Toronto Ontario Place | ?m | ?s | Infrastructure ON

ssiguy2 said:
Whatever they do it is very important that it not become another Toronto attraction.

This is an ONTARIO building built by and for the people of ONTARIO, not just Toronto and Ontario Place must reflect this. This must be a place that is for Ontarians and represents the province and just making it another entertainment building along a Toronto park is a slap in the face to all Ontarians outside Toronto.

Once something is built by and for Ontarian's as an Ontarian showpiece it must always have that as it's primary mandate. Ontario Place should never be viewed or used as a Toronto attraction no different than should Queen's Park.
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Sure... it should be for everyone. But isn't this a bit of a weird statement? It is located in TORONTO, ONTARIO therefore it is both a TORONTO and ONTARIO attraction. Also... Queens park... though it serves a larger ONTARIO purpose is located in TORONTO and is therefore both a TORONTO and ONTARIO attraction.
I don't understand where you are going with this? I think it would be great if it got both provincial and city funding to get it up to par again. But I don't see how anyone's face is getting slapped.

perhaps I don't understand fully what you are trying to express here.
 
It's amazing to hear of what Ontario Place once was--a place that was actually hip and fun for people of various ages. To me, it was always just an amusement park for young kids because that's what it was by the 1990s. But people used to go on dates and for a night out at Ontario Place.

At Ontario Place, you could see a movie, go to a night club, see a concert, go to some bars or eat out at a restaurant--all in funky buildings on landscaped islands. The park was an amazing asset for leisure and social life in the city when it opened. The problem, I suspect, is that Ontario Place is somewhat isolated. If it were located right downtown where Harbourfront Centre is, there would be more people to sustain a nightlife scene.
 
junctionist said:
It's amazing to hear of what Ontario Place once was--a place that was actually hip and fun for people of various ages. To me, it was always just an amusement park for young kids because that's what it was by the 1990s. But people used to go on dates and for a night out at Ontario Place.

At Ontario Place, you could see a movie, go to a night club, see a concert, go to some bars or eat out at a restaurant--all in funky buildings on landscaped islands. The park was an amazing asset for leisure and social life in the city when it opened. The problem, I suspect, is that Ontario Place is somewhat isolated. If it were located right downtown where Harbourfront Centre is, there would be more people to sustain a nightlife scene.
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If it were easy to get there, I'd spend an evening on the scene - Ontario Place was awesome in the day. Before gridlock really tightened up, it was normal to access in 30 minutes by car. Now, it takes me 10 minutes just to get out the parking garage to Jarvis street, in aggravating slow traffic. Yeesh, I'll walk to local bars and restaurants instead. Until some magic fairy makes all the "other" cars go away, a direct and frequent TTC connection is mandatory.
 
ssiguy2 said:
Whatever they do it is very important that it not become another Toronto attraction.

This is an ONTARIO building built by and for the people of ONTARIO, not just Toronto and Ontario Place must reflect this. This must be a place that is for Ontarians and represents the province and just making it another entertainment building along a Toronto park is a slap in the face to all Ontarians outside Toronto.

Once something is built by and for Ontarians as an Ontarian showpiece it must always have that as it's primary mandate. Ontario Place should never be viewed or used as a Toronto attraction no different than should Queen's Park.
Click to expand...

Do you mind clarifying what you mean by this? After all, a park is a park, regardless of how well or poorly designed. Are you indicating that you want attractions there that are powerful enough to draw in people from outside Toronto, or is there a specific way you fear it will be designed that will label it a Toronto park rather than an Ontario park? I have a feeling it's days as a theme park style attraction are done, and the Ontario government doesn't seem to be in the position or mood to spend large amounts of money on the space. They're going to have to be spectacularly innovative with the funds they do have if they want to start drawing in the non-Torontonians again.
 
College Park said:
If it were easy to get there, I'd spend an evening on the scene - Ontario Place was awesome in the day. Until some magic fairy makes all the "other" cars go away, a direct and frequent TTC connection is mandatory.
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Yes, this has been stressed, by me and other posters and deputants at meetings, for many years. Access to Ontario Place is currently very poor for those using public transit and, as you say, those using cars are finding it harder and harder to get around too (the 'development' of some of the surface parking lots at OP will hardly help either.) If OP is to become (or re-become) an attraction for both Torontonians and others it is essential that public transit links to it be improved.
 
junctionist said:
It's amazing to hear of what Ontario Place once was--a place that was actually hip and fun for people of various ages. To me, it was always just an amusement park for young kids because that's what it was by the 1990s. But people used to go on dates and for a night out at Ontario Place.
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I wish i saw Ontario Place back when it was hip and fun. My first visit to Ontario Place, was in the mid 90s. Back then it was geared towards younger kids. Not a whole to do for the over 12 crowd. Canada's Wonderland probably hurt Ontario Place. in the 90s Wonderland added Splash Works and more attractions for younger kids.

My last visit to Ontario Place was a year or two before it closed. The park was in a pretty sad state. Beautiful summer day, and the park was empty, and a lot of the kiosks and eateries were closed.
 
ssiguy2 said:
Whatever they do it is very important that it not become another Toronto attraction.

This is an ONTARIO building built by and for the people of ONTARIO, not just Toronto and Ontario Place must reflect this. This must be a place that is for Ontarians and represents the province and just making it another entertainment building along a Toronto park is a slap in the face to all Ontarians outside Toronto.

Once something is built by and for Ontarians as an Ontarian showpiece it must always have that as it's primary mandate. Ontario Place should never be viewed or used as a Toronto attraction no different than should Queen's Park.
Click to expand...

ttk77 said:
Do you mind clarifying what you mean by this? After all, a park is a park, regardless of how well or poorly designed. Are you indicating that you want attractions there that are powerful enough to draw in people from outside Toronto, or is there a specific way you fear it will be designed that will label it a Toronto park rather than an Ontario park? I have a feeling it's days as a theme park style attraction are done, and the Ontario government doesn't seem to be in the position or mood to spend large amounts of money on the space. They're going to have to be spectacularly innovative with the funds they do have if they want to start drawing in the non-Torontonians again.
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For one thing, money allocated to other regions of the province were used in its construction. I grew up in northern Ontario, and there was more than a little outrage that money allocated to northern development (road paving, sewers, etc.) was instead spent on building the Ontario North Now attraction in Ontario Place, which very few northern Ontarians would ever get a chance to actually visit (of course it was intended to promote northern Ontario among non-residents of northern Ontario).
 
I know many people hate the idea, but I think residential development is needed in and around Ontario Place to make it viable. It would reduce the need for parking or transit, and provide a steady stream of visitors to keep the businesses and attractions busy.
 
Mongo said:
For one thing, money allocated to other regions of the province were used in its construction. I grew up in northern Ontario, and there was more than a little outrage that money allocated to northern development (road paving, sewers, etc.) was instead spent on building the Ontario North Now attraction in Ontario Place, which very few northern Ontarians would ever get a chance to actually visit (of course it was intended to promote northern Ontario among non-residents of northern Ontario).
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I can certainly understand how northern Ontarians would be pissed off about that, but I'm not sure how that speaks to the current situation unless the government is again talking about diverting money from northern Ontario development to refurbish Ontario Place. I think ssiguy2's concern was that the funds the Ontario government are allocating for Ontario Place (whatever pot the funds are coming from) will be spent on making a park for Torontonians rather than for all Ontarians. My response was trying to clarify what he's envisioning as a Toronto park vs. an Ontario park.
 
^I don't agree. Residential compromises the area as an event destination. Once you put in residential it won't be long before all concerts, special events, etc. are curtailed or moved. A city is impoverished if it doesn't have a diversity of districts. This is one disagreement I have with the mixed-use crowd. Mixed use is great, but if every non-mixed use area is a nail we keep hitting with the mixed-use hammer the entire city will suffer. If we don't recognize this, we will be repeating the same mistakes our grandfathers and fathers made when they bull-dozed neighbhourhoods for highways and towers in the park.
 
WislaHD said:
I always said that if we want to be a world-class city, than we would have to make Ontario Place a world class attraction.

It needs to be somewhere where tourists can spend the entire day there and not be bored, somewhere where Torontonians and Ontarians can spend the day or evening year-round, it needs to have events and attractions simultaneously for several demographics, it needs to have access to the now clean Lake Ontario water, it needs to have an excellent and vibrant restaurant scene and complimenting art and urban spaces, and it needs to have rapid transit (WWLRT) connecting it to downtown.

Being younger than most of you I don't remember Ontario Place the way it was in the 80s or 90s, but I spent many summers as a child there in the 2000's and I remember it being a very great time. I would love it for future generations of Torontonians/Ontarians and the many many tourists that come to Toronto to experience the same and more. To me, Ontario Place symbolizes the world class city Toronto can become.
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I agree with all of that. With a little work, I think Ontario Place could be viable again. You just need to get the right people on board. A good transit link to downtown is very important.
 
junctionist said:
It's amazing to hear of what Ontario Place once was--a place that was actually hip and fun for people of various ages. To me, it was always just an amusement park for young kids because that's what it was by the 1990s. But people used to go on dates and for a night out at Ontario Place.
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It's looking like Ontario Place will once again be a destination for people of all ages with the revitalization plan.
 
Ontario Place was never viable not that it was ever planned to be. That's probably why all attempts to make it viable ended in disaster. I hope the plan to develop a knowledge centre works otherwise we're probably looking at the same 40 year downward cycle all over again.

Think it has a good chance with a much improved connection to the District Energy/Allstream Centres
 
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maestro said:
Ontario Place was never viable not that it was ever planned to be. That's probably why all attempts to make it viable ended in disaster. I hope the plan to develop a knowledge centre works otherwise we're probably looking at the same 40 year downward cycle all over again.
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Ignoring the issue of site accessibility - given the Cinesphere, the existing pods and space for redevelopment, I have to wonder if it would have made a great location for TIFF if not for the current Lightbox.

AoD
 
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