Middling architecture aside, my biggest beef with Cityplace is the pedestrian experience. There's just not enough good ground-floor retail, the roads are a dangerous drag strip, and the parkland is extremely poorly maintained. Overall a very unfriendly and unwelcoming place.
That said, I think the community centre and new public park will help, though neither of those will help the road condition or maintenance issues.
I'm starting to enjoy the pedestrian experience. (At least on the West side of Spadina) The tree canopy is quite nice and the sidewalks are packed with people now. There isn't much retail, but the live/work units have started being occupied by actual small businesses with nice little patios. The size of the units makes them useless for chains, but perfect for small businesses - and that's exactly what is starting to pop up in them. (Current stores include a custom suit shop, print shop, window blind shop, bubble tea shop, café (with dispensary in the back until recently), hair dresser, barbershop, salon, dry cleaner, etc) The newly formed Cityplace-Fort York BIA has also budgeted for streetscape improvements in the near future, which should help make it feel a bit more inviting.
The planters along the road make this side of CityPlace feel much more inviting and safer to walk through, and the traffic light at Dan Leckie Way has helped to slow down traffic and make crossing much safer. The area would benefit from sneckdowns though, as the turning radius at some intersections seems ridiculously large. Protected bike lanes should also be installed, as many drivers use them as temporary parking.
As for the park, maintenance has been an issue since the city took it over. The developer isn't happy with the situation either and has tried working with the city to improve it as it reflects poorly on them and the neighbourhood. Despite the maintenance issue, the park is very well used throughout the day, and quite busy on weekends. I wouldn't say it's uninviting, since it does seem able to attract a good variety of users out from their condos. The splash pad is also popular with children in the summer.
One thing that bugs me though is the fact that the farmers market moved to the corner of Bremner and Spadina. Nothing like buying your fruit and veggies amongst the fumes and exhaust of vehicles trying to get to the Gardiner. The accident that lead to a death at the market last year should have been enough reason to move it back to the park.
CityPlace
CityPlace
CityPlace
