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Generally speaking the pedestrian traffic in Toronto reflects the density of the city - so as much as you want to wish Toronto were a sparse and barren wasteland - it isn't!
And yes - two years is plenty of time in the case of Toronto - the last two years has seen the biggest construction boom in our history and far and away the biggest in North America - NYC is second with half the construction - Chicago so far behind in construction it isn't even worth mentioning in comparison.
This construction boom is mainly condo's and heavily concentrated in the DT core - again NOT Office Building but Condos so yes in those live People!!! so yes it is much busier and much different in only two years!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fitzrovian
Yes Dweebo, you came on the wrong week, and went into all the wrong neighborhoods, and besides Toronto has become a completely different city in the last two years. You literally wouldnt recognize it today. There is now shoulder to shoulder pedestrian traffic on every street and a new skyscraper on every block.
Well you got around but yeah - you are right the density is there lol.. so people are around.. Toronto is the economic hub of Canada so if its during a weekday than people are naturally going to be working lol.. and many Torontonians do go up north to the cottage when there is nicer weather! Especially after a long winter..
Anyway As I mentioned to another poster - even two years much has changed with the urban landscape due to people taking possession of all the new condo's that went up..and continue to go up... There is major infrastructure concerns now because of this and no real plan because our Mayor seems to be too busy doing other things lol..
As for Highways well yes - The 401 is busiest in North America and few people know this but the one bridge that has more traffic than the Brooklyn bridge on a yearly basis is a highway overpass that is part of the 401.
I stayed in downtown and did most of my in-depth exploration in the west side (Ossington, little portugal, Queen West, etc), but I also rented a car after a couple days and drove around a lot including a little east of downtown and north to Yorkville.
I know the density is there (and its clear in the height of buildings)... but something just felt "off" compared to my experience of other similarly-dense cities. I don't know exactly what it was, but one of the main things I noticed was the car traffic--there didn't seem to be much of it at all! Looking at street views it shows similar lack of traffic in the streets as to what I experienced. Am I crazy?
For those who are actually interested in getting a great idea of what Toronto is like on street level (of course along with obligatory skyline shots) and to get a real feel for the architecture and urbanity of the city - there are few threads better in capturing the city than this one..
There's a lot of pages but worth shooting through them.
That's gotta be the first time I've ever heard of someone saying that there's a "lack of car traffic" in Toronto. Traffic is insane in the city!
The sidewalks are also packed on all the popular downtown streets, I think google streetview must have driven around very early in the morning to avoid the crowds and traffic.
I love it how people look at random google map streets and come to a conclusion.. if you haven't been to Toronto or any city looking at google maps is ridiculous and does not substitute the real thing. Anyway Google maps can't keep up with development going on in Toronto unless they come every three months and they don't.
Besides i'm not just talking about built form urbanity - i'm talking about people as well
Yeah I agree. But it is constantly done to Los Angeles, so why can't I?
And I really agree about foot traffic. Google Maps doesn't do many cities justice in that regard.
This is what I said and it makes sense as well because you can actually see what it is your looking for ie. A restaurant with a number attached to it or landmarks so you can get your bearings... you aren't fighting to see these things through a million cars and people!
Google map tourism is pathetic lol - to get an idea of something specific you are looking for in terms of an address... its great.
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Originally Posted by Atticman
That's gotta be the first time I've ever heard of someone saying that there's a "lack of car traffic" in Toronto. Traffic is insane in the city!
The sidewalks are also packed on all the popular downtown streets, I think google streetview must have driven around very early in the morning to avoid the crowds and traffic.
I stayed in downtown and did most of my in-depth exploration in the west side (Ossington, little portugal, Queen West, etc), but I also rented a car after a couple days and drove around a lot including a little east of downtown and north to Yorkville.
I know the density is there (and its clear in the height of buildings)... but something just felt "off" compared to my experience of other similarly-dense cities. I don't know exactly what it was, but one of the main things I noticed was the car traffic--there didn't seem to be much of it at all! Looking at street views it shows similar lack of traffic in the streets as to what I experienced. Am I crazy?
Also, btw.. those huuuge freeways are crazy!
If you were here in the summer, there are many weeks when the downtown (and also neighbouring suburbs) completely empty out as residents take vacation time and go up north. During these weeks, even the 401 at rush hour moves without traffic snarls, because so many residents are out-of-town. Toronto residents have a longstanding tradition of spending at least a few days "up north" every summer, and during these periods the city can be pretty quiet outside the core.
Otherwise, the city is at its most bustling from April to June - most downtown neighourhoods are filled with pedestrians, patios are jammed, and parks are busy and filled with families. As you move into July and August, many residents decamp to cottage country, and the downtown is the only area that remains busy, mostly with tourists in town for our summer festivals.
Having spent a fair bit of time in Chicago, I would say Toronto's downtown neighbourhoods are at least as busy with pedestrians, cyclists and car traffic.
As far as which city is more urban, I think they're pretty similar. Chicago's inner-city neighourhoods have similar population densities and commercial throughfares are busy with people during the good-weather months. I think New York and Mexico City occupy a separate tier on top for having the highest population densities and busiest inner-city neighbourhoods. On the next tier you can find cities like Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, San Francisco, Los Angeles. And so on.
However, with Toronto's residential building boom, its downtown becomes busier and busier. Now that I am not living in the city these days, every time I visit it seems like the city has grown and become busier. It has changed tremendously since the late-90's when I first moved downtown.
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