General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours

[neonjoe]

I'm afraid that even then it won't be enough, judging from other urban examples. We are going from 0 buildings to 1 (Kaufman) to 3 (Kaufman+One Victoria+City Centre) so while the increase sounds like a lot, density is still extremely low in that area as far as downtown urban districts are concerned. We will need the other City Centre tower as well as the two towers in One Hundred Victoria before we start seeing critical mass. The transit hub will help a lot as the fact that a trip to downtown will be a breeze away when the LRT is in place. Then we'll see a clear pickup.

This brings up my biggest issue with the LRT - "a trip downtown is a breeze away when the LRT is in place"  ... for who??  Maybe a few folks who happen to live around the line, but not for most residents of the city (and by most I mean everyone in Wards 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8).  I understand the planning rationale for creating a corridor that induces development (and a long-term shift in population from the suburbs to condos along that corridor), but I really wish the LRT as more useful for more existing residents - meaning it had lines that extended out into the existing suburbs to the east and west and made it easy for people to come downtown as a destination.  I get it - that was way out of the budget - but presently I have a hard time seeing how the LRT would help me get anywhere I want to go (have you ever found yourself on King street saying "gee, I really wish I could hope on a train and get to uptown waterloo?")  ... most of the city's residents (again, everyone in Ward 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8) live outside walking distance from the LRT, which means they will have to keep driving everywhere they want to go.   

Since the province is now providing 100% funding for this sort of thing we should be lobbying for a Phase II LRT that adds loops from the outer areas into the core to augment the main line!

I made my reply in reference to "If not, how many more years do you think it will take before DTK becomes a bustling area?", which I don't think can be done without attracting people from outside the core.

I did not suggest rolling out the asphalt carpet for drivers, I'm suggesting that core should have businesses, an environment, and overall experience that are exceptional enough to come downtown despite having an unwelcoming environment for cars. I think, with the exception of some restaurants and the occasional event, the core is not attractive in any of those areas (and this is with a quite welcoming vehicular environment, some both of us hope to see change). I'm aware my posts about DTK come across as quite negative, but I make them from the point of view of expecting improvement, and having experienced cities so much better that I felt depressed upon returning to DTK. I want Kitchener to be that good.

Your comments about not wanting car-dependent undesirables in your part of the city is quite offensive too, seeing as it's not a choice for most people, and it's a privilege to live somewhere in Canada that you don't need to depend on a car.

Also, being able to point out a business that fits a niche exists is just the bare minimum... It says nothing about the quality of that business.

You can find it offensive that I don't want to destroy our city in order to cater to those who don't want to come downtown anyway, if that's your opinion, but I will restate my comment again, because while I was very careful with my words the first time, I don't want to be missunderstood...some people do not like downtown and never will, they don't want a lively urban area, for whatever reason they prefer a suburban mall. I don't understand it, but I respect it as their preference.

In my opinion, attempting to make downtown desireable to these people can only destroy our downtown, it can never improve it. I am not talking about privilege, I am talking about preference, our city is increasingly accessible by other means, and as I pointed out, there is no restriction whatsoever on driving downtown right now, those who want this experience, can get here if they can get anywhere. I am speaking of the goals of downtown, to try and make it more attractive to those who don't want an urban feel, will necessitate loosing that urban experience. That's what we've been doing for decades, it's time to go the other way, and if done at the same time as expanding housing in transit friendly areas, and expanding transit options in other areas, nobody who wants a downtown experience is excluded.

Instead by attempting to create a suburban mall experience downtown, those of us who DO want a downtown experience are the ones who are excluded.

Agreed ... the suburban mall idea was already tried in the 70s to revitalize downtown. These changes set our downtown even further back.
The current downtown is the best it has been during my lifetime and I've lived in Kitchener my entire life. Judging it based on how it appears due to covid isn't fair. Last summer going to events like the Multicultural festival or visiting Abe Erb on the weekend really showed how far it has come.