Category Archives: Ontario
Mind the gap: as Waterloo’s light rail line opens, other connections close
ION LRT service will finally commence Friday June 21 Early in 2019, I had the opportunity to take a trip on Wroute, a new service that connected Guelph, Kitchener, and Burlington. Wroute was an interesting concept, a privately-operated option with … Continue reading
Brantford’s downtown was the “worst in Canada” – but has it bounced back?
It’s complicated. Continue reading
How YRT service cuts at York University demonstrate a failure of regional transit
York University Subway Station, opening day On Sunday, December 17, 2017, the TTC opened the long-awaited $3.2 billion Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension to York University and the City of Vaughan. The extension of Line 1, which included six new stations, … Continue reading
Requiem for Ontario’s regional malls
Shoppers World Brampton, 2016, before the Target store was replaced by smaller stores, including Giant Tiger Recently, I wrote about the history of Ontario’s downtown malls. Most of these shopping centres, built in the 1970s and 1980s in the downtown … Continue reading
Where, exactly, is Northern Ontario?
The French River at Highway 69, where Northern Ontario truly begins Last week, the leaders of the three major provincial parties (Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, and the New Democrats) met in Parry Sound, at a debate dedicated to issues specific to … Continue reading
A tale of two university campuses
Site of Brampton’s new Ryerson/Sheridan campus Last week, the provincial government announced two new post-secondary educational campuses in Toronto’s fast-growing western suburbs, due to open in 2022. Wilfrid Laurier University will be partnering with Conestoga College on a new facility … Continue reading
Ontario’s failed downtown malls
Bayside Mall, formerly the Sarnia Eaton Centre, on a Saturday morning in 2013. Most stores are vacant or occupied by non-profits or independent businesses. The Toronto Eaton Centre, large, famous, and vital, is only one of many malls built in … Continue reading
