[URBAN NOTE] Seven Toronto links

Dec. 22nd, 2019 05:48 am
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  • Some of the apartments hit by the Gosford apartment fire have been repaired and opened to their tenants again. Global News reports.

  • Steve Munro maps the 70 O'Connor bus route in action as a case study, here.

  • Condo developers have created the new neighbourhood of "West St. Clair West" out of, among other established neighbourhoods, Carleton Village. blogTO reports.

  • The plans for the controversial new Pharrell Williams condo development at Yonge and Eglinton look interesting. blogTO shares.

  • Should Toronto have free public mass transit? NOW Toronto makes the case.

  • Brian Doucet at Spacing Toronto takes a look at the Toronto CLRV streetcars in their North American context, here.

  • The repeated flooding of the Toronto Islands, as NOW Toronto points out, surely demonstrates the reality of climate change for Toronto.

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[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: Zellers, Dufferin Mall, Toronto Islands, Japan, Guild Park

Aug. 14th, 2019 11:54 am
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  • Narcity notes the sad news that the last Zellers stores in Canada, including the one in Etobicoke, will be closed by January 2020.

  • Tanya Mok at blogTO looks at the successes of the Dufferin Mall.

  • blogTO looks at the William Meany Maze on the Toronto Islands.

  • Jamie Bradburn writes of the early history of Japanese restaurants in Toronto.

  • Melanie Zettler at Global News writes about the history of the Guild Park and Gardens, in Scarborough.

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[URBAN NOTE] Seven Toronto links: Lake Ontario, fly, Ontario Place, Port Lands, parks

Jun. 2nd, 2019 01:14 pm
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  • Measured at Toronto, Lake Ontario has reached its highest point in recorded history. blogTO reports.

  • Beach season has to be put off in Toronto until mid-June at least, on account of the record high water. blogTO reports.

  • Legendary queer nightclub fly--or fly 2.0--is shutting down this Pride. blogTO reports.

  • The provincial government call for development proposals for Ontario Place, happily, makes no mention of casinos. The National Post reports.

  • This BBC article takes a convenient outsider's look at the controversy over the Google involvement in the Port Lands development project.

  • Tanya Mok at blogTO introduces readers to the very unusual June Callwood Park, designed around a voiceprint of the late journalist and activist.

  • Samantha Edwards at NOW Toronto looks at the impromptu party being Daniel Rotsztain to celebrate The Pillars at Queens Quay at York this evening. (I think I'll be there.)

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[URBAN NOTE] Seven Toronto links: #DoorsOpenTO, Eglinton Crosstown, Lake Ontario, public art

May. 28th, 2019 04:30 pm
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  • Transit Toronto notes that both the Eglinton Crosstown yards and Lower Bay station were open this weekend past for Doors Open. I got to see both!

  • Urban Toronto looks at the newly revealed Eglinton Crosstown vehicles.

  • blogTO observes the rapid flooding faced not only by the Toronto Islands but by the waterfront generally.

  • blogTO reports on the exciting possibility of a ferry connecting Etobicoke, at Humber Bay Shores, to the downtown.

  • Building a linear park over the subway trench between Davisville and Eglinton stations in midtown Toronto is an idea that appeals to me. blogTO reports.

  • NOW Toronto reports on a slew of original coffee shops around Toronto, including a laundromat hybrid on Dufferin.

  • Urban Toronto celebrates the Ron Arad sculpture Safe Hands at One Bloor East.

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[URBAN NOTE} Seven Toronto links: Lake Ontario, UP Express, Rail Deck Park, Google, TTC, Doors Open

May. 8th, 2019 11:45 am
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  • Reddit's r/toronto shares this photo of the level of Lake Ontario having risen above the level of the boardwalk at HTO Park. Are we in for another year of flooding, on the Toronto Islands particularly?

  • This CBC Toronto article from a week ago notes how Lake Ontario is getting close to 2017 levels.

  • Changes in the Presto system have left many people who use the Union-Pearson Express to commute in a financially costly situation. CBC Toronto reports.

  • This court case, besides setting boundaries on what planning boards can and cannot do, will also determine the fate of the Rail Deck Park. I hope it will survive. The Toronto Star reports.

  • Stefanie Marotta at the Toronto Star reports on a Jane's Walk led by MP Adam Vaughan and Bianca Wylie of the waterfront, inspired by their criticism of the Sidewalk Labs plans.

  • Shazlin Rahman writes at Spacing about the prejudices that push Muslim women away from the TTC, and what can be done to protect these women.

  • Urban Toronto shares the news of Open Doors 2019 in Toronto on 25 and 26 May, with more than 150 buildings being opened to the public.

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[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: Ordnance Triangle, Yonge and Dundas, Toronto Islands, Ontario Place

Jan. 8th, 2019 02:44 pm
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  • Urban Toronto has profiled another new tower rising in another new neighbourhood, Garrison Point in the Ordnance Triangle not far from Liberty Village.

  • Loryssa Quattrociocchi writes at NOW Toronto about how a property at Dundas East and Victoria, at Yonge-Dundas Square, has languished in official neglect for years.

  • Don Sampson, living in the old family home on the Toronto Islands last held by his brother, has been spared eviction for the time being. The Toronto Star reports.

  • David Rider at the Toronto Star notes that the selection of Ford ally James Ginou to the head of the Ontario Place board of directors, and the critical language that he has used about the development, is alarming to many.

  • John Lorinc at Spacing questions what Toronto city council will do to ease the housing crisis.

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[URBAN NOTE] Twelve Toronto links (#toronto, #topoli)

Jan. 5th, 2019 07:48 pm
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  • Because of a lack of support from the University of Toronto, Ten Editions Bookstore on Spadina Avenue between College and Bloor has closed down permanently. blogTO reports.

  • Statler's on Church Street, a popular Village bar known for its performance spaces, closed down suddenly on account of massive rent increases. blogTO reports.

  • The famed Coffee Time restaurant at Coxwell and Gerrard, subject of a documentary that looks at this affordable coffee place's connections to locals, has closed down permanently. blogTO reports.

  • Gilbert Ngabo at the Toronto Star reports on how Torontonians now have now choice but to use the Presto card. My experiences reflect others' in that things have been working out for me, so far.

  • GO Transit's connections directly to York University have ceased in the wake of the subway extension, as promised. Many who depended on the direct link are unhappy that it is no longer being sustained. Global News reports.

  • This Toronto Sun article shares the call of a brother of a victim who died by suicide at a TTC station for more action to prevent such unfortunate events.

  • Steve Munro reports on the different challenges facing the TTC board in 2019.

  • Enzo DiMatteo at NOW Toronto makes the case that Toronto needs to continue to address gun violence as a public health issue if it is to control this plague.

  • A tall and skinny home in Riverdale that has gone on sale for $C 3 million has as many detractors as supporters. Global News reports.

  • CBC Toronto notes that the new nickname of the Economist for Toronto and its tech sector, "Maple Valley", is not catching on with locals.

  • Marco Chown Oved at the Toronto Star shares the story of Don Sampson, a long-time resident of the Toronto Islands who faces losing the family home there because he cannot inherit the property from his brother.

  • The cast of the venerable Global Television drama Train 48, filmed on a GO Transit Lakeshore West train in 2003-2005, recently reunited. Global News reports.

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[ISL] Five #islands links: Nantucket, Newfoundland, Scotland, South Goulburn, Toronto Islands

Nov. 30th, 2018 07:30 pm
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[ISL] Five #islands links: Easter Island, New Zealand, Curaçao, Barbados, Toronto Islands

Nov. 25th, 2018 03:16 pm
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  • Representatives of Easter Island, visiting London, plead for the return of a moai statue stolen away in the 1860s. The Guardian reports.

  • Guardian Cities notes the problems facing Pacific Island migrants in the New Zealand city of Auckland.

  • Daily Xtra takes a look at Pride on Curaçao.

  • The Conversation notes how Barbados has demonstrated, and is continuing to demonstrate, remarkable resiliency versus threats both natural and human.

  • Deb O'Rourke at NOW Toronto writes about how Toronto Islanders and the Mississauga of the New Credit First Nation are moving towards reconciliation.

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[PHOTO] Thirty photos of the Toronto Islands, 19 August 2018

Aug. 23rd, 2018 11:52 am
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Sunday morning, I went off with a friend of mine from Toronto and another friend of mine from Prince Edward Island to explore the Toronto Islands. It was a grand day, taking a ferry from the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal that touched briefly on Hanlan's Point before arriving at our final destination of Ward's Island. We then walked every west, through Ward's and onto the beach and along the Leslie Street Spit-facing boardwalk and then over to Algonquin Island, crossing south and west to the great pier at Centre Island Beach touching the immensity of Lake Ontario, then west to Hanlan's Point. A missed ferry ride was great luck in disguise, since our visiting friend got us onto a water taxi--my first one!--that quickly took us back to mainland, swinging by the venerable PS Trillium on our way.

Line-up at the Ferry Terminal #toronto #harbourfront #jacklaytonferryterminal #latergram


Skyline (1) #toronto #harbourfront #torontoharbour #skyline #cntower #latergram


Skyline (2) #toronto #harbourfront #torontoharbour #skyline #cntower #rogerscentre #latergram


Hanlan's Point Dock (1) #toronto #harbourfront #torontoharbour #hanlanspoint #dock #green #grass #latergram


Skyline from Hanlan's Point (1) #toronto #harbourfront #torontoharbour #hanlanspoint #skyline #billybishopairport #dock #green #latergram


Skyline from Hanlan's Point (2) #toronto #harbourfront #torontoharbour #hanlanspoint #skyline #billybishopairport #dock #green #pines #trees #latergram


Back at the Ned Hanlan #toronto #harbourfront #torontoharbour #hanlanspoint #nedhanlan #dock #green #pines #trees #latergram


Looking from Ward's Island #toronto #harbourfront #torontoharbour #wardsisland #skyline #latergram


Among homes #toronto #harbourfront #torontoharbour #wardsisland #green #latergram


Ward's Island Beach (1) #toronto #harbourfront #torontoislands #wardsisland #beaches #green #latergram


Boats off Ward's Island Beach #toronto #harbourfront #torontoislands #wardsisland #beaches #boats #latergram


Stand of birch #toronto #harbourfront #torontoislands #wardsisland #beaches #trees #birch #latergram


Boardwalk #toronto #harbourfront #torontoislands #lakeontario #boardwalk #beaches #trees #latergram


Ships on the horizon past Leslie Street Spit #toronto #harbourfront #torontoislands #lakeontario #boats #lesliestreetspit #latergram


Bridge to Algonquin #toronto #harbourfront #torontoislands #lakeontario #bridge #algonquinisland #green #latergram


East from the bridge to Algonquin #toronto #harbourfront #torontoislands #lakeontario #bridge #algonquinisland #green #boats #latergram


Skyline from Algonquin #toronto #harbourfront #torontoislands #algonquinisland #skyline #latergram


Ferry in the distance from Algonquin #toronto #harbourfront #torontoislands #algonquinisland #ferry #boats #latergram


Algonquin home in green #toronto #torontoislands #algonquinisland #green #latergram


Green trees above #toronto #torontoislands #algonquinisland #green #trees #pines #latergram


Synthecycletron, Barry Prophet #toronto #torontoislands #centreisland #synthecyclotron #barryprophet #green #trees #pines #latergram


Fountains #toronto #torontoislands #centreisland #fountain #water #green #trees #latergram


Buoys #toronto #torontoislands #centreisland #centreislandbeach #beaches #buoys #latergram


Looking east #toronto #torontoislands #centreisland #centreislandbeach #pier #lesliestreetspit #latergram


On the pier #toronto #torontoislands #centreisland #centreislandbeach #pier #latergram


Into the lake #toronto #torontoislands #centreisland #centreislandbeach #lakeontario #pier #latergram


Contemplation #toronto #torontoislands #centreisland #gardens #cntower #latergram


Centre Island Beach #toronto #torontoislands #centreisland #centreislandbeach #beaches #lakeontario #latergram


Seen from a bouncing water taxi #toronto #torontoislands #torontoharbour #watertaxi #skyline #cntower #rogerscentre #latergram


The Trillium #toronto #torontoislands #torontoharbour #watertaxi #skyline #cntower #trillium #ferry #boats #latergram
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[ISL] Five islands links: Toronto Islands, Cape Verde, Iceland, Ireland, Hainan

Jul. 10th, 2018 06:15 pm
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  • blogTO shares ten facts about the Toronto Islands.

  • Roads and Kingdoms reports on the experience of eating Cape Verdean cachupa in Lisbon.

  • The SBS reports on the facts making Iceland arguably the best country on the Earth in which to be a woman.

  • This extended Politico Europe article examining the consequences of a united Ireland, and the lack of preparation for such a now imaginable possibility, is still worth reading.

  • Is Hainan emerging as a test-bed for more liberal policies for China? QZ reports.

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[ISL] Five islands links: Toronto Islands, South Georgia, Haida Gwaii, Guadeloupe, New Caledonia

May. 19th, 2018 02:08 pm
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  • The Toronto Islands are open for business this year, hopefully without any hitches. (Let there not be unexpected flooding.) Global News reports.

  • The sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia has been freed from rat infestations, helping native life recover. National Geographic reports.

  • Killing invasive deer on Haida Gwaii is the task of recruited sharpshooters from New Zealand. MacLean's reports.

  • Controversy over a new museum to slavery on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe draws on all sorts of political and cultural and economic issues besetting the territory. The Atlantic reports.

  • The exact language of the question to be asked of voters in the New Caledonia referendum on independence, coming this year, is a critical question. The Lowy Institute examines the issue.

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[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: Doug Ford, Labyrinth, SmartTrack, night planning, Toronto Islands

Apr. 11th, 2018 02:01 pm
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  • NOW Toronto notes how Doug Ford positions himself as an ally to the black community of Toronto, and how this has hardly been non-problematic, here>.

  • Annex comic store Labyrinth is set to close, alas. NOW Toronto reports.

  • The SmartTrack plan for more commuter rail put forth by the mayor could cost an extra quarter-billion dollars. The Toronto Star reports.

  • Edward Keenan makes the point that, like other cities such as Amsterdam and Berlin, Toronto needs to do a better job of planning for the night. The Toronto Star has it.

  • Toronto Guardian shares some lovely vintage photos of the Toronto Islands, here.

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[ISL] Five islands links: Toronto Islands, Ireland, Sicily, Japan, Halligen Islands

Feb. 15th, 2018 02:09 pm
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  • blogTO notes that the Electric Island festival is slated to return to the Toronto Islands, after their wet 2017.

  • Politico.eu notes that the European Union is making the maintenance of integration on the island of Ireland a requirement for the UK if it wants a deal.

  • Jacobin Magazine shares a perfectly sensible article noting that the mafia of Sicily is intensely conservative, even reactionary, hardly deserving the romance with which it is too often represented.

  • The depopulation of Japan, often particularly intense in its smaller islands, is creating serious dilemmas. What is to be done with these remote, emptying-out, territories? The Japan Times reports.

  • The Halligen Islands of Germany's Frisian coast, facing the North Sea and almost effaced every tide, sound like a charming place to visit. The Guardian reports.

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[ISL] Five islands links: Toronto Islands, Vancouver Island, Newfoundland, Louisiana, Jersey

Jan. 27th, 2018 12:49 pm
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  • The idea of making the Toronto Islands an officially designated bird sanctuary makes sense on a lot of levels. The Toronto Star reports.

  • The community of Saanich, on Vancouver Island, is expected to host the biggest marijuana farm in Canada come legalization, making many there unhappy. Global News reports.

  • Trump tariffs may doom a pulp and paper mills in the western Newfoundland city of Corner Brook. CBC reports.

  • Wired features this heartbreaking choices facing the inhabitants of the Louisiana town of Isle de Jean Charles as their island submerges beneath rising waters. What will they do? Where will they go? Can the community survive?

  • CityMetric tells the story about how people on the Channel Island of Jersey wanted to build a bridge to France, why this didn't happen, and how this relates to Brexit.

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[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: #winterstations, Toronto Islands, King Street, 401 Richmond, coffee

Jan. 10th, 2018 04:05 pm
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  • Muriel Draaisma talks at CBC about the art installations selected for this year's iteration of Winter Stations, including a "Pussy Hut".

  • The City of Toronto has, unaccountably, decided not to allocate all the money needed to repair the Toronto Islands after last year's flooding. CBC reports.

  • Mayor John Tory talks about the various plans--some new, some I think old--to bring more people to King Street during the transit experiment, over at the Toronto Star.

  • This Toronto Star article about changes to taxation that will let downtown arts centres, like 401 Richmond, not get priced out of their homes is older but still quite important.

  • blogTO notes local upset in Corso Italia that the local Starbucks, at Dufferin and St. Clair (not far from me!) is set to close. (I've never been there, which I suppose helps clear up any mystery around the closing.)

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[URBAN NOTE] Four transit notes: King Street, bike lanes, Toronto Islands ferries, Coach Terminal

Nov. 14th, 2017 04:06 pm
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  • Transit Toronto reports on how King, from Bathurst through to Jarvis, has been made a street where transit--streetcars, particularly--has priority.

  • CBC notes that, by the standards of other peers, Toronto lags behind in the implementation of bike lanes.

  • The venerable old ferries which link Toronto to the Toronto Islands are set to be retired. Farewell, noble boats. CBC reports.

  • I quite like the idea of seeking out plans to make the Toronto Coach Terminal new again. It might be overlooked these days, but it does have lovely bones. The Toronto Star reports.

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[PHOTO] Twelve photos of Ontario Place and scenes from the William C. Davis trail (#ontarioplace)

Oct. 30th, 2017 01:08 pm
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This post, last of my four from Ontario Place, shows some of the things I saw heading east back to the mainland of Toronto, past the architecture of Ontario Place and along the William C. Davis Trail i Trillium Park. The views this trail offers, of the Toronto skyline and of the Toronto Islands, are unparalleled.

Hill in Trillium Park #toronto #ontarioplace #trilliumpark #evening #hill #latergram


Cinesphere #toronto #ontarioplace #cinesphere #architecture #latergram


Towers #toronto #ontarioplace #architecture #towers #latergram


Looking out at the lake #toronto #ontarioplace #torontoharbour #torontoislands #boats #latergram


Towards the trail #toronto #ontarioplace #trilliumpark #williamcdavistrail #lakeontario #torontoharbour #latergram


Towards the skyline #toronto #ontarioplace #trilliumpark #williamcdavistrail #lakeontario #torontoharbour #skyline #latergram


Shining #toronto #ontarioplace #trilliumpark #williamcdavistrail #lakeontario #torontoharbour #skyline #latergram


Coming in for a landing #toronto #ontarioplace #trilliumpark #williamcdavistrail #lakeontario #torontoharbour #torontoislands #boats #airplane #latergram


Skyline #toronto #ontarioplace #trilliumpark #williamcdavistrail #lakeontario #torontoharbour #torontoislands #latergram


Skyline through trees #toronto #ontarioplace #trilliumpark #williamcdavistrail #lakeontario #torontoharbour #torontoislands #latergram


Towards the airport #toronto #ontarioplace #trilliumpark #williamcdavistrail #lakeontario #torontoharbour #torontoislands #billybishopairport #latergram


Skyline seen from a hill #toronto #ontarioplace #trilliumpark #williamcdavistrail #lakeontario #torontoharbour #torontoislands #billybishopairport #latergram
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[PHOTO] Twenty photos of Ontario Place, Toronto (#ontarioplace)

Oct. 17th, 2017 09:37 am
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Back on the 21st of September, I posted a series of photos that I took just east of Ontario Place, in the area of the new Trillium Park. I had continued exploring west of Trillium Park, into Ontario Place, but I had never gotten around to posting my photos of Ontario Place in all of its mid-20th century modernist grandeur.

Back towards the city #toronto #ontarioplace #skyline #cntower #latergram


Hill #toronto #ontarioplace #hill


Looking towards Hanlan's #toronto #ontarioplace #torontoislands #hanlanspoint #lakeontario #latergram


Shore #toronto #ontarioplace #rock #beach #latergram


Towards the heart (1) #toronto #ontarioplace #architecture #latergram


Towards the heart (2) #toronto #ontarioplace #marina #architecture #latergram


Towards the heart (3) #toronto #ontarioplace #marina #architecture #latergram


Towards the heart (4) #toronto #ontarioplace #marina #architecture #latergram


Towards the heart (5) #toronto #ontarioplace #marina #architecture #latergram


On the pier (1) #toronto #ontarioplace #pier #concrete #architecture #marina #latergram


On the pier (2) #toronto #ontarioplace #pier #concrete #architecture #plane #marina #latergram


On the pier (3) #toronto #ontarioplace #pier #concrete #architecture #plane #marina #lakeontario #torontoislands #hanlanspoint #latergram


On the pier (4) #toronto #ontarioplace #pier #concrete #architecture #marina #latergram


On the pier (5) #toronto #ontarioplace #pier #concrete #cntower #architecture #marina #latergram


On the pier (6) #toronto #ontarioplace #pier #lakeontario #torontoislands #hanlanspoint #boats #latergram


On the pier (7) #toronto #ontarioplace #pier #lakeontario #boats #latergram


On the pier (8) #toronto #ontarioplace #pier #lakeontario #torontoharbour #skyline #cntower #latergram


On the pier (9) #toronto #ontarioplace #pier #lakeontario #humberbay #skyline #evening #latergram


On the pier (10) #toronto #ontarioplace #pier #lakeontario #concrete #architecture #latergram


Anchors #toronto #ontarioplace #anchors #pier #concrete #latergram


There will be more photos tomorrow.
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[URBAN NOTE] Four Toronto links: rent control, Toronto Islands, 401 Richmond, amalgamation

Sep. 26th, 2017 02:02 pm
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  • The Ontario government is not backing down on rent control despite impending conversions of real estate to condos.

  • blogTO notes this last heat wave has made the Toronto Islands superb, at last. I visited Sunday--visit while you can.

  • The 401 Richmond arts centre is getting tax relief, letting it function as a home for culture in a booming downtown.

  • Christopher Hume argues amalgamation, by undermining old power structures, made progress in Toronto impossible.

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