2y ago

‘There is nothing attractive about it’: Yonge-Dundas Square is struggling to attract people and is costing the city money. Can the heart of the city be fixed?

www.thestar.com

Hampered by its design and hit by the pandemic, the downtown public space needs resuscitating.

By Alyshah Hasham • Toronto Star

9 comments

Best buy, movie theater, jack astors, eaton center, way too many cars....it's just a glorified suburban mall with billboards and street preachers
- I passed by it so many times and it never quite regiatered it was supposed to be a square...
If a public square wants to attract local people, and not just tourists who don't know better like Times Square, then the public square needs to be welcoming to local people.
That means no giant screens trying to distract us and no car traffic to drown our voices. It means trees for shade, benches and tables where people can meet, and places for children to play. You want to add a central area for events? That's fine as well after you have addressed the basics.
Might be a good idea to just close the entire block and intersection to all traffic except for streetcars. Make it like a uniquely Toronto version of Vancouver's Robson Square.
That way the Southwest side of the intersection won't be fully occupied by the people proselytizing.
- We can’t even get cars out of Kensington market. We’ll never close a stretch of Yonge.
  
  A TTC fanatic can dream...................
  Lots of the fun and exciting things in Kensington Market happen when it's closed off to car traffic. Maybe they could at least afford to close Yonge on weekends?
I can't seems to read the article but as somone who passes the square daily I'd have a few suggestions.
Make Young a pedestrian road. As sidewalks are insanely crowded and dangerous.
Restrict use of amplification systems for the event puproses only. If some dude wants to yell about how we are all going to hell that fine, but they shouldn't get to do so with a megaphone or sound system. It doesn't exactly create a welcoming environment.
Also maybe direct protest around it and not through it. As a local I avoid those regardless of what they are protesting.
As an easy one maybe just advertise the events there a little better. Take one of screens and pop a schedule on there. I come by and occasionally see a cool event going on but don't have time to stop and check it out
Paywall bypass
Even better after there was a person running around with an axe nearby
https://torontomu.apparmor.com/Notifications/CAP/?id=124789&t=84891032

9 comments