked over. GO Transit does. Where did you hear this? TTR/GO own the stretch from the junction with the Galt/Oakville/Weston subs to the junction with the Kingston/Bala subs. That should include any bridge south from Portland Street, though I suppose it's possible that CN's ownership stretches a few metres further east.

I agree - I would have liked to see the entire stretch from Union Station to Bathurst decked over and a linear sculpture park constructed on top. The existing linear park along Blue Jay Way could have had another 2 towers or at least a loft building contructed in it's place.
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It would great, and there have been many studies done about it. A detailed "Union Station Study" was done in the 70s as an alternative to relocating the rail station in the Metro Centre plan. I have a copy of an extremely rare study done for the railroads in the 80s that demonstrates that it is not only feasible but desirable to bury the entire rail corridor through the core.

It all rests with CN rail and their ownership of that strip of land under the tracks (and by extension the air rights over it).
Click to expand...

The entire stretch from about Bathurst to the Don is owned by GO Transit which is the GTTA/Metrolinx.
 
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