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Toronto: Most Significant Possible Improvements

Hipster Duck said:
My list:

1. Dump the OMB
2. Revise the fire code to reduce the width of streets and allow the construction of laneway housing
3. Mandate LEED silver on all new buildings
4. Institute electronic tolls on the Gardiner, DVP and Allen Rd
5. Build the Eglinton LRT as planned
6. Finish the Sheppard subway from STC to Downsview
7. Electrify the Lakeshore GO as far as Niagara Falls and add another electrified high capacity line to Kitchener via Pearson-Brampton-Guelph
8. Kill the required parking necessities for condo units, allowing developers to build multi-unit housing with no resident parking
9. Remove on-street parking from one side of select streets to allow for large, European style two-way bike lanes with their own signals
10. Expand green bin program to apartments
11. Slap a carbon tax on vehicle purchases
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This is a fantastic list. I don't agree with all of it, but I think the broad scope of ideas is great.

1. This is the one I disagree with the most. Having sat through many, many council meetings, at numerous municipalaities, as well as numerous OMB hearings, I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty: there is far more thoughtful consideration of planning merits, not to mention Official Plan and provincial policies, at the OMB level than at Council meetings. The OMB itself could stand to be improved, even replaced by something different, but you can't just abolish it. It would be disastrous to leave the final decisions in the hands local politicians. Good planning, sadly, is rarely the same thing as good politics.

I agree with all the others, although #4 comes with a caveat. I think we should be looking at tolls, but only in conjunction with a wider application of tolls throughout the GTA. I don't think we should be doing anything that would further discourage downtown office development (such as implementing tolls only on routes downtown), and we need to start using tolls as a real incentives that will encourage municipalities to expand, and residents/workers to use, transit in the 905 and outer 416.

The only things I would add to your list is: start making significant new investments in the urban forest, including incentives for homeowners who plant (or agree to have planted) trees on their properties.
 
The only things I would add to your list is: start making significant new investments in the urban forest, including incentives for homeowners who plant (or agree to have planted) evergreens on their properties.
Click to expand...

:D
 
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?

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).
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Just to add to this discussion (sorry I did not know the CNR vs GO vs Metrolinx who owns what strip of land – my understanding is that there is a complex set of arrangements and easements in that corridor)... but Concord had initially planned a tower on the SW corner of Front and Spadina, this plan was dropped due to the planning/engineering and legal issues with development and the railway lands. There were a huge amount of hurdles that made proceeding with such a plan nearly impossible and as mentioned the simple issue of a bridge has gotten so bogged down that it may not happen. Last I heard Concord was trying to just contribute the money for the bridge to the city and just basically say "you figure it out".

This is a common problem across the province - any type of land development directly adjacent or potentially utilizing any rail corridors becomes extremely complex and the rail authorities have little interest in working with private sector development stakeholders. Something as simple as townhomes adjacent to a rail corridor can often result in huge expenses such as additional setbacks, rail-berms, noise attenuation fencing and many many delays etc… Decking over the rail corridor isn't going to happen anytime soon. The TTC is a whole other (unrelated to this specific site discussion) problem for developers - any project involving infrastructure or TTC land has huge cost escalations and additional bureaucratic delays (beyond the ‘normal’ delays) - once again similar to the bridge issue here a few developers that have had residential plans with the TTC involving items such as bridges, tunnels, entrances etc.. have become so frustrated with the cost over-runs and very slow cumbersome process that their solution is often to try to write the big cheque, walk away and have someone else (the city of the TTC) complete the project.
 
The Cityplace tower at the southwest corner of Front and Spadina hasn't been conclusively dropped -- just postponed. When they have finished building out the rest of the site, they're going to take a look at that location.
 
It seems Cityplace has found a workable solution over the rail corridor that will accomodate pedestrians and vehicles


CatapultThatHurlsCatapults.jpg
 
I would really love to see the principles that are going into the Quay West changes to be introduced to more of the downtown core.

I would really like to see more room for people to move about, on foot, bicycle and in exclusive streetcar ROW's. I don't think a congestion tax in the downtown core is as crazy as some people think it is. I think like London, Stockholm and other cities, Torontonians would actually embrace the idea.

That being said, the move to a culture such as this requires better transit infrastructure than we currently have. Im a big fan of LRT when they have their own right on way. Its relatively cheap, green, quick and based on the new cars we will be getting within the next three years, very sleek.
 
Install proper drainage for street corners so they don't morph into lakes every January to April.
 
have social housing more so minorites like us aint forced into privately owned buildingz. wer da landlords dont care cuz they know ppl cant afford 2 move lota shit in it.

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6174/housinghettos.html

thas example n is tru. ma boiz buildings da tap water yellow sometimes :eek: mine wen i turn bit hot turn fully whitish foamish n cant do nothin. cuz city will charge u 2 fix n me & family cant afford so stuff lyk more services & not jus in kingsway but wer we need lyk northwest TO
 
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