The Great Canadian Parking Lot Thread!

[stevanford1]

Beautiful downtown Vaughan:

stockaerialphotos

Mississauga represent:


HeartlessLandTurdCentre

[SignalHillHiker]

This is torture. But...

There are a few large parking lots along Harbour Drive, or within the middle of rowhouse blocks:



(Harbour Drive is reclaimed land, so there's nothing historic behind the backs of the Water Street buildings, which used to all end at the water) And one big one behind the Murray Premises:



Churchill Square, the main commercial area in the Churchill Park neighbourhood, has as its central hub a parking lot:



Typical suburban commercial strips, radiating out from the core. This one is Elizabeth Avenue. There are a painful number of others:



The Confederation Building (our post-Confederation legislature):



And once you get far enough into the wilderness, power centres...

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I don't think it needs explanation. Let's see them. Everybody's favorite landscape of the 21st century, parking lots! There are lots of parking, and lots of parking lots. Thus lots of parking lots of parking lots of parking lots of parking lots of parking.

Great thread idea..

How about threads celebrating:
Storm water management ponds
Hydro transformer stations
Self Storage Unit properties
Sewage Treatment Plants
Tim Horton's Drive Thru patterns
Former fast food chain sites now abandoned

[MolsonExport]

Artisanal cupcake shoppes
Olive oil emporiums

[MolsonExport]

What would be interesting to see would be parking lots that are less than the usual absolute wretchedness. I don't know; maybe with some nice planters, green islands, parkades (parking garages) that don't immediately such your soul, etc.

The obverse of this:

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

What would be interesting to see would be parking lots that are less than the usual absolute wretchedness. I don't know; maybe with some nice planters, green islands, parkades (parking garages) that don't immediately such your soul, etc.

The obverse of this:

Philly Pennsylvania

[MolsonExport]

If parking was never free (even in the small towns)...what kind of effect would that have on Canadian cities?
Imagine if even Tim Hortons had to charge $2 per hour parking, no matter what? And drive thus were eliminated?
Would big box barf have the same appeal?

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

If parking was never free (even in the small towns)...what kind of effect would that have on Canadian cities?
Imagine if even Tim Hortons had to charge $2 per hour parking, no matter what? And drive thus were eliminated?
Would big box barf have the same appeal?

Nope, it would probably lead to assholes trying to find a way around it. But if parking was never free, BBB would probably be a dinosaur of a concept. The free parking is part of the appeal after all.

[MonkeyRonin]

Retail at grade helps, like this one in Kensington:https://goo.gl/maps/J3VNu1YVagk5BwmS8

Or this one on Queen: https://goo.gl/maps/kwwXLMXEJ5iQKevs6

At this point I think just about every major parking lot in downtown Toronto has been accounted for for some form of redevelopment or another, except this big one on Richmond which inexplicably holds on as the surrounding neighbourhood has been built up: https://goo.gl/maps/tjnoouJDuvwsYKNG6

Likewise with this one at Bloor & Church - that's some prime real estate they're sitting on: https://goo.gl/maps/K4QCxury4ugEWew17

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

Great thread idea..

How about threads celebrating:
Storm water management ponds
Hydro transformer stations
Self Storage Unit properties
Sewage Treatment Plants
Tim Horton's Drive Thru patterns
Former fast food chain sites now abandoned

A few of those could be fascinating topics. Hydro transformer stations and plants, sewage and water treatment plants are underappreciated, yet critical infrastructure. Spectacular feats of engineering.

Storm water ponds could also be interesting (and included in water/sewage treatment).

[J.OT13]

A few decent parking structures in Ottawa.

Place Bell parking, which includes street level retail.


https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Place_Bell

Mondrian condo podium, with street level retail.


http://www.ottawacondonetwork.com/co...-the-mondrian/

At the heart of the ByWard Market, with partial retail on two fronts (could be demolished and replaced with a 3-4 floor "destination" building within 10 years).


https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...or-renovations

Glebe parking garage, with severe water infiltration issues.


https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...awsuits-linger

Bayshore Shopping Centre. Due to its tight location, the mall's parking is almost exclusively within parking structures, all rebuilt between 2009 and 2016.


https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attractio...a_Ontario.html

And for those clamoring for surface parking, St-Laurent Shopping Centre, directly linked to underground transit since 1987:


https://www.toronto.com/news-story/3...-in-the-works/

Of course Train Yards, in the heart of the city. Rapid transit just across the VIA tracks, but no way to get there.


https://www.shopping-canada.com/shop...wa-train-yards

Kanata Centrum, not far from the Canadian Tire Centre.


https://ottawacyclist.com/shopping-by-bike/

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Retail at grade helps, like this one in Kensington:https://goo.gl/maps/J3VNu1YVagk5BwmS8

Or this one on Queen: https://goo.gl/maps/kwwXLMXEJ5iQKevs6

At this point I think just about every major parking lot in downtown Toronto has been accounted for for some form of redevelopment or another, except this big one on Richmond which inexplicably holds on as the surrounding neighbourhood has been built up: https://goo.gl/maps/tjnoouJDuvwsYKNG6

Likewise with this one at Bloor & Church - that's some prime real estate they're sitting on: https://goo.gl/maps/K4QCxury4ugEWew17

The city recently purchased that one on Richmond to turn it into a park. I believe they converted it to Green P parking temporarily a few months ago.

The one at Church and Bloor is owned by the hospital next door from my understanding, and they plan to eventually expand onto I believe.

Most remaining lots in the core that aren't accounted for with development are like the one at church and bloor - owned by some institutional buyer who is no hurry to redevelop. There is one at Dundas and Bond which is owned by the St Michaels Cathedral, the parking lot behind the Metropolitan Church is owned by them, The lot at Elizabeth and Gerrard is owned by UofT, etc.

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Artisanal cupcake shoppes
Olive oil emporiums

https://goo.gl/maps/UKexVV7rMdeXaS5N9 Your shangri-la

What about a thread of these advertising signs that spin around in the wind.


https://goo.gl/maps/AbceLoPSUjkhdUGY6

[MolsonExport]

A few decent parking structures in Ottawa.

Some of those are decent.

Horrible parking structures suck the life out of the street, especially when the ground floor is part of the parking (As opposed to retail, etc.). I wish there was a way to compel developers to make these structures, and parking lots in general, less fugly.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

https://goo.gl/maps/UKexVV7rMdeXaS5N9 Your shangri-la

What about a thread of these advertising signs that spin around in the wind.


https://goo.gl/maps/AbceLoPSUjkhdUGY6

I hate those signs. The worst are the black rental signs with the yellow block lettering.

[Kilgore Trout]

That first Laval photo is a perfect example of what's wrong with the suburbs. The residential area is actually pretty dense and could probably support some walkable neighbourhood businesses. But instead it's set up so that everyone needs to drive to the big box store just a few hundred metres away.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by stevanford1

Philly Pennsylvania

Reminds me of the downtown University of Calgary campus parkade...



It’s especially pretty when it’s windy, as the steel tiles move with the wind.



Some other decent examples in Calgary...

The Colours of Battistella (local family owned developer)


https://www.juliedempsey.ca/Colours.ubr


SAIT Parkade by Bing Thom




https://www.archdaily.com/129142/sai...ext_project=no


Annnd... can’t think of any others off the top of my head.

This one is UC in the East Village. It will double as a tech incubator hub on the bottom two floors with community amenities in the centre open-air section. The parking floors are designed to be converted to office or hotel space once non-autonomous vehicles become obsolete...

[Kilgore Trout]

Crazy that the garage in Philadelphia is called a parkade. I've never seen that word used outside of Western Canada.

[itom 987]

I give you West Edmonton Mall's parkade, t'was bragged as being the largest in the world when built.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5223.../data=!3m1!1e3

It has 3 levels in some parts.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5242...7i16384!8i8192

If you go to the mall, there is a 50% chance that the parking lot will be full and you will be driving in circles waiting for someone to leave.
Take a virtual tour around the mall and you will see what I mean.

[kool maudit]

Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout

That first Laval photo is a perfect example of what's wrong with the suburbs. The residential area is actually pretty dense and could probably support some walkable neighbourhood businesses. But instead it's set up so that everyone needs to drive to the big box store just a few hundred metres away.

Canadian suburbia is actually frustrating in that it is "almost there".

A few more through-streets and corner businesses, and (say) Markham is outer Philadelphia. It's not pretty, but it's rows of houses. It can work.