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TTC
•  Morning rush hour worsens after contaminant fears close subway platform [ National Post ]
•`Difficult day’ for busy TTC [ Toronto Star ]

URBAN GREEN
• Cities leading the way on environment: Toronto mayor [ Globe & Mail ]
• York Region cracks down on flawed green program [ Toronto Star ]

NEIGHBOURHOODS
• Scarborough: Toronto’s eastern skyline [ Now Magazine ]
• Big Bop set to close [ Eye Weekly ]

OTHER NEWS
• 10 events that changed T.O. [ Now Magazine ]
• Grad House’s deflating controversy [ Eye Weekly ]
• Boxes battle graffiti [ Toronto Sun ]
• Billboard-tax bylaw passed – finally! [ Eye Weekly ]
• Toronto selected to host major Bollywood film awards in 2011 [ National Post ]
• Permits, strike blamed as public toilets delays [ National Post ]
• Chef outraged by councillor’s meltdown [ Toronto Star ]
• City follows our hint, improves park maps [ Toronto Star ]
• Keep ‘pro-life’ politics out of manger display, city says [ Toronto Star ]

6 comments

  1. Great article on Scarborough Shawn. I’ve always admired the vision of the inner suburban “downtowns” as central hubs for activity.

    However the problem in Scarborough Centre, as you highlighted, is the presence of a traditional mall that sucks life off of the street and contains acres of parking spaces. The same problem is seen in Mississauga, where any nearby potential street-fronting stores simply cannot compete. In Scarborough, this has been worsened by the pre-existing road network, the strange orientation/isolation of many condo projects & the consilium office towers, and the lack of zoning to prohibit nearby big box restaurants and stores.

    Scarborough Town Centre is currently in the middle of a multi-million dollar renovation that’s opening up the mall to the sky and outside views – not very progressive though. Anyone know of a pre-existing mall centred ‘downtown’ retrofit (Shops at Don Mills aside)?

    That being said, we can hope some new initiatives will spur the promised future:
    – Growth Plan density in Scarborough Centre is 400 residents and jobs per hectare (which is more than the 2001 density of the Downtown Toronto Growth Centre, but over a larger area)
    – New Library attached to the Civic Centre
    – Plan to rehabilitate and renew Albert Campbell Square
    – RT Conversion to LRT with (hopefully a few more stops in Scarborough Centre) with increased connections to the rest of the City

    The lack of a subway may be a benefit in the long-term as we transition the area from inside oriented, to an eyes on the street kind of place.

  2. Good comment, J. For myself, I think Scarborough’s best chance to build a true downtown is along Kingston road, which although it has a lot a traffic, does also have a lot of street level retail. At least there’s something to start with there.

  3. After the BRT and the Kingston Rd. Revitalization project go through, it might just be the right place for it.

    Although lets be realistc, Scarborough Centre can be downtown and Kingston Rd. can be the Eastern Beach!

  4. Good article Shawn & good points J.
    The civic centre & STC area was a product of the 60’s / early 70’s modernist view of utopia.

    The mall just sucks all the life indoors. Similarly it was (is) the same threat to Yonge Street when the Eaton Centre was completed in 1977. I was surprised however to see how busy it was during the hot summer days at Albert Campbell Square, especially during the days they have the “Indulge / Farmers Market”. People were mingling, eating lunch, & wading in the pool. It has potential to be a great public space.

    On that notion of retrofitting old enclosed mega malls into outdoor downtowns such as what happened to Don Mills Centre, I do have a question. This will be the first winter season that the “new” Don Mills Centre will be open. How have sales & businesses fared for the tenants compared to if this was a warm indoor mall? I was there during a rain storm in the summer and the place was deserted. Mind you, our past summer was relatively wet & cool, and if that day I was there was any indication, business can’t be good during the winter time (besides Christmas).

  5. Seems as though they are doing their best to activate the site with events during winter weekends leading up to xmas.

    And the handful of places to eat and drink probably maintain traffic of some sort throughout the year.

    However, I’d assume this is the time of winter that makes January-March somewhat bearable.