The many faces of Queen and Yonge...

St. Lawrence Market

It happens every Saturday and without fail. Their day begins as most are heading to bed in the early hours of Saturday morning.  The farmers pack up their goods, begin their journey into the city core, and begin to set up at 4:00am at the market on Front street.

This has been a tradition for a generation before ours and our parents. The people may have changed, but the tradition itself has held its ground for each new person who discovers this jewel smack dab in the middle of the city.  St Lawrence Market has transformed itself over the decades as well as received a face lift or two,  but the idea that we can get fresh produce and a meat selection like no other in the city has stood its ground and is about to renew itself yet again with a new addition to the institution sandwiched between St. Lawrence Hall and the Market on the south side of Front street.
In the early 70's, the one level building on the south west corner of Jarvis and Front was the new hub of activity for the farmers market. With only the market and original town hall next to it, there was sufficient parking everywhere, including right next to it, which we now know as Metro or the Rainbow Cinemas.  Toronto was a growing city, rich with culture even in the 70's, but who knew that what was ahead in the coming decades would create an even greater need for a market such as this.

Farm land began at Eglinton Avenue. Travelling into the city core was not such a long trip in those times.  Traffic congestion didn't exist like we know it now and sure there was a need for fresh "country" produce back then, but to take a leisurely drive north on the weekends, you didn't have to drive far to get it.
St Lawrence market has always been right in the heart of the city.  Originally it was right in the heart of York.  A meeting place, a market, and a hub of activity-as it still remains today.  To get to the country now  traveling from the city core, involves a bit more driving, a little more frustration, and a lot more time.  There is an even greater need to have that fresh-not frozen substance we so greatly desire in a time when processed food remains king.
Organic is the new word thrown around these days, and in every grocery store you will find a section dedicated to this "trend", but you wont find a selection of it like at the Market.  In October, the city went public looking to find a new design firm to create a new jewel for the market replacing the current farmers market building at the corner of Front and Jarvis.  Unlike the current building, the new one must have an underground parking lot to house not only the vendors vehicles, but the new generation of shoppers that the new building will attract.  It will be a multi use facility as well.  New court rooms which the city so desperately needs will also be housed here, but updating this relic and unsightly one at that, will be exactly what this area needs.  While the new facility is being built, the farmers market will be relocated south behind St Lawrence market on the Esplanade.  The new building should take roughly 2 years to complete,  and hopefully will mesh the old and the new like this area was meant to.

Yonge street circa 1970...

Dundas Square...

Wrong place, wrong time

At a time when walking across the street or at an intersection involves making a call to your lawyer first to ensure your estate is in order, the focus should be on educating not only pedestrians about "walking safety", but driver re-education as well.
Toronto police began a blitz targeting pedestrians who break the law countless times daily on our streets by ticketing them for jay walking, or just simply crossing at an intersection after the flashing hand and countdown has begun.
Many don't know that it is illegal to cross the street when the hand is flashing. The equivalent to to the flashing hand is the amber light for motorists. When the light is yellow, and a driver crosses an intersection- they too have broken the law.
In a time of making sure we try to cram as much into our busy day as possible, the simple task of getting home at night, now has some wondering if they will make it home at all. Two days ago a close friend had left my house at dusk. She lives 20 minutes away by bike, and didn't expect to meet the fate that she did. Not even on a major street, two minutes before she recieved a ticket for not stopping at a stop sign (on her bike), a driver in a vehicle on their cell phone (without bluetooth) almost knocked her over. The police officer issued a ticket for $110 dollars and demerit points off her license. This could have been worse for her.. she didn't have a light on her bike, nor did she have a bell of any kind, but the officer was more concerned about the fact she didn't stop.
What happened to nabbing those motorists who continue to talk on their phones? What happened to ensuring that pedestrians cross at designated crossing areas? On a cold January night, this officer decided to issue a ticket to a cyclist who was among maybe 20 other cyclists on the streets at this very moment.
Was he doing his job...? Yes.
Was she breaking the law...? Yes.
Was this really what the officer should be focusing on...? Probably not, but she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like the 14 others who have been struck over the past 3 weeks on Toronto streets.
Will enforcing the law when it comes to street safety for pedestrians really work? Only time will tell, but I guarantee that we will continue to see motorists on their cell phones and that will be harder to enforce than cyclists committing petty crimes.

A vintage Toronto skyline pic...

College street at Bay looking east....

A day in the life on transit..

After being told of a fare hike in the new year, the TTC implemented the increase to the dismay of just about everyone who rides it. Increases happen, fares will always increase at some point, but justifying the increase has to be a priority and relevant to everyone involved. The customer service standard on the system is at an all time low.. The emphasis on the system as a whole from customer service, late buses, delayed trains, sleeping collectors is suddenly now a priority for the powers that be at the TTC. With all these negative components all suddenly coming to light over the course of 3 weeks, it was the wake up call that someone finally answered.
There comes a point when enough is enough.. and it truly needs to be soon. This statement can be applied to so many scenarios and situations, but one in particular needs to act on it now, and it seems they have.
Pedestrians are getting hit, some dying from it. Drivers are in an even bigger rush to get to that meeting or pick up a loved one who is waiting for them (with that cell phone still pressed against the ear-regardless of any new law banning it). Fingers are being pointed, and blame is being thrown around like an empty bag on a windy day.
Just yesterday, a mother and her 12 year old son were attempting to ride a TTC bus at Dufferin and Eglinton. The driver took the son for someone older than a 12 year old and demanded that he pay a student fare after the child fare was already deposited. Proof of his age was shown, and still he didn't believe it. The bus was put out of service, police were called and the mother and son made it to their appointment only because the police officer drove them there. The only thing that would have made this story even more unfortunate, is if they were hit by a car after exiting the bus.
Who is to blame… The driver who may not have been trained properly in handling difficult situations at work? The Passenger who may have used some words that forced some ones guard to go up? The pedestrian who jaywalks knowing full well that it is illegal? The driver who just didn’t see the person crossing the street wearing dark clothing and not at a designated crossing zone?
There is always 3 sides to a story, the he said, she said and what was “actually” said.
This afternoon the TTC announced that there will be:
-A new customer service line for riders to use in the case of any situation that is not to “standard”
-Customer Bill of Rights
-Next vehicle texting system for buses and Streetcars fully in use as of 2011
-50 new vending machines for passes with debit and credit capability
and screens at entrances to every subway advising riders of delays and for communication purposes.
Lets hope that frustration doesn’t become worse and something bigger than what has already happened is avoided. As well, making caffeine pills mandatory for all TTC employees would be a surefire way to avoid sleepiness on the job, and guarantee our driver was friendly, alert, but possibly a little jittery.

What intersection is this?

This intersection hasn't changed much other than the addition of stop lights, and the gas station is no longer there..

Yonge and Dundas then and now...

Branding a city

Like any good product there is a strategic marketing campaign behind it. There is brand consistency, no mixed messages and a clear concise message the product is making to the consumer to ensure there is no confusion over what they are purchasing and why.
Like any good product, there are testimonials and feedback ensuring necessary changes to tweak that product are made to create that demand for even more consumers to need, want and use that one thing that has brought so many others satisfaction, consistency and reliability.
A city is a product. It is used daily by millions, has a need, a want and like many other great products, has its flaws.
Great cities have great needs, most have learned from their mistakes, and others haven’t. This tends to be a great flaw with people running those cities unsure as to why these flaws occur. Like that great product, it takes time to create that customer base, who have used it so many times in the past and told their friends how incredible it was to use, and how they too can benefit from its use.
Toronto has become a victim of that “growing up too fast syndrome”, starting off as a city that just has every great structure in place, systematically making sure that all the necessary infrastructure is where it should be, rich in history, consistency, a few flaws-but those flaws gave it character in the right ways. This product is now being used by consumers that 25 years ago was not planned for. The growth ballooned, development went awry, and the city that once worked, became the city that couldn’t keep up.
With mixed messages and inconsistency at so many levels, Toronto the product is being used daily with uncertainty as to whether or not it will get you from a to b on time. Its still a great product-if used properly, but those necessary changes to tweak the city need to happen on a bigger level.
Toronto just came out of one of its worse years for tourism (even worse than the SARS year). A garbage strike still fresh in peoples mind, and the infrastructure crumbling beneath the feet of people (literally), there are great things ahead for the future of Toronto-But we shouldn’t rest on those laurels.
The G20 summit is coming in the summer of 2010, World Pride in 2014, and the Pan Am games in 2015. Tourists come to Toronto expecting culture, diversity and history. When they get here, they have street signs that aren’t consistent, sidewalks that are a mess, and a transit system that has their staff sleeping on the job.
As a child, I grew up with street signs downtown that were lit up either in yellow or blue. This was a clear indication for not only the residents but the tourists, if the sign was yellow, that street ran east to west, if the sign was blue, it was pointed at the lake. It’s a little thing I know, but it was consistent. To ensure those testimonials are great ones, we need to fix the inconsistencies now, and create that demand for the great product we know as Toronto.

ACC before... and after

Marilyn Bell Ferry

Marilyn Bell was the first person to swim across Lake Ontario in 1954. Her namesake will be crossing the western gap of the channel to the newly renamed Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport every 10 minutes.
On Friday January 22nd, the Toronto Port Authority christened its newest ferry the “Marilyn Bell” with Marilyn herself, doing the ceremonial christening. She currently lives in New Jersey and Porter Airlines flew her in to participate in the ceremony.
The Toronto Port Authority held a contest asking people to submit their ideas on names for both of their vessels. People throughout Ontario submitted names at kiosks in the airport and online. Ten finalists were chosen, by an online vote to determine the Winners.
Their original ferry now their “back-up” with a capacity of 100 passengers became the David Hornell. Born on the Toronto Islands, David was a World War two fighter pilot and earned the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for his heroic actions during the war.
By doubling its capacity from the previous ferry, the Marilyn Bell will bring passengers to and from the newly expanded Porter terminal opening in the next month.
This should put to rest any talk of tunnels or bridges to the island airport-at least for now.

Sherbourne Park

If you haven’t traveled down to Queens Quay east recently, other than to shop at Loblaws or spend the night checking out the latest trends in club fashion at Guvernment, you aren’t alone, but that may change this summer.
Work is well underway on the “New Blue Edge”, the long awaited regentrification on the eastern portion of the waterfront stretching from Jarvis to Parliament.
The construction began last summer, and its already winning design awards for excellence in architecture.
Sherbourne park pavilion is touted as being a multi use facility, and with its three dimensional form, it was designed to tie all the elements of the future surrounding growth into a meeting place not only for skating in the winter, but as a splash pad in the summer.
After countless years of debate on what to do with the waterfront, it seems as if the future vision of how to make our waterfront the crowning jewel of the city is finally coming to life.
Sherbourne Park is slated to be completed the summer of 2010, as well as the man made “Sugar beach”. Like the HTO urban beach on the waterfront between Rees Street and Spadina, Sugar Beach will be equipt with sand, umbrellas, and plenty of seating to catch some sun after grocery shopping at Loblaws across the street. With the new home of Corus Entertainment almost completed and shovels in the ground on the expansion of George Brown College, its only a matter of time (and money) for the LRT running east of Queens Quay at Bay street to the Distillery to become reality as well.