Yonge Street Revitalization (Downtown Yonge BIA/City of Toronto)

[fiendishlibrarian]

Second, I want space. It's hard enough to walk around the slow people and people who just stop and stand in everyone's way for no reason. Then you have to put up with trees, newspaper boxes, planters, lampposts, charity beggars, regular beggars, mailboxes, and other assorted crap. Get rid of as much of it as possible.

/pedestrian rage off

+3000

Trees aside, it's why I actually prefer the nakedly ruthless and pitiless approach the Bloor-Yorkville BIA took in rebuilding the stretch of Bloor under its jurisdiction: few if any newspaper boxes, no food vendors, widened sidewalks, and minimal street furniture. Everytime I walk by one of the trees with a sign warning of the prompt removal of discarded bicycles a part of me is re-born.

And there is a special place in Hell reserved for obnoxious charity beggars.

 

[caltrane74]

And there is a special place in Hell reserved for obnoxious charity beggars.

Why can't they just take a quarter or a dollar and bugger off!

Why do they need my credit card?

No Sidewalk is wide enough to evade them.

 

[SixPoints]

Why can't they just take a quarter or a dollar and bugger off!

Why do they need my credit card?

No Sidewalk is wide enough to evade them.

Exactly. Who the hell is giving out their credit card number on the street anyways? This takes all the joy out my afternoon walks during my break.

 

[Jonny5]

Exactly. Who the hell is giving out their credit card number on the street anyways? This takes all the joy out my afternoon walks during my break.

I wonder the same, but obviously enough people are to make it lucrative enough for these guys to have proliferated so much. Fundraising and charities has truly become an "industry".

 

[buildup]

And when did Black History Month become Black History All-Year?

Or the achingly innovative pitches from men wearing "Because I'm a Girl" shirts...

I've had one defense serve me well until last week. I avoid eye contact until rather late, that doesn't give them much time once I do make direct eye contact. As I pass (never stop your feet or take anything in hand) I respond with a very friendly, uncomprehending, non sequitur "Thank you". It leaves them puzzled but no matter I've passed. Anyway the Because I'm a Girl" guy yelled "what are you thanking me for?" A valid question.

Blame Belinda Stronach, I think she's behind it.

 

[SP!RE]

Can someone change the title of this thread to say "Downtown Yonge BIA"? There's no such thing as the "Yonge Street BIA".

 

[UrbanFervour]

I imagine Yonge St. being like Oxford St.

 

[pman]

I imagine Yonge St. being like Oxford St.

Totally agree. Both have subway lines running underneath and both have a lot of mass market retail. Isn't traffic on Oxford Street's two remaining lanes restricted to bikes, buses, service vehicles and black cabs? I'd be happy to see that on Yonge but I suspect Toronto is too car-centric and transit-deficient for it to happen here.

 

[Torontovibe]

I'm surprised by how many great 1 and 2 lane streets London has in it's central core and yet, it seems to work very well. I love the intimate, beautiful one lane streets in the London's West End. I wish Toronto had a web of narrow streets like that in our east end. Now if only the West Don Lands was like that. (I'd be so ecstatic) Yes I know, Toronto is no London, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Montreal, Chicago, Vancouver, Berlin, Sydney........but a boy can dream, can't he.

 

[Tewder]

... or better yet you can actually visit those cities and appreciate them there!

I'm not sure why we'd want a warren of narrow streets like London, as charming as they may be. Toronto's streets have their own charm. If only they were in better condition!!

 

[Urban Shocker]

Aren't we supposed to be getting woonerfs in the West Don Lands, or somewhere?

 

[TrickyRicky]

We don't have many narrow commercial streets but I have come to understand that Toronto streets aren't as wide as I thought relative to other major cities. Bloor or Yonge Streets for example are actually not every wide. They appear wide because the buildings on them are not very tall, with the exception of a few notable blocks.

 

[SP!RE]

http://www.celebrateyonge.com/

It's going to be awesome watching people enjoy Yonge Street in a new way for the next month... should spur some great discussion about the future of this stretch of Yonge Street. It's also a really exciting reflection of just how far it's come in a relatively short period of time.

 

[Torontovibe]

I saw lots of thick tree trunks and large rocks, lined up just off Yonge Street, so I guess they are going for a woodsy look, south of Dundas.

 

[Red October]

I imagine Yonge St. being like Oxford St.

When I first got here that was my exact thought (I live about a 5 minute walk from Oxford Street). At least Oxford Street from Oxford Circus to just past Tottenham Court. The other way towards Marble Arch is just too damn beautiful to be Yonge Street, though it's just as busy.