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

Torontovibe said:
All the Liberals did was some nice landscaping! Most weekdays, there is nothing there to do. An international design competition sounds good but I don't trust Ford to do the right thing. Ford might put in a casino, condos and a suburban style shopping mall, which for me, would be unacceptable! I want the original idea of Ontario Place back. Bring back the water slides!
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Seriously, all they really need to do is an updated, more ambitious version of what Ontario Place originally was - basically a giant park with a lot of diverse entertainment features. There was nothing wrong with the concept - the problem was that the best attractions were removed over time, and the rest was left to deteriorate.

How about a more sophisticated version of Coney Island? Get Claude Cormier to design a new Children's Village that would be 5 times as epic and fun as the original for starters. Let's think big again like we did in the 70's - build the world's largest playground. Can anyone think of a reason why we shouldn't?
 
Richard White said:
Personally I want to see Ontario Place turned back into an amusement park. It is nice to have it is as a park but that was not the original intent.

A casino would go nicely in the pods.
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It might not be exactly the original idea, but what's been done so far as passive park and pathways is very nice, and right in the middle of this hectic, waterfront city. Personally, I'd hate to see a giant amusement park impact what little bit of tranquility that's been achieved here. The Pods present a challenge , but a casino is not an inspired use. I do however agree that the Ontario Place site needs to be integrated into the mainland venues, just keep as much passive as possible. I have very little faith right now that Doug Ford is thinking along these lines.
 
Now, in the Conservative's defense, the previous plans for the remainder of Ontario Place were already running into problems.
According to a bidder on the project who was not shortlisted, government officials in early 2018 expressed reluctance about the bids brought forward because of concerns the proposals called for too much investment from outside Ontario, didn’t set aside enough public space or asked the government for too much money.

A similar concern was noted in a document from the ministry of tourism and culture, which said that “no single submission stood out.” Ms. Keesmaat’s appointment to the project, which was not publicly announced, was seen by bidders as an attempt to get the project on track, according to a source.
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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/can...o-place-in-toronto-shelved-during-transition/

With these plans all blown up and thrown into the air, I do wonder what Ontario Place could be- it must be more than just a park. Something fine-grained, multi-use and usable in all seasons should be considered.

I also wonder if the economics of a casino are all that sound anyways considering that there's now multiple casino projects in the GTA- perhaps Ford is going for another Westfield-entertainment-complex sort of project (with the prerequisite Ferris wheel and monorail of course).
 
old boy said:
It might not be exactly the original idea, but what's been done so far as passive park and pathways is very nice, and right in the middle of this hectic, waterfront city. Personally, I'd hate to see a giant amusement park impact what little bit of tranquility that's been achieved here. The Pods present a challenge , but a casino is not an inspired use. I do however agree that the Ontario Place site needs to be integrated into the mainland venues, just keep as much passive as possible. I have very little faith right now that Doug Ford is thinking along these lines.
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If you want to see passive parkland on Toronto's waterfront it's litterally EVERYWHERE, including right beside Ontario Place, on BOTH sides! (Coronation Park & Marlyn Bell Park) You have parkland all along the Beaches, The Islands, Tommy Thompson Park, The Bluffers Park, Humber Bay Park, just to mention a few. Anybody who thinks Toronto doesn't have enough waterfront parkland, doesn't know Toronto's waterfront! The passive parkland is in all areas of the city and some of the parks are HUGE! Take a walk to the spit and you'll see it goes for miles, then just a hop, skip and a jump away you've got Cherry Beach Park and also new parks being made in the Portlands.

What city has more passive parkland along the waterfront than Toronto? From east to west, this city has got you covered! Can we not have one tiny park for urban FUN? Those floating pods need to be used for something and we already have the Cinesphere, which ain't going anywhere, so why not create an amazing attraction that will provide jobs for Torontonians year round, help tourism, promote the province, entertain the masses and provide FUN for kids and adults alike? What's wrong with a little (or a lot of) FUN, Toronto?

The passive parkland is there in abundance for those looking for peace and quiet. I prefer the more urban side of life!
 
He can also develop a horse racing track that sells edibles alongside buck a beer. It would obviously be called the Hash & Dash.
 
If we're subjected to four years of Doug potentially screwing up transit and curriculums, it would be nice to at least benefit from his giving us an actual show stopper here. (I'm skeptical of his taste though).

I stayed at Hotel X recently, and it crazy to see how much of the Ex area, and Ontario place is parking lots. Feels like there's so much that could be done to make the area really amazing.
 
JMSRead said:
If we're subjected to four years of Doug potentially screwing up transit and curriculums, it would be nice to at least benefit from his giving us an actual show stopper here. (I'm skeptical of his taste though).

I stayed at Hotel X recently, and it crazy to see how much of the Ex area, and Ontario place is parking lots. Feels like there's so much that could be done to make the area really amazing.
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Just looking at the CNE grounds in 1950, you can see how much of that land was taken over by parking lots.

exhibition-aerial-1950.jpg

The Exhibition Loop was located for much better service than today's l-o-n-g walk. The worst was the destruction on New Fort York, again for parking lots, and today's Hotel X.
 
Would he even make use for the pods, though? I can see him knocking it all down as "impractical", heritage be darned. Mini-Vegas rools.

In that light, I dug this up...

2:53:Sergei calls in, and he says he has a more sophisticated program for the water fountain in front of City Hall, but City Hall didn’t respond to his unsolicited proposal. Doug Ford then suggests that Toronto should have a mini-Bellagio fountain. “Go big or go home,” he says, channeling his inner Donald Trump.
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https://torontoist.com/2013/06/the-rob-ford-radio-recap-doug-comes-alive/
 
Automation Gallery said:
Haha, here we go again

Gambling industry eyes Toronto waterfront
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-gambling-industry-eyes-downtown-waterfront/
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Interesting:
If councillors were to block a downtown Toronto casino, the provincial government could turn to a rarely used provision to overrule the city, the source said. Under what’s known as a Minister’s Zoning Order, the province can control land use over the objections of a municipality.
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innsertnamehere said:
MZOs aren't exactly rare - the minister uses them all the time. Just not typically in Toronto.
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Yes, and Ford is uncharted new ground. Everyone thought that we wouldn't reach the point where the nonwithstanding clause would need to be dusted off and used to disappear half of Toronto council, and yet here we are.

Whatever Ford does, I'm entirely sure that if there is a more benevolent progressive party in the future, the use of these tools might be more tightly regulated.
 
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