Toronto The Garrison at The Yards | ?m | 12s | Onni Group | Wallman Architects

4 August 2012:

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In building all these condos right up to the Gardiner I feel as though we're cementing it's future existence. The way all these buildings present themselves to it (by code I'm sure) if we were to tear it down Lakeshore would be the most depressing street ever with countless blank, windowless walls.
 
Im sure that if the Gardiner were ever demolished, renovation of at least some of the adjacent buildings would follow quickly. I can think of grand boulevards in many asian cities surrounded by some of the crappiest architecture known to man. It doesn't detract all that much from their appeal. Plus if they went the route of burying 8 lanes of traffic in a tunnel that began at bay moving east and surfacing northbound as the DVP - and turned Lakeshore into a true "boulevard", there would be plenty of incentive for redevelopment of facades facing Lakeshore/Gardiner.

Also ProjectEnd, thanks for that link. Very cool tidbit of info
 
The Gardiner will never be replaced by a tunnel. How would we fund it; with moneys that should go to transit? I suspect that X_C_J's intuition is correct: we will be paying to keep the Gardiner patched up and operating forever and ever, as this and all other buildings in the area are being built with the Gardiner viaduct's continued existence in mind.

42
 
Forever is a very long time, but any thought of a Gardiner replacement could only occur after the waterfront is fully redeveloped. Even then, the arterial route would not disappear, but likely be replaced by an improved version of what is there. A new east-west subway line (DRL) would be much more beneficial - starting now.
 
Never is indeed a strong word. I wasn't suggesting that there was funding available or even enough rationale to bury the gardiner - but forever is indeed a very long time. Let's not rule out billionaire philanthropists with nothing better to do - in hypothetical situations the word never is a bit discouraging - but I do understand where you are coming from 42. It really isnt feasible with city dollars
 
ProjectEnd said:
It wouldn't be the first time. Wilson and Wetmore Halls at New College were designed with the unbuilt Spadina Expressway in mind: Link
Click to expand...

Thank you! I used to walk every day in front of these two buildings and think "why would they build them like that?"
 
someMidTowner said:
Never is indeed a strong word. I wasn't suggesting that there was funding available or even enough rationale to bury the gardiner - but forever is indeed a very long time. Let's not rule out billionaire philanthropists with nothing better to do - in hypothetical situations the word never is a bit discouraging - but I do understand where you are coming from 42. It really isnt feasible with city dollars
Click to expand...

Or a new government with enough seats in Parliament to direct funds to improvements like these. It will happen, sooner rather than later, I hope.
 
I hope it never happens. Money for highways is typically shared with transit in transportation budgeting. Transit improvements are the cheapest and most environmentally friendly way of moving people, and we need billions of dollars worth of that, so I want the least transport dollars spent on the Gardiner as is possible while keeping traffic moving. The cheapest way to do that is to keep the Gardiner patched up and operating. Tearing the Gardiner down would be massively disruptive for a couple years. Replacing it with a beefed-up surface level Lake Shore will do nothing to make crossing it as a pedestrian any easier. Burying it would devastate transportation budgets for decades. Billionaire philanthropists are not hiding in dark corners waiting to spring out with cash to fix this for us.

Tearing down the Gardiner is a ridiculous pipe dream, and I'm glad the likelihood of it ever happening is becoming more remote with every new building being built beside it.

42
 
I do think it's laughable how close this is built to the Gardiner... I'm almost certain that someone is going to attempt to pee onto the highway from their bedroom window. In any case, I actually like the north and east sides with its patches of red brick. This is the kind of look that seems appropriate for the waterfront and along the rail corridor. A really refreshing and pleasing look compared to the blue/grey/green all glass construction that has dominated in this area. More red brick and historically inspired design, please!
 
TBH, this section of the Gardiner isn't that bad - it's relatively narrow (no on/off ramps), and raised high above the ground. The more problematic stretch is between Bathurst to Jarvis. As to tunneling - I think that window had come and gone - the benefit of doing so after all the development had taken place around is a bit diminished. Looking at the 2nd photo posted by sMT - if only they could rebuild the section interfering with the NS view corridor with the thinner steel beams and piers, it would have reduced the bulk of the expressway dramatically. I think doing so as part of "modernizing" the Gardiner is probably more benefitical at this point.

BTW, the manager responsible for the Gardiner is no more:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/0...s-after-series-of-falling-concrete-incidents/
 
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