I suspect this parking lot is going in so drivers can park and enjoy the new park. You know, since busing, biking, and walking are not really options for most drivers. 🙃

Note: I'm seething with sarcasm because it made me think of a friend who lives in a condo that is less than a 5 min walk to Loblaws and he STILL drives there, even if it's just to buy a loaf of bread. 😂
 
GameOnBrad said:
I suspect this parking lot is going in so drivers can park and enjoy the new park. You know, since busing, biking, and walking are not really options for most drivers. 🙃

Note: I'm seething with sarcasm because it made me think of a friend who lives in a condo that is less than a 5 min walk to Loblaws and he STILL drives there, even if it's just to buy a loaf of bread. 😂
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Lol I can think of some people on Urban Toronto who were very upset with the lack of parking here.
 
ADRM said:
On each of those days, when I left around dinner time, the traffic was backed up on Cherry from, no exaggeration, the Strauss Trunnion Bridge, to Mill Street (!!!!) -- backed up as in stop-and-go -- and along Commissioners from Cherry (or New Cherry, should I say?) to just before the new Commissioner Street bridge.

I'm just not sure the City understands how big a problem it has here, and how badly it will compromise the success (and safety) of all this new parkland that three levels have just spent upwards of two billion dollars delivering...
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Yes, the success of this area depends on ensuring almost all trips are done on foot, bike, or PT; just like countless cities across Europe, east Asia, and elsewhere. Adding more road and parking will absolutely destroy what has the potential to be one of the best places in the city. Shockingly, it seems Toronto is still stuck in the 1950s and installing a parking lot? Some times Toronto leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. The Portlands will be 100% fine if those entitled car drivers decide not to visit.
 
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isaidso said:
Yes, the success of this area depends on ensuring almost all trips are done on foot, bike, or PT; just like countless cities across Europe, east Asia, and elsewhere. Adding more road and parking will absolutely destroy what has the potential to be one of the best places in the city. Shockingly, it seems Toronto is still stuck in the 1950s and installing a parking lot? Some times Toronto leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. The Portlands will be 100% fine if those entitled car drivers decide not to visit.
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Part of the problem is that the Ship Channel Bridge is only one-way at a time at the moment - and until at least summer 2026. (SEE: https://www.portstoronto.com/portst...o-ship-channel-bridge-rehabilitation-project/ ) The City also has plans to make the Unwin Bridge two-way (it now 'alterrnates') which will make using Unwin a better alternative to Commissioners for some people. (SEE: https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.IE21.8 )
 
Yes and the attraction of the park without the addition of transit speaks to the early failure of this neighbourhood launch.
 
kev1n1m said:
Yes and the attraction of the park without the addition of transit speaks to the early failure of this neighbourhood launch.
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well there isn't really a neighborhood here, cuz there isn't the basics including places for people to live and shop and go to school

I think we can start calling it a failure if any of the residential developments opened before there is improved transit, ideally a streetcar line

at this time the bus from Union (114), which now has some dedicated bus lanes, runs at least every 15 minutes, and up to every 10 minutes, so not awful
 
isaidso said:
Yes, the success of this area depends on ensuring almost all trips are done on foot, bike, or PT; just like countless cities across Europe, east Asia, and elsewhere. Adding more road and parking will absolutely destroy what has the potential to be one of the best places in the city. Shockingly, it seems Toronto is still stuck in the 1950s and installing a parking lot? Some times Toronto leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. The Portlands will be 100% fine if those entitled car drivers decide not to visit.
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My point wasn't that we should add more road capacity -- that would be dumb -- but that the traffic situation is so bad at those peaks that it compromises the safety and enjoyment of the people who travel there on foot or bike. There are so many cars (and busses -- the fact that today public transit sits in that same traffic is itself a huge problem) that literally every intersection is completely blocked by cars at every light cycle, and drivers are so frustrated that they're just going absolutely bananas, pulling U-turns willy nilly, mounting curbs, etc. It's a disaster that needs addressing today.
 
kev1n1m said:
Yes and the attraction of the park without the addition of transit speaks to the early failure of this neighbourhood launch.
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It's not a failure so much as LOTS of moving parts right now. This is a massive infrastructure project, to be honest. There are two major aspects to the streetcar line for this island that need to happen before the streetcars can even start servicing the island itself.

Waterfront East LRT Segment 2 and Segment 3 is the project to service the island with streetcars. Segment 1 needs to be done before these can start. They are barely even started, much less fully planned and funded.

Segment 2 is a dedicated streetcar line down Queens Quay East to Cherry Street but that requires a link to Union, including tunnel to surface and upgrades to Union Station's Streetcar Platforms (Segment 1), and the Parliament Slip work needs to be completed to extend Queens Quay East past the Parliament Slip, through Cherry Street, and connect to Lakeshore Blvd. I think Segment 2 might gain some momentum since it will also service Quayside.

I also suspect the new Lakeshore Blvd East Bridge they are rebuilding with many more lanes is also (partly) in preparation for the increased traffic that will be coming from the Queens Quay Extension, once it is connected to Lakeshore Blvd.

Segment 3 will either remove or add a passthrough along the King Street Loop at Canary Landing and extends it south, through Lakeshore Blvd, to connect to Segment 2 at Queens Quay & Cherry Street. I think this project would need a new tunnel under the GO Line to connect the King Streetcar line to the Waterfront East LRT. This may require work on the Gardiner Expressway as well to make room for streetcars to pass through Lakeshore Blvd.

Of course, plans change as well. There are so many pieces that all need to be done to fit this LEGO build together. 🤷‍♂️

I might be incorrect on some of these parts. It gives me a headache trying to link all the parts together. I suspect we will simply have buses to start and the streetcars will come once the major communities along the route start construction.
 
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Latest Waterfront Toronto Newsletter highlights upcoming events this weekend (Saturday, July 19 to Sunday, July 20)

Toronto, Meet Your Newest Waterfront Escape​

You are invited to Biidaasige Park, located on Toronto’s new island, Ookwemin Minising, where the Don River meets the lake.

Biidaasige Park is the first public space to open on Ookwemin Minising. Come get your first look at this immersive, imaginative space – including a transformed Don River – before it fully opens next summer.

Ookwemin Minising (formerly known as Villiers Island) is a new island born from one of the world’s most ambitious flood protection and river restoration projects. Tri-government partnership has transformed former industrial lands into a restored, naturalized landscape with an imaginative park filled with places to gather, lose yourself in nature or find adventure.

From July 19 to 20, the City of Toronto has a host of family-friendly programming and activities taking place across the entire park, including arts and crafts, music performances, and camp-style games. Planning to bring your pup? Great news, Biidaasige Park is dog-friendly with two dedicated off-leash areas with some fun activities they can participate in too – there's something for everyone this weekend! The new river is open for paddling all weekend. Don’t have a boat? Check back over the summer and join one of several organized paddling tours.

What: Biidaasige Park & the New Don River Opening

When: Saturday, July 19 to Sunday, July 20

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Where: 39 Commissioners Street

This is a free event.

Please note that parking is limited, TTC, ride share, cycling and other modes of transport are encouraged.
 
The fun NEVER stops...

Don Roadway has its first coat of asphalt

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