Categories
Travels Urban Planning History Ontario Development

The end of Sarnia’s Eaton Centre

Late last year, I wrote about the closure of the Hamilton City Centre mall, the last of Ontario’s downtown Eaton Centres to open. But Hamilton’s failed shopping centre wasn’t the only old downtown mall to close in recent years: Sarnia’s Bayside Centre, opened in 1982 as the Sarnia Eaton Centre, was recently demolished, with a […]

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Development History Ontario Travels Urban Planning

The end of another Eaton Centre

Opened in 1990, the Hamilton Eaton Centre will close for good on Boxing Day, 2022.

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Roads Toronto Urban Planning Walking

Deadly by design: Warden and Comstock

On Thursday, July 21, 2022, at 3:10 PM, a 38-year-old man was standing at a street corner in Scarborough, waiting for a signal to safely cross to the other side. Before he even had the chance to enter the intersection of Warden Avenue at Comstock Road, a driver of a 2009 silver Kia minivan heading south […]

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Infrastructure Roads Urban Planning

The tragedy of East Buffalo

Just two blocks away from the Jefferson Avenue Tops supermarket is Buffalo’s Kensington Expressway. The high-speed roadway, built with New York State funding, was built in the late 1950s to connect Downtown Buffalo with the New York State Thruway and the airport. The highway went through Buffalo’s East Side, historically Polish-American neighbourhoods that were becoming […]

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Canada Development Maps Ontario Toronto Urban Planning

Mapping Toronto’s population growth

On February 9, data geeks across Canada rejoiced when Statistics Canada released the first round of data from the 2021 Census of the Population. The data was released at all levels of geography made available by Statscan. At the federal level, Canada grew by 5.2% since the 2016 Census, with a total population of 36,991,981. […]

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Infrastructure Ontario Transit Urban Planning

A visit to GO Transit’s new Garage Mahal

Despite Bloomington’s modern design and environmental features, it does not support contemporary demands for sustainable development or transportation.

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Brampton Ontario Politics Transit Urban Planning

How Brampton commuters are caught in the middle at Steeles

Frustrated by Metrolinx’s responses to my questions about pedestrian safety at the northern terminus of the Hurontario LRT, I submitted an Access to Information request to the provincial agency to find out more.

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Brampton Infrastructure Transit Urban Planning

A tale of two stations: Brampton and Bramalea

With the expansion of parking at Bramalea GO, why is Metrolinx eager to add another parking lot in Downtown Brampton, especially with Ryerson’s downtown plans on hold?

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Development Roads Toronto Transit Urban Planning Walking

Why pedestrian safety is a matter of justice for essential workers

A new Amazon fulfilment centre opened in northeast Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though we consider Amazon employees essential workers, a basic level of safety pedestrians and transit users is lacking.

Categories
Transit Travels Urban Planning

Goin’ to Kansas City

Kansas City might not be at the top of many urbanists’ travel lists, it has a wonderfully restored Union Station, one of America’s few useful streetcar lines, and the world’s first shopping plaza. It’s worth a visit.