Hospitals in KW

[ac3r]

What an utterly absurd idea.

[KingandWeber]

What an utterly absurd idea.

Why? I know you keep saying it's impossible, but the space is very clearly there for an arena the same size as Budweiser Gardens in London, which is all I think we honestly need. If you take measurements of just the Budweiser Gardens building, it would fit on the existing terminal property if you include the small city parking lot. If we really needed more space, 44 Gaukel could be demolished (apparently the building may need to be in any event due to its age) and I also think you could build over Joseph St. (i.e. just remove Joseph except for a bike/pedestrian path) since that section sees very little traffic anyway. I'm *not* saying this is absolutely the best location for a new arena, but I think it's quite feasible despite what you say. Yes, we would need to figure out parking, but there's a nearly empty garage at Benton/Charles which is less than a 2min walk away.

[SF22]

What an utterly absurd idea.

Why? I know you keep saying it's impossible, but the space is very clearly there for an arena the same size as Budweiser Gardens in London, which is all I think we honestly need. If you take measurements of just the Budweiser Gardens building, it would fit on the existing terminal property if you include the small city parking lot. If we really needed more space, 44 Gaukel could be demolished (apparently the building may need to be in any event due to its age) and I also think you could build over Joseph St. (i.e. just remove Joseph except for a bike/pedestrian path) since that section sees very little traffic anyway. I'm *not* saying this is absolutely the best location for a new arena, but I think it's quite feasible despite what you say. Yes, we would need to figure out parking, but there's a nearly empty garage at Benton/Charles which is less than a 2min walk away.

Not to mention the City Hall parking garage (1 block / 200m away) and the Duke/Ontario garage (2 blocks / 300m away), and I bet that Manulife would be happy to fill their parking garage with cars after-hours (1 block / 150m away).

As someone who lives near the existing Aud, it's kind of infuriating that the parking overflows from the Aud's designated parking and 5+ blocks deep into the neighbourhood in all directions. It doesn't leave space if residents want visitors, and it clutters up the streets with cars, which significantly reduces sightlines when you're walking and makes it more dangerous to cross the street. I would love to see all those cars using parking garage space (can we talk about increased revenues for the city?) instead of putting them all on the street. And you can't tell me that people won't walk that distance, because they absolutely will walk a full kilometre right now.

We seem to need some kind of Aud/hospital thread, because we clearly think the two are going to be dependent on one another.

[panamaniac]

Why? I know you keep saying it's impossible, but the space is very clearly there for an arena the same size as Budweiser Gardens in London, which is all I think we honestly need. If you take measurements of just the Budweiser Gardens building, it would fit on the existing terminal property if you include the small city parking lot. If we really needed more space, 44 Gaukel could be demolished (apparently the building may need to be in any event due to its age) and I also think you could build over Joseph St. (i.e. just remove Joseph except for a bike/pedestrian path) since that section sees very little traffic anyway. I'm *not* saying this is absolutely the best location for a new arena, but I think it's quite feasible despite what you say. Yes, we would need to figure out parking, but there's a nearly empty garage at Benton/Charles which is less than a 2min walk away.

Not to mention the City Hall parking garage (1 block / 200m away) and the Duke/Ontario garage (2 blocks / 300m away), and I bet that Manulife would be happy to fill their parking garage with cars after-hours (1 block / 150m away).

As someone who lives near the existing Aud, it's kind of infuriating that the parking overflows from the Aud's designated parking and 5+ blocks deep into the neighbourhood in all directions. It doesn't leave space if residents want visitors, and it clutters up the streets with cars, which significantly reduces sightlines when you're walking and makes it more dangerous to cross the street. I would love to see all those cars using parking garage space (can we talk about increased revenues for the city?) instead of putting them all on the street. And you can't tell me that people won't walk that distance, because they absolutely will walk a full kilometre right now.

We seem to need some kind of Aud/hospital thread, because we clearly think the two are going to be dependent on one another.

Just one possibility of many.

[tomh009]

We seem to need some kind of Aud/hospital thread, because we clearly think the two are going to be dependent on one another.

Just one possibility of many.

It's easier to find a new location for the Aud, though, than one for the hospital.

[nms]

Do bigger Regional hospitals actually work for those who need urgent care (a broken leg, stroke, heart attack) vs those who need specialized care (eg long-term cancer treatment or specialized surgery)? Or do they also need a network of smaller satellites for areas where the population is more distributed? For instance, I'm not familiar with this at all, but what are the current urgent care options for population centres like Elmira or New Hamburg/Baden? If these two nodes increase their populations as planned, will there be a need for a hospital in either of those areas (perhaps on the size of the original St. Mary's or K-W Hospital?). Elmira is probably equidistant between Groves Hospital (Fergus) and Grand River Hospital, while New Hamburg/Baden is equidistant between Stratford and St. Mary's Hospitals.

[panamaniac]

Gatineau, QC has chosen a site for its new 600-bed "super hospital". The site is 80 acres, so it's not just an Ontario thing.

[uto]

What about using the Rockway Golf Course for the Hospital Site? That site has good access from Courtland Ave side and King St/Charles St side with good highway access. The added bonus is that they could potentially maintain greenery/park areas.

[Acitta]

Landowners to be asked to pitch site for new Waterloo Region hospital

[panamaniac]

Sounds like the fix is in for a suburban site.

[Rainrider22]

Likely North Waterloo so all of us who live in kitchener will have a faster drive to Cambridge

[ijmorlan]

I don’t think it’s going too far to suggest that there may already be a favoured seller who has a plot of land about 0.1 acre bigger than the requirement.

[nms]

Does that mean that Conestoga College is going to expand with a teaching hospital? ;-)

[SF22]

You know a spot with tons of space, access to trees and a stream, an LRT stop and direct highway access?

Rockway Golf Course.

It even has the benefit of already being owned by the city, and is near 5 bus routes (iExpress 205, 3, 6, 7 & 8). The highway provides access from both the east and west sides (off both King and Courtland). You could make a little park between Bedford and the creek, to provide a buffer between the hospital and existing homes, and keep the tree line that runs behind Rockway/Carwood for the same purpose.

Even being generous with providing space between backyards and a potential hospital property, there's 60 acres of land just in the Courtland/Sydney/Rockway/Carwood section, and an additional 18 acres in the section between Courtland/highway/train tracks. Buildings could be strategically placed in order to keep as many full-grown trees as possible, as we know that access to nature helps patients heal faster.

I'd much rather have a world-class hospital near the city centre and a golf course at the edge of town, than the other way around.

[ijmorlan]

You know a spot with tons of space, access to trees and a stream, an LRT stop and direct highway access?

Rockway Golf Course.

[…]

I'd much rather have a world-class hospital near the city centre and a golf course at the edge of town, than the other way around.

And if they’re sensible with the design, most of the 60 acres doesn’t need to built on immediately, or ever.

For political reasons, probably need to make an alternate golf course, but as you say, better that out of town somewhere than the hospital.