01-05-2026, 10:58 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-05-2026, 11:00 AM by danbrotherston.)
(01-05-2026, 10:33 AM)MidTowner Wrote: Good article. It actually understates the problem a bit by saying it's over a half-kilometre walk. It's almost a full kilometre using the current roads, and that's only to the nearest side of the proposed hospital.
The Region is negligent if it doesn't push back on this. We have an opportunity to have a brand-new hospital directly adjacent to the new rapid transit system we spent the better part of a billion dollars to build. Building parking lots on that land, and the hospital just outside of walking distance from that same station, is unconscionable.
I think the writer has a point that Grand River Hospital could be developed instead. It seems like there's no interest in that, but it's too bad. The seven-and-a-half acres being used for parking at Union and King are a huge opportunity.
Yeah, I generally have this opinion...to me there doesn't seem to be a reason to develop a new site, other than "pols like ribbon cutting" and "greenfield is easier". But it seems like it was never considered as an option, so we're going with the new site idea...I was glad they chose a site near transit, but they seem determined to fix that with this design.
The fact that we could visit GRH easily by transit was a huge plus for us, when we lived car free to be sure, but also when I was unable to drive due to an injury that required hospitalization and rehab. If I couldn't get to the hospital easily...or if it involved a 20 minute walk across a winter windswept parking lot along Northfield, my life would have been meaningfully worse. And I really cannot believe that this is an oversight...or rather, if it isn't, the people involved are beyond incompetent.

