Canadian Skyline Thread III

[ssiguy]

Appreciate the pics. That looking down Yonge to Bloor is nauseating. Could they possibly make Yonge any uglier and pedestrian hostile if they tried?

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Appreciate the pics. That looking down Yonge to Bloor is nauseating. Could they possibly make Yonge any uglier and pedestrian hostile if they tried?

It used to be worse but once it finishes it's gentrification from Dundas up to Bloor it should resemble Robson Street, but that will take all of the fun out of it. As soon as you are north of Bloor the streets personality changes drastically. 15 years ago that stretch on the previous page was all porn shops and head shops. Personally, I like the grittiness of the section you find terrible. It makes for a very interesting walk therefor a great pedestrian experience. I only wish they would put in wider sidewalks and get all of the Uber Eats delivery guys to hang out on the side streets and not block pedestrian flow. That section you don't like is just 1km in length from Carlton up to Bloor.

Sidewalk cafe in Rosedale, Toronto. Taken on Yonge Street looking south toward downtown by Greg S, on Flickr

Yonge Street in Rosedale looking south to Bloor Street. Toronto. by Greg S, on Flickr

This whole section feels like a different world to the section south of Bloor. It also has my favorite view of the insane growth of the Yorkville skyline.
Autumn Dusk by Jack Landau, on Flickr

1027 Yonge 32 by Michael Muraz, on Flickr

[WhipperSnapper]

The traffic just kills me.

[905er]

I just love eating outdoors next to the exhaust fumes and traffic lol.

what is that last low rise building? I absolutely love it!

[zoomer]

The One (1 Bloor West) construction progress, as of June 14, 2024 by Jeremy Gilbert, on Flickr

I love this part of Yonge. The full length up to Bloor is interesting and pedestrian packed. The main draw backs are as mentioned the amount of car traffic and the narrow sidewalks. I think Yonge has enough super tall high rises though, that could kill the vibe, keep those to other streets with less character, but we know that’s not going to happen.

I think like any city if you’ve lived long enough in it you see the warts and the frustrations build. To an outsider though like myself when I visited in May, I loved the city and Yonge street in particular. Sure throughout the core there were many parks that were overgrown, or partially fenced off, the roads and sidewalks are worn and crumbling under the weight of humanity and vehicles, graffiti is everywhere, but those things didn’t bother me at all for some reason. Perhaps because I was on holiday mode. Also because when I travel I’m not looking for the same thing I left, nor do I expect it.

Toronto has very little in terms of physical natural beauty at all, and maybe over time that would get to me, but I still found as a whole it was a fantastic visual treat in its own human built way. The gardens/landscaping seemed non-existent or very basic even in some of the posh neighbourhoods (at least compared to what I’m used to in Victoria) but those streets were still beautiful and had nice trees.

As for the previous comments that Montreal and Vancouver have the best skyline and downtown core to explore - sorry, coming from a BC guy even, you have to put Toronto in the top 2 here with Montreal. And I love Vancouver, there is no comparison during the summer months especially when you have the beaches, mountains and Stanley Park thrown into the mix. But having just having visited Vancouver a couple of days ago I was struck my how quiet it was downtown, especially Robson street. A number of empty shops and some in not so prime condition for a high street. It felt like Toronto was exploding with new high rises and construction, but downtown Vancouver seems unusually quiet right now. Again, it might be my familiarity with Vancouver and having explored most of the nooks and crannies of downtown that I’m under appreciating a city I also love.