What Small Canadian Cities Do You Want To See As Bigger Centres

[MolsonExport]

Those US chains are fucking horrible. And ubiquitous.

[tovan]

Originally Posted by caltrane74

Clifton Hill for your amusement


http://accessniagara.com/blog/2005/05/31/next_generation_of_amusements/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/zoltan_ranosztay/6114959989/sizes/l/in/photostream/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/52842624@N04/6061347543/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Is that Clifton Hill or Rob Ford's vision for Toronto's waterfront?? lol

[MolsonExport]

Clifton Hill is the land of overpriced and utterly shitty Yankee-chain pseudo-food.

[caltrane74]

What happens in Niagara Falls, needs to stay in Niagara Falls.

And to answer someone elses question:


Funny enough no, I don't think any of those US Chain restaurants has Toronto locations. Very Wierd indeed. Howeve there is a Dave and Busters in Markham.

[MolsonExport]

What is the deal with the stupid coupons at Dave & Bastards? Who wants the shitty stupid prizes?

[someone123]

"The Las Vegas of Canada" is pretty much how I'd describe Niagara Falls right now. Say that to Americans and they might even have a good idea of what's there.

[caltrane74]

Wax museums,
Chain Restaraunts,
Casinos,
Ferris Wheels,
Drop Zones,
Hookers,
Strip Clubs,
Space Needle Towers
Marriage Chapels,
And.....
A shitload of Hotels

[softee]

Niagara Falls is more like a weird hybrid of Atlantic City and Las Vegas.

[Wharn]

Originally Posted by Simpseatles

I would only want more population growth in London (and most Canadian cities for that matter) if it is achieved through a more manageable, urban, and well thought out way. Every time I drive around the GTA, I am sickened by the disgusting sprawl that surrounds a wonderful city. On one hand I get upset that London, and other centres in Southern Ontario lose out to the GTA for population growth, but on the other hand, I am so grateful that I don't have to live in that mess, and that London isn't growing so extraordinarily fast. We still have crappy new subdivisions, but they are being built much slower.

I'm not saying you shouldn't fantasize, but I'm just curious about the practicality of such immense growth.

Immense growth implies a healthy economy that makes the city desirable. People would not be moving into the neverending detached subdivisions (cue Rush) if they couldn't make a living somehow. This is partly why some U.S. suburbs are now beginning to empty out. Overall, I would not say that Toronto sprawls as much as other Canadian cities, either (Montreal and Quebec, I'm looking at you). The word "sprawl" implies that growth has received little or no planning, but this is simply not true in Ontario. The Planning Act makes it almost impossible for any new development to fit this criteria. Low-density it may be, but unplanned it is not.

Though I may be a fan of low density, I think it's ultimately in the interest of municipal governments (and the interest of industrial and commercial ratepayers, ie those who are responsible for organizing the city's economic production and suffer from higher taxes) to ensure that residential development is densified in order to keep the cost of service provision low. I would not mind seeing London with 700,000 to 900,000 people IF there were some sort of freeway and IF the new development was more or less a 40-40-20 split between low, medium and high density.

I also think it would be cool to see Sudbury with 500,000 people. Maybe move all the provincial government offices there, make it the de facto (but not de jure) capital of Ontario and help develop the North. Such a plan would also take pressure off of Toronto.

[Travis007]

The Falls is where my university friends and I go to celebrate a night on the town for New Years. But when I am sober, I absolutely hate Clifton Hill. The Falls has sold its soul to American tackiness.

[Dmajackson]

In fifty years or so Nationally I'd like to see:

- Calgary up to 2-2.5m (curb sprawl though the city is ridiculous. I recommend a giant glass dome )
- Windsor around 750'000
- Quebec City capped around 1m (need for large center further East)
- A True Northern City (say Yellowknife)


In the Maritimes:

- St. John's around 250'000
- Charr'town around 100'000
- Moncton 1/2 size of Halifax (~300'000)
- Halifax RM to 600'000
- Truro up to 75-100k (new city and adjacent suburbs).

Additionally I would love to see clear growth corridors in the rest of the region. These would be;

Avon Line - From Downtown Halifax through Sackville adjacent the 101. Stretching past Windsor to Kentville. New local government for New Minas/Wolfville/Kentville with city designation. Additonal 5'000 residents in Windsor.

Fundy Line - From the International border at Saint Stephen stretching up Highway 1 through Saint John to the airport

The Hub - Major corridor from Halifax to Moncton. Surpass 1 million residents with growth focused in Elmsdale/Enfield, Truro, Amherst and Dieppe.

[jrm857]

I'm sorry not to be a debbie downer but there is no way regina is now at 220,00 people its growth has been impressive but its not that impressive. That being said I would love to see it grow more, as well as Saskatoon continue its very impressive growth to act as a bit of a balance on the Albertan cities

[circle33]

I dunno, StatsCan was calling it 215K in 2010, so I wouldn't think 220 is out of the question.

http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo05a-eng.htm

[north 42]

We eat at the Mandarin whenever we go to the falls, the food there is amazing, and I HATE chinese buffets. We found it on trip advisor, rated the #3. Most of the restaurants in the falls are overpriced shit!

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by vid

City councils represent the people in the community. If the problem is city council, then the problem is residents of Saint John.

Yup. I can't even explain things that happen in Saint John. It's the most inexplicable city i've ever seen.

[Razor]

That's what I'm saying ..Niagara Falls needs to be an Adult's Disney Land..
The old strip could stay, and the Province needs to be progressive and privatize some casinos a la' Vegas....Add some shows...Think of the large market that live nearby that would normally fly to Vegas once a year, or go to Atlantic city.
What the Falls have over Vegas right now is "The falls", and add in the fact that it's a destination already. vegas was built out of nothing, but the falls is already there.

[brithgob]

Originally Posted by jrm857

I'm sorry not to be a debbie downer but there is no way regina is now at 220,00 people its growth has been impressive but its not that impressive. That being said I would love to see it grow more, as well as Saskatoon continue its very impressive growth to act as a bit of a balance on the Albertan cities

Facts are facts. Sorry if it offends your typical Saskatoon sense of insecurity.

[brithgob]

The problem with basing a growth rate for Regina strictly on 2001-2006 census figures is that the period caught Regina in a downturn. 2006 to 2011 would produce an entirely different result.

[circle33]

Originally Posted by brithgob

Facts are facts. Sorry if it offends your typical Saskatoon sense of insecurity.

Now, now. Calm down. A Saskatooner (this circle33 guy) came on right away to question his thesis. Don't go generalizing.

[vid]

Originally Posted by Wharn

I also think it would be cool to see Sudbury with 500,000 people. Maybe move all the provincial government offices there, make it the de facto (but not de jure) capital of Ontario and help develop the North. Such a plan would also take pressure off of Toronto.

Sudbury with 160,000 people is already a sprawling mess. Sudbury proper only has about 40,000 people. If that growth is almost entirely through intensification then it would be OK, but I don't see that happening.