Toronto The Well | 174.03m | 46s | RioCan | Hariri Pontarini

We're getting closer to that vision! CCXA's landscape plan does contemplate Wellington as a grand connection between Clarence Square and Victoria Memorial.

Via CCXA:
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I'm really disappointed with the redesign of Wellington Street a missed opportunity. I've travelled around Europe, South Pacific and am now on a four month tour of Bogota, Quito, Lima and Santiago. These 4 cities have taken their planning notes from the best of European cities. Wellington could have had a broad central treed medium that would have connected the small but significant Clarence Square and Victoria memorial Square in a linear fashion. Like in Tel Aviv with numerous treed camopy boulevards, the central park could accomodate bike lanes and cafes too. Reduce car lanes to 1 in each direction or better yet eliminate them altogether and find a way to access the few businesses left on the south side of Wellington. At Spadina make a real pedestrian / bike friendly crossing rather than the mean spirited one there now. Little moves like this by the city done in qauntity will improve daily life in the core immensly, And what's happening to rail deck park?
Wellington construction has barely begun. Dozens of on-boulevard and on-street parking spaces are being removed, etc. Let's see the result before we start blasting it.
 
I'm really disappointed with the redesign of Wellington Street a missed opportunity. I've travelled around Europe, South Pacific and am now on a four month tour of Bogota, Quito, Lima and Santiago. These 4 cities have taken their planning notes from the best of European cities. Wellington could have had a broad central treed medium that would have connected the small but significant Clarence Square and Victoria memorial Square in a linear fashion. Like in Tel Aviv with numerous treed camopy boulevards, the central park could accomodate bike lanes and cafes too. Reduce car lanes to 1 in each direction or better yet eliminate them altogether and find a way to access the few businesses left on the south side of Wellington. At Spadina make a real pedestrian / bike friendly crossing rather than the mean spirited one there now. Little moves like this by the city done in qauntity will improve daily life in the core immensly, And what's happening to rail deck park?
I think comment should really await completion - the final plans look good. Yes, I know, there may be the usual 'cheapening' and things take FAR too long but it is really not useful to criticise projects that are not finished.
 
The Well, with all the cranes now gone. And what is left of our formerly unobstructed view of the CN Tower....
I have occasionally wondered about the future of the CN Tower as all of the former rail and industrial lands around it have been redeveloped.
  • if the CN Tower could be 'topped' up higher. I've not seen any observation/transmission tower remade taller. Will it disappear into a forest of super talls?
  • are the new towers around it dissipating its usefulness? Would the transmission tech be better located elsewhere? For better reception/transmission?
  • being so close to all of that transmission output, is that even healthy for the nearby condo dwellers long-term? I had a satellite radio in my car for a while, and it was completely unusable near the tower, drowned out by radio waves output by the tower. I'm no conspiracy theorist, but excessive EMI is supposed to be unhealthy.
  • it's hard to believe but does Toronto need to think about putting an upper limit on height, or preserving views, simply to keep the CN tower prominent as a landmark?
  • can it be repurposed?
I know this is off-topic, excuuuuse me, but it's something to consider for development downtown around the tower, of which The Well is a part.
 
I know this is off topic but I would like to see the CN tower concrete mast clad in something colourful... or even black with bright coloured details. The pods are great as they are.
 

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