Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR

I tried out the burger place in the Foodie Aisle today. It was pretty tasty, but the bun wasn't substantial enough, so it fell apart quickly. Anyways, it was nice to see the whole aisle pretty busy and seemingly thriving.
 
Northern Light said:
Good for you for persisting; it really is appreciated!

For the life of, that area below the Great Hall might be the most unforgivable of oversights for how comparatively easy a fix it is.........

***

Any recent updates on the Great Hall lighting?
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I was scared to ask but bet the answer would be 'This is currently with our project management office." No doubt, along with finishing the Great Hall floor repairs. Sigh!
 
Not the most exciting retail news, but here it is:

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daptive said:
The medical service tenants are an interesting retail choice. Are there people who do laser treatments or teeth cleaning then head on a train home?

Kind of wish a different assortment of retail was chosen but I’m also not the demographic so 🤷🏻‍♂️
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Kind of disappointing that they seem to just be replicating the PATH with these office worker focused retail. It's hard to know but I wonder if the length and how badly the revitalization was done, no one sees Union as a "destination" and thus it's not able to attract people to spend time in the station rather than passing by on their way to somewhere else.

Genuinely curious how many mayors we can cycle through before the art is installed in the moat, the "urban market" opens, the Bay section of the great hall opens, and they change the ugly lighting that is throughout the station.
 
daptive said:
The medical service tenants are an interesting retail choice. Are there people who do laser treatments or teeth cleaning then head on a train home?

Kind of wish a different assortment of retail was chosen but I’m also not the demographic so 🤷🏻‍♂️
Click to expand...

Even pre covid it was a bit dicey to have a medical service clinic downtown. Sure there were a few in the path and in the odd office buildings. Being downtown allowed your clients to visit you during their lunch breaks, then return to the office, vs say being in a residential area and having a heavy morning and evening booking schedule. Being in Union is an extension of that model, and with more offices and condo units within walking distance to Union makes for a decent potential client base. Even then, though, I imagine the higher rents made it a difficult business proposition.

Depending on how many workers return to DT offices will determine the fate of these service clinics as well as a variety of other services (restaurants, etc)
 
kv1990 said:
Has there been any updates on the bollards on Front St? I haven't heard anything since this article came out back in October ...

www.thestar.com

‘As ugly as ugly can be’: Why are there still temporary barriers around Union Station four years later?

Installed after the Yonge Street van attack to protect pedestrians, the Jersey barriers were supposed to be replaced after a year.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com
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Last I heard they were still planning 2023 but with the late John Tory's budget, who knows!
 
A few pages back someone contacted the city and they apparently need to do waterproofing work under Front street before they can put in permanent bollards. And then some statement about how it requires planning and coordination blah blah blah. As someone that wants to support urban transportation, the fact that there needs to be waterproofing on a relatively new station and multi-year planning to install some metal poles is making it hard to see it as tax dollars well spent. Like why is the moat connection not open because they need to wait for some Danish artist
 
trtcttc said:
A few pages back someone contacted the city and they apparently need to do waterproofing work under Front street before they can put in permanent bollards. And then some statement about how it requires planning and coordination blah blah blah. As someone that wants to support urban transportation, the fact that there needs to be waterproofing on a relatively new station and multi-year planning to install some metal poles is making it hard to see it as tax dollars well spent. Like why is the moat connection not open because they need to wait for some Danish artist
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Yes, I did report that the waterproofing on Front is (supposedly) why the jersey barriers are still there. It was promised for 2023 but I am not holding my breath.

Of course, it should not take 5 years to get rid of the 'temporary' barriers but we live(d) in John Tory's Toronto. In addition, I 100% agree that it is ' bizarre' that the area below the Front Street sidewalk needs to be waterproofed now as it was all dug up and supposedly fixed in time for Pan-Am Games in 2015.

The moat connection is not closed because the Walks & Gardens art work is yet to be installed but, I am told, because there is not enough pedestrian traffic to justify the additional security the additional passageway it will need.
 
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DSC said:
Yes, I did report that the waterproofing on Front is (supposedly) why the jersey barriers are still there. It was promised for 2023 but I am not holding my breath.

Of course, it should not take 5 years to get rid of the 'temporary' barriers but we live(d) in John Tory's Toronto. In addition, I 100% agree that it is ' bizarre' that the area below the Front Street sidewalk needs to be waterproofed now as it was all dug up and supposedly fixed in time for Pan-Am Games in 2015.

The moat connection is not closed because the Walks & Gardens art work is yet to be installed but, I am told, because there is not enough pedestrian traffic to justify the additional security it will need.
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Just to remind us all that the Walks & Gardens art work (FLUX) was agreed on in 2012!! Yes, really, 11 years ago. (OK, covid was some sort of excuse but really .....) Thank god someone already built the Taj Mahal as we would never manage it here! See: https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2012.GM11.6
 
trtcttc said:
Kind of disappointing that they seem to just be replicating the PATH with these office worker focused retail. It's hard to know but I wonder if the length and how badly the revitalization was done, no one sees Union as a "destination" and thus it's not able to attract people to spend time in the station rather than passing by on their way to somewhere else.

Genuinely curious how many mayors we can cycle through before the art is installed in the moat, the "urban market" opens, the Bay section of the great hall opens, and they change the ugly lighting that is throughout the station.
Click to expand...

I wonder if they're going to do anything to address the 'air quality' in the moat now that it is covered.
 
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