Canadian Skyline Thread III

[Acajack]

I admit to having no idea about which levels of government contribute to public realm improvements in Québec City and Montréal, though I suspect Ontario contributes nothing in its province as even Ottawa outside of the small federal government precinct is not great at all for the capital city of the country.

[Nite]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

It's always been like this. Toronto seems to be vastly underfunded by the province and Ottawa for public realm improvements. It's an unpopular position outside of Toronto to invest any money in this city. I'm not sure how it is now but 15 years ago Toronto only got 4% of every tax dollar generated in the city, the rest of the money was spread around the province and country.

Nobody bats and eye when other Canadian cities use tax dollars to fund improvements but Toronto always gets snubbed. At the very least we should have the same sort of public realm improvements as Montreal has. In Toronto we need to look for investors to fix or upgrade things. just look at Ontario Place.

Toronto has the lowest property tax rate in the province for a reason. that being the citizens keep voting for austerity on the local level.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by niwell

I'm not sure it's getting worse but it often feels like a "2 steps forward, 1 back" kinda situation. As public realm deteriorates in some areas I've seen noted improvements in others. Some of this is at least a partial return to basic services - I've seen more street cleaning in my area this Spring than in the past couple years for instance. Was quite impressed when they ripped up the brick paving near me for utility work and actually replaced it instead of an asphalt patch (this could be insistence from the BIA too). Also a noted improvement in street trees on *some* major streets (Roncy, parts of Bloor and College, for instance). New seating along stretches of Bloor near the Annex seems very well used and fills a necessary gap. Was East of the Don for the first time in a while the other weekend and it's certainly much better in terms of upkeep than when I lived there.

Meanwhile parts of the downtown core are looking worse. And for every successful new park there seems to be one in construction limbo or overgrown. A lot of it is pretty simple stuff - take College Park for instance which made some headlines due to the NW corner relegated to dirt as the grass died off. The rest of the park is in good maintenance (I'm there weekly) and decently functional, and the decrepit portion could be easily rectified by reconfigured walkways. The design encouraged people to cut across the grass on a desire-line which got out of hand, which was pointed out ahead of time and dismissed.

Toronto's never been great at showcasing it's best public spaces, which can certainly be frustrating. As a resident it bothers me less, as the areas I frequent are certainly very well used and functional. If given a binary choice I'll take that over pretty yet empty any day, but of course these shouldn't be mutually exclusive. If I lived in the core I could see myself getting disillusioned though, particularly as everything is exacerbated by nonstop construction.

I agree with two steps forward and one steps back. And improvements aren't getting the attention once completed. The parks department is shit. Like I keep saying, Individual parks should be turned over to non profit community co-operatives. Another thing the city has to contend with is shifting demographics. Fewer people living in Toronto seem to care about doing their part to keep nice things nice.

Tax rates are one half of property taxes. It's an incomplete measurement on how much people actually pay.

[CryingAutumn]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

I hate it as well, but it's coming for all of the jobs in my Industry so I'm trying to stay ahead of the game.

Posting AI slop on Skyscraperpage accomplishes nothing. What does it even have to do with "staying ahead of the game"?

[WhipperSnapper]

As an aside, Canada appears to be done as an AI innovator. Too much focus being diverted to housing. Y'know, if the fortunes were reversed.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by zoomer

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2pXrhfn]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.

Great pics of Vancouver, zoomer!

The glory days of Robson Street are long gone, unfortunately. Besides the stretch between Homer and Burrard, it's a street to nowhere for people who don't live in the Westend. Once you cross Burrard, foot traffic drops considerably, and doesn't pick up again until you reach Denman St. Online marketplaces have killed a lot of the retail that used to make Robson stand out, so now it's an underutilized high street without any real vision forward.

As for the quietness downtown, maybe it was an off day? I find downtown Vancouver to be the busiest and most packed with people in its history. Parts of it can go head-to-head with crowds in East Asian cities.

[WhipperSnapper]

Wouldn't surprise me if the average Toronto city dweller craves a little more quiet, less busy and, packed. Alas, will never know as nobody would admit it.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Wouldn't surprise me if the average Toronto city dweller craves a little more quiet, less busy and, packed. Alas, will never know as nobody would admit it.

My wife, someone who grew up in (by NA standards) an impossibly dense city, and then moved with me to two of the largest, densest cities in the world, loves the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood of Vancouver (Main St. specifically). She revels in the lush side streets and their peacefulness. She likes the low slung nature of Main, and isn't a big fan of downtown. She would far prefer to live in a lowrise or walkup than a condo tower.

I'm not in that headspace yet, but I can see why she likes it. It's so different from everywhere she's lived prior.

[craner]

Originally Posted by Biff

Sorry to be ignorant, but what forum is SRC?

skyrisecities.com

[zoomer]

Originally Posted by giallo

Great pics of Vancouver, zoomer!

The glory days of Robson Street are long gone, unfortunately. Besides the stretch between Homer and Burrard, it's a street to nowhere for people who don't live in the Westend. Once you cross Burrard, foot traffic drops considerably, and doesn't pick up again until you reach Denman St. Online marketplaces have killed a lot of the retail that used to make Robson stand out, so now it's an underutilized high street without any real vision forward.

As for the quietness downtown, maybe it was an off day? I find downtown Vancouver to be the busiest and most packed with people in its history. Parts of it can go head-to-head with crowds in East Asian cities.

Aww, that’s sad just reading that - the glory days of Robson are long gone I remember as a young kid in the 1970’s staying in the Blue Horizon and the street was hopping. That said, the rest of downtown has improved immeasurably since then to be fair. Yah, I was walking around downtown last Friday, which was a UNusually cool day, clearing up in the afternoon, so that could have been part of the reason it was quiet.

[zoomer]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Toronto's public realm is battered and shabby, and it feels like it gets worse every time I go back. But, it also feels lived in - as you say, it's crumbling under the weight of humanity - rather than from lack of use. All in all, there can be a very visceral sense of life to the city (of course, one could still get that feeling without the ugliness).

Toronto won't win any natural beauty contests either, but I don't agree that there's nothing at all. I think its natural landscape is somewhat underappreciated: it's got the lake, the islands, the ravines, the lush tree canopy, sandy beaches, and the odd interesting feature like the bluffs. Southern Ontario is the mildest and most biodiverse region in Canada outside of Coastal BC, and it has foliage & landscapes that can't be found anywhere else in the country. It doesn't have the in-your-face awe of BC, but living here has actually come make me appreciate what Ontario does have, because it's just different.

No doubt you’re right, but the human built environment dominated my perspective, perhaps next year I’ll notice more of the subtle natural beauty. I stayed in the Annex and explored the downtown core the full week, so didn’t explore beyond that. I’m not a fan of heat or humidity so mid-May seems is the perfect time for me, plus the foliage has pretty much come in by then as well.

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by giallo

Great pics of Vancouver, zoomer!

The glory days of Robson Street are long gone, unfortunately. Besides the stretch between Homer and Burrard, it's a street to nowhere for people who don't live in the Westend. Once you cross Burrard, foot traffic drops considerably, and doesn't pick up again until you reach Denman St. Online marketplaces have killed a lot of the retail that used to make Robson stand out, so now it's an underutilized high street without any real vision forward.

As for the quietness downtown, maybe it was an off day? I find downtown Vancouver to be the busiest and most packed with people in its history. Parts of it can go head-to-head with crowds in East Asian cities.

Every time I am on Robson it's absolutely packed, particularly between Burrard and Jervis. I work nearby, and am there a few times a week. There's a scramble by major international brands to take any space that pops up.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by csbvan

Every time I am on Robson it's absolutely packed, particularly between Burrard and Jervis. I work nearby, and am there a few times a week. There's a scramble by major international brands to take any space that pops up.

Interesting.

I've seen quite a few empty storefronts when I was there last week, and outside of weekends and the tourist season, I wouldn't, in my experience, characterize Robson north or Burrard (actually, maybe Bute is a better) as packed.

But honestly, I'm in that area once or twice a month max, so I could very well be there at less busy times. I'm sure the newly opened Hello Kitty Cafe will drive more traffic to the area.

[MonkeyRonin]

Toronto by Marcanadian, on Flickr

[davidivivid]

https://www.facebook.com/Oasisportdequebec/photos_by

[zoomer]

Great photos of Toronto and Quebec!

I follow Marcanadian on Flickr - I don’t think they are an SSP member. I’ve also noticed that they and Jack Landau (and yah, I read his Toronto Blog work) always seem to be in the same places - I assume they’re a couple or best friends?!

Anyways, why not combine the past two photos - Marcanadian with Quebec?! They were there recently and have dozens and dozens of great pictures, so I’ll just share a couple of more skyline style shots:



Quebec City by Marcanadian, on Flickr



Quebec City by Marcanadian, on Flickr



Observatoire de la Capitale by Marcanadian, on Flickr

[905er]

That first Quebec City pic is so incredibly beautiful and charming!!!

[Maldive]

Viewed all the way from the lake (in the gap, centre of photo)... The One peeking through.


SixPoints

Marcanadian

Bibi L

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by CryingAutumn

Posting AI slop on Skyscraperpage accomplishes nothing. What does it even have to do with "staying ahead of the game"?

In my Industry all the studios are now asking for A.I knowledge as a prerequisite. Learning the tools and how to manipulate them is staying ahead of the game. Sadly unless our governments step in and regulate it A.I will be coming for so many tech jobs and beyond. I'm not sure what you do but I need to constantly learn new software and be able to use any tools at my disposal.

Currently I use it for backgrounds, and to quickly hash out a bunch of style versions based off my models before I build and actual 3D Asset in Maya.

[Build.It]

.