remember when they were proposing new viva lines on major mack, jane and leslie back then too, as if the brt routes would be the spine of a larger viva network

YESSS OMGGGG

had a great time with august, fern and jedwin exploring line 5 eglinton today !!

line 5 Eglinton final impressions: pleasantly surprised at the underground section & expectedly frustrated at the surface section

there are already capacity issues with doors & narrow standing areas between bogeys—issues predictable with low floor LRVs. this *really* should've been a full subway.

I mean we'll see, to some (very small) extent, long term Metrolinx project plans persist in some form, and Richmond Hill GO realigning has been oft-proposed. Especially considering the Line 1 extension the potential of a North South express is salient, and we alr own the Don Branch.

the only way I can see this ever happening is an agreement to decommission the existing track on the other side to replace the Don Mills trail but even then that'll be a hard battle to win. Not many governments that would want to weather that in swing ridings.

lol as someone that grew up using Richmond Hill GO I appreciate the slights at the other stations but also atp, and I think Ford's GO 2.0 plans are in line with this, they'd just realign RH GO along the Don Branch & Don Mills trail & do fast frequent service that way if they do ever upgrade the line

yeah no you couldn't easily do this (@ontariotrafficman.bsky.social explains this well) but iirc DB (when they were partnered for GO expansion) did actually consider it for after the YNSE Line 1 Richmond Hill extension was completed.

and thank you for the kind words!

credits for the renders (and more) can all be found in alt text. all images of 315 spadina were sourced from the @urbantoronto.bsky.social database entry and forum discussion on the building.

hope you found this informative!

south facing render of 315 Spadina via AlbertC on UrbanToronto showing interface with rest of streetscape

image via Vminkov on UrbanToronto

image via Paclo on UrbanToronto

Time will tell how much of this building will be like the renders, but it's looking really good! New buildings don't have to be sterile, density does not have to mean a loss of culture.

and seems like 315 Spadina is living up so far!

📸: Vminkov & Paclo
(via UrbanToronto)

render of corner Spadina & D'Arcy streets for new 315 Spadina development via Feruzian on UrbanToronto

render of 315 Spadina street level

now there's much more I can say to gush over this development: voluntary inclusion of affordable units, architectural callbacks to the warehouses further down the street, and where it starts to setback.

but really it's as simple as the two first points: lot size and storefronts.

street view plan of 315 Spadina via DavidCapizzano on UrbanToronto

Best Practices from the city of Toronto Design Guidelines via Eric Lombardi

Now some of this is due to the city of Toronto's design guidelines, but as @ericlombardi.bsky.social pointed out to me this is only part of it!

A lot of it is up to developers, and we see this with 315 Spadina: Masonry defines unit entrances + fun ornamentation!

Grenville and Bay

full glass streetwall at campus one near college and spadina

Of course new densified apartments tend to want new residence entrances, so new layouts may be necessary, but 315 Spadina, maintaining stores, does this really well!

This is then interrelated with the actual storefronts themselves. You ever see those full floor to ceiling glass street walls? Bad!!

Render of 315 Spadina via UrbanToronto

Floor Plans for 315 Spadina courtesy of Feruzian on UrbanToronto

Maintaining small lot sizes is key & in a corridor like Spadina you want to try maintaining the previous # of units.

I'm using 315 Spadina as an example here, developing a cherished set of restos in Chinatown, it includes 7 commercial units, allowing similar stores to return!

1960-2020 Queen & Bay in Toronto

Toronto from 1853 to 2017

Across the city, not just Spadina, we're seeing older small scale buildings—classic toronto commercial vernacular—get redeveloped into towers & midrises. The loss of this microretail is often why new developments can feel "sterile". how to fix it? smaller lot sizes & ground experience (storefronts).

view facing south on Spadina Ave in Toronto

Spadina is facing a lot of development pressure right now as the city continues to grow at an unprecedented rate.

Understanding how to densify this corridor while maintaining it's feel & cultural value (especially the microretail of chinatown) is vital. (+) short thread 🧵

phenomenal reforms coming out of the west coast right now, we could really learn a lot from Vancouver!

Honestly overall the new transit infrastructure in Australia is quite nice, with beautiful but functional architecture, grand stations and the inclusion of retail in stations and platform screen doors (both the new Melbourne tunnel and Sydney metro).

I've always been interested in Melbourne's wired surface transit (trams) & how the free fare zone and priority works in practice in a city of its size! Also how connected the different mixed use shopping streets feel within the core.

In Sydney, the TOD around Chatswood (Victoria Ave) is super nice!

heard this on the radio and still can't believe it!! wonderful news!! a major breakthrough in equity at the ttc and simplifying fares. this is what a system that cares about it's riders looks like.

graphic from mayor olivia chow reading "streetcars + LRTs signal priority is on the way"

there is a distinct possibility that Finch West's performance was was so poor that it finally jumpstarted action for streetcars across the city to be properly usable

DC economist Joey Politano with local influencer Reia

beautiful and incredible things are happening in toronto, ontario @josephpolitano.bsky.social

Kensington market outdoor food market in toronto

toronto is so beautiful

sorryyyyyy

so the wloo lrt only uses the white bar at a few intersections (where they turn)?

oh this is great I so wish we had that in richmond hill as well for viva

doesn't wloo at least use white bars for go? why is that allowed in wloo but not elsewhere

Nothing about the current collpase in housing starts is shocking to me

For years people warned cities not to cook the golden goose with high DCs and onerous application processes because they needed the eggs not the meat!

All the meat is eaten, the feast is over, and now we suffer empty stomaches

dd