University Avenue (History and Future Redesign)

[ssiguy2]

London Ontario has just announced an $18 million renewal of 4 blocks of Dundas Street to bring the once vibrant street back to it's glory. It's getting rid of the street parking and widening the sidewalks, making the street completely level so it can be used easily as a "flex street" and putting in some beautiful brick sidewalks and road ones to boot to enhance the streets flexibility and attractiveness.

Amazing how a city of just 405,000 can find $18 million of it's own money and get rid of 2 road lanes along a route that carries more than 20X more buses than University & Yonge combined yet one of 3,000,000 can't find any money to refurbish a once grand street like University or it's dump of a main street, Yonge. Of course London is raising it's property taxes by 3.3% this year which is well above the inflation rate to help pay for it while Toronto will do nothing no doubt demanding QP pick up the whole tab.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Actually, the Feds paid 8M for project:

http://www.london.ca/newsroom/Pages/dundas-place-design-reveal.aspx

https://www.canada.ca/en/office-inf...ndingfor114publictransitp.html?wbdisable=true

And comparing the project to University and Yonge through the number of buses is just borderline nonsensical.

AoD

 

[innsertnamehere]

London Ontario has just announced an $18 million renewal of 4 blocks of Dundas Street to bring the once vibrant street back to it's glory. It's getting rid of the street parking and widening the sidewalks, making the street completely level so it can be used easily as a "flex street" and putting in some beautiful brick sidewalks and road ones to boot to enhance the streets flexibility and attractiveness.

Amazing how a city of just 405,000 can find $18 million of it's own money and get rid of 2 road lanes along a route that carries more than 20X more buses than University & Yonge combined yet one of 3,000,000 can't find any money to refurbish a once grand street like University or it's dump of a main street, Yonge. Of course London is raising it's property taxes by 3.3% this year which is well above the inflation rate to help pay for it while Toronto will do nothing no doubt demanding QP pick up the whole tab.

.. Toronto literally came up with the idea to rebuild University a week ago. Not sure why it is shocking that funding has not yet been identified.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

.. Toronto literally came up with the idea to rebuild University a week ago. Not sure why it is shocking that funding has not yet been identified.

The proposal hasn't even been formally announced by the city yet.

AoD

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

By Alex B at the Globe:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opi...ntown-toronto-with-a-newlens/article37191771/

AoD

 

[pman]

The majority of councillors are from the suburbs, and their ideas about urban planning begin and end with a 1950’s car-centric, virulently anti-core philosophy. Toronto will never build anything as urban or delightful as this proposal. If anything, it’s more probable that Councillors like Holyday, Karygiannis and Mammoliti will want to raze the centre median to accommodate more traffic lanes, or maybe parking, if they ever turn their attention to University.

 

[ADRM]

The majority of councillors are from the suburbs, and their ideas about urban planning begin and end with a 1950’s car-centric, virulently anti-core philosophy. Toronto will never build anything as urban or delightful as this proposal. If anything, it’s more probable that Councillors like Holyday, Karygiannis and Mammoliti will want to raze the centre median to accommodate more traffic lanes, or maybe parking, if they ever turn their attention to University.

Those frustrations are certainly justified, but we've definitely had some solid urbanism make its way through the planning process despite those schmucks.

Certainly any "Great Streets" would be a very tough sell with any of those mopes (and many of their colleagues on Council), but this is a genuinely exciting prospect, even if it's purely conceptual at this point.

 

[innsertnamehere]

It is important to remember that ward boundaries are changing next year as well - the amount of downtown councillors is doubling from 3 to 6. Councill will have a more urban focus.

 

[ADRM]

It is important to remember that ward boundaries are changing next year as well - the amount of downtown councillors is doubling from 3 to 6. Councill will have a more urban focus.

True, though I'm not counting my/our chickens, because 1) there's no guarantee we wind up with sensible councillors even in those new wards, 2) Bailao and Palacio will most likely wind up running against each other and Bailao isn't guaranteed to win, and 3) I'll believe Troisi's commitment not to run in this election when I see it.

I also worry about Tory taking a starkly anti-urban tact if a progressive challenger throws her or his hat in the mayoral race (though I doubt this winds up being an election topic) and, frankly, his stance on urban matters even independent of the race if his thinking is that his "gives" were the King pilot and Bloor bike lanes.

 

[innsertnamehere]

frankly those two "gives" were huge for council. Both ideas have been languishing for decades, and Tory has actually implemented them.

 

[ADRM]

frankly those two "gives" were huge for council. Both ideas have been languishing for decades, and Tory has actually implemented them.

Totally, and the magnitude of them is what makes me worry that he thinks he's "done enough" for people who care about that sort of thing.

 

[pman]

frankly those two "gives" were huge for council. Both ideas have been languishing for decades, and Tory has actually implemented them.

The fact that these two gives were huge demonstrates the poverty of our municipal vision and ambition.

 

[ADRM]

The fact that these two gives were huge demonstrates the poverty of our municipal vision and ambition.

I agree with the notion, but not with the use of "our" -- I think the problem rests mostly with the mayor and a cadre of councillors, not with a paucity of vision or ambition among "the people."

 

[pman]

I agree with the notion, but not with the use of "our" -- I think the problem rests mostly with the mayor and a cadre of councillors, not with a paucity of vision or ambition among "the people."

You’re right, that’s an important distinction. How can we have so many talented, well-travelled, sophisticated, well-educated people in this city, and have such a deadbeat Council and Mayor?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

From the TO Core Downtown Parks and Public Realm Plan (Full Report - 100+MB)

AoD