Toronto Valhalla Town Square (Phase 1) | 102.41m | 31s | Edilcan | Arcadis

Hey everyone, long time no post

A lot of activity currently going on at 2 Gibbs

Here’s a picture of concrete being poured for the base of the crane on 09/12/18

The site got dumped on really badly from Monday’s storm, a lot of flooding

Pictures are taken from my unit in 9 Valhalla

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I agree with you. This part of Etobicoke is very convenient with the 427 providing a quick connection to the airport and beyond.
The immediate area contains several major office complexes at Dundas, Bloor and Burnhamthorpe. The three tower Valhalla Executive Complex is next door along Bloor. Cloverdale Mall and the newly expanded Sherway Gardens are within 3 kilometres.
 
idc24 said:
I agree with you. This part of Etobicoke is very convenient with the 427 providing a quick connection to the airport and beyond.
The immediate area contains several major office complexes at Dundas, Bloor and Burnhamthorpe. The three tower Valhalla Executive Complex is next door along Bloor. Cloverdale Mall and the newly expanded Sherway Gardens are within 3 kilometres.
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That may all be true, but the area is utterly car dependent. The walkability, transit access, and diversity of amenities are all terrible.

It's an urban planning failure on all counts.
 
Towered said:
That may all be true, but the area is utterly car dependent. The walkability, transit access, and diversity of amenities are all terrible.

It's an urban planning failure on all counts.
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Transit access is okay if all you want is a bus to Kipling or Islington Station; otherwise it's pretty bad. But the pedestrian and cycling access is horrible, and simply increasing the density in the area won't make much difference.
 
yea these will be pretty exclusively auto dependant.

The local grocery store within the development will reduce a few small types of trips made typically in suburban environments, but not by a lot. Every condo is still going to own a car and use it regularly.
 
Streets like the East Mall need to be rezoned mixed use with a minimum height requirement and mandatory retail units lining the sidewalk. The goal should be "complete streets".
 
Towered said:
Streets like the East Mall need to be rezoned mixed use with a minimum height requirement and mandatory retail units lining the sidewalk. The goal should be "complete streets".
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Too bad that's not going to happen; there's no secondary plan for the area and I highly doubt there's one anywhere in the pipeline. Development will continue along this stretch in the same piecemeal way we've been seeing over the past few years, with the precedent being set by the surrounding towers along the 427.
 
Amare said:
Too bad that's not going to happen; there's no secondary plan for the area and I highly doubt there's one anywhere in the pipeline. Development will continue along this stretch in the same piecemeal way we've been seeing over the past few years, with the precedent being set by the surrounding towers along the 427.
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What does it take to get a secondary plan going? It's not rocket science. The same principles that make the downtown streets so successful and popular just need to be replicated on all the awful post-war streets that suffer from car oriented design. Simple.
 
Towered said:
What does it take to get a secondary plan going? It's not rocket science. The same principles that make the downtown streets so successful and popular just need to be replicated on all the awful post-war streets that suffer from car oriented design. Simple.
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Because developers aren't interested in creating retail spaces in an area that's already desolate with no retail. It would have to be basically forced on them in this area.

Heck if Dundas Street between Kipling and The East Mall just a bit further south isn't seeing any retail proposed for most of the condo developments we're going to see pop up soon, this stretch definitely wont see any such proposals either.
 
Towered said:
Such a boring area
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Pissy and unnecessary, but thanks for your contribution.

Towered said:
Streets like the East Mall need to be rezoned mixed use with a minimum height requirement and mandatory retail units lining the sidewalk. The goal should be "complete streets".
Click to expand...

Ok, let's say this does happen. Are you going to lease space on the East Mall? No pedestrian traffic and a street that amounts to a local highway. I get that every 'new' area needs catalysts but I wouldn't.

Towered said:
What does it take to get a secondary plan going? It's not rocket science. The same principles that make the downtown streets so successful and popular just need to be replicated on all the awful post-war streets that suffer from car oriented design. Simple.
Click to expand...

Simple. Yeah, *simple*. I'm genuinely not sure what your point is because it's certainly *not* "simple". You can't just zone walkability and pedestrian scale into existence. What are you talking about?
 
It has been proven all across North America that building new urban street retail along suburban streets served by regional retail has a very high degree of failure. It would be unfair to mandate this on developers and there's nothing worse than a street of vacant storefronts.
 
ProjectEnd said:
Pissy and unnecessary, but thanks for your contribution.



Ok, let's say this does happen. Are you going to lease space on the East Mall? No pedestrian traffic and a street that amounts to a local highway. I get that every 'new' area needs catalysts but I wouldn't.



Simple. Yeah, *simple*. I'm genuinely not sure what your point is because it's certainly *not* "simple". You can't just zone walkability and pedestrian scale into existence. What are you talking about?
Click to expand...

If my comments come across as abrasive, it's because I'm a staunch believer of the complete streets ideology, and i have little patience for seeing the same lack of planning in certain areas 60 years on.

Why is there no pedestrian traffic on the East Mall? Because there is nothing on those vast empty lawns wasting space in front of the midrises and towers-in-parks to walk to. So everyone is forced to drive everywhere. The city should be developing plans to change this built form. I strongly believe we should be creating a built form that dramatically reduces car dependency in such areas to promote healthier living habits for the locals and improving the environment.

And you're right - it's not simple. A lack of political will on the part of local councillors and the mayor to prioritize these changes is why they don't happen. The tower renewal project initiated by city hall many years ago was designed to address this very issue, yet like so many other grand schemes is collecting dust on a shelf somewhere because it doesn't seem as important to our current civic leaders.

Unfortunately, it will take a shift in our society's culture to make complete streets possible because if citizens don't care, the politicians we elect certainly won't.
 
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