City
Morning Brew: May 30th, 2008
Photo: "BCE Place" by jsaneb, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
Your Toronto morning news roundup for Friday May 30th, 2008:
The proposed extension of Front Street to Dufferin (it currently ends at Bathurst) has been cancelled, which means that the hopes of chopping down part of the Gardiner (which was contingent on the Front Street Extension becoming reality) may be dashed as well, despite support of the mayor. Why not take it underground east of Yonge, and have it resurface at the DVP? If Boston can do it, so can we.
Toronto is set to study the feasibility of safe injection sites. The news comes shortly after a much contested site in Vancouver stirred up things in the high courts, and Federal Health Minister Tony Clement spoke of how unethical it is to give drug addicts a safe place to shoot up. Idealogy has its short-comings.
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I can't see the difference; can you see the difference? The TTC is testing new subway entrance signage but they could probably skip testing altogether. Am I missing some legibility or historical significance argument that only a Joe Clark could speak to, or are the new signs fine as is?
A motor home went up in flames on the streets of Mississauga yesterday, forcing the occupants to have to find some other way to the Nascar race they were headed to. The money they save on gas might make taking the train or a bus or plane worth while.
Although Canadian teams amount to just 20% of teams in the NHL, they generate 31% of the league ticket revenue. Why? Because only Canadians (and especially Torontonians) are willing to pay ludicrous prices to watch a shite team flop around on the ice while team execs gold-plate and diamond-encrust their yacht anchors. That's why.
Discussion
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Uh-oh, the "tear down the Gardiner" people are on the warpath again. Personally, I think Toronto should rise to the challenge of living with the Gardiner intact. Find a way to make it beautiful and the bring the space under it to life. Hundertwasser would certainly know what to do with it!
I'm in Boston once/month for work, and traffic would be disgusting without the tunnels (it's still not a thrill at rush hour).
THe only difference is that london has a healthy fabric for the market to tie into. the space around the gardiner is a wasteland of condominium glut. MAybe we could put the leslieville wal mart under the gardiner?
<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_P1knr26Knuc/RrNxA_-qjGI/AAAAAAAAACE/8xQaeNH3b2U/s400/SmartCookie.jpg";>Did you eat Chinese food last night</a>?
nothing to do with removing the Gardiner (which should be done). Montreal also has its downtown hiway underground. We can do it too!
I could not agree more. Also, those condo towers have not been designed to relate to this "boulevard" that they're talking about building in place of the Gardiner. Many, if not all of them, have placed their parking entrances, ventilation equipment and dumpster areas on the side that now faces the Gardiner/Lakeshore.
It's possible to make something of this mess, but it sure as hell wouldn't be cheap. And Toronto is a city that likes to do things on the cheap.
Get thee to Chicago, friend!
My main gripe with your statement is that we don't LIKE to be cheap. We HAVE to be, because we are short on money and spend money on frivolous things (golf for councillors, TTC station beutification, city-owned food carts for samosas, etc) and have nothing left for infrastructure.
And to bring things full circle, I think those "new" TTC signs definitely do NOT look like the cheap option (unlike, say, those theatre-prop street signs the city started putting up a few years ago to replace the old ones). I think they will make the streetscape a little more interesting.
Next time I'm stuck in traffic on the Gardiner I'll remember that if only we didn't issue councillors golf passes (which has a marginal cost to the course of almost $0) or rent out food carts (which hasn't even been done), or install signs at new subway entrances (God forbid we spend a few dollars so someone can find where the entrance is) and etc... (is there any etc that amounts to something?), I would instead be driving through a miraculous tunnel with no traffic problems at all.
*Slightly exaggerated, but you get my point.
"I'm not talking about nearly the scope to which Boston took the Big Dig. I'm just talking about the stretch of the Gardiner from about Yonge to the DVP."
Your first statement frames the Boston project as a success and implies that it should be a straight-forward process for Toronto to replicate that success.
Your second statement responds to a reader who pointed out that the Boston project went wildly over budget. You seem to imply that because the scale would be somewhat smaller, all of the problems of corruption, mismanagement, and budget over-runs would evaporate, which would be irrationally optimistic.
As for hockey, the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Ottawa Senators have all made it to the finals since 2004. The Canadiens finished first in the East this year, and the Canucks have two division titles in the last 4 seasons. The other 5 Canadian franchises don't seem to be "flopping around."
It isn't unfeasible, but it is a waste of time for he Mayor and City staff to spend any time on it. Why? There. Is. No. Money. And there won't be. Does anyone honestly believe that if the money was suddenly available for this type of large project that burying the Gardiner would be the first one on the list? Hell, we have a $500 million backlog for our basic infrastructure. This whole thing is like drawing plans for a house that you can't (and will never be able to) afford while your current home is falling apart. Dreaming big may get headlines, but as my grandfather once said - wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first.
Thanks Jerrold, you're my hero of the day :-)
The area surrounding the gardiner IS A CONDOMINIUM WASTELAND. IT DESERVES A WALMART AND NOTHING MORE. getting rid of the gardiner is a misconceived quick fix.
It's important to note that the <i>actual</i> physical barrier to the waterfront - which no one ever mentions - are the railroad tracks.
I wish Mayor Miller and various people supporting this idea would start thinking...
That's probably the best statement I've ever heard regarding the waterfront "barrier" and the Gardiner.
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You mention the railway tracks as being the barrier.
The tracks had been at street level prior to the building of Union Station. They caused many accidents and injuries.
Union Station was designed to have a grade separation for the railways to avoid further mishaps with pedestrians and motorists.
Of course, in the 1920s when the grade separation was built the harbour was closer to the Esplanade and its alignment.
Look at how far inland is the Harbour Commission Building, yet at the time of its construction it was at the waterfront. The waterfront was industrial and the only public amenity was the ferry docks at the foot of Bay St.
So, it's a case of take your pick. Have the grade separation from the 1920s and the barrier to the lake or
have tracks at grade and the concomitant accidents and mishaps.
Sometimes, a little history brings perspective.
If you agree that replacing ttc signs is a waste of money lets all write Adam an email and let him know. chair@ttc.ca