Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment

[creative]

I don’t live downtown but this past summer I attended many events and festivals. There was almost an event downtown every weekend. These were attended by a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds and cultures. Surprisingly the homeless were usually nowhere to be seen during these events. I also visit
Victoria Park numerous times each year. Also will be checking out the Boathouse and Christkindl market on Friday. The progress downtown has definitely slowed since COVID but things are happening to improve this. People love to complain about things but maybe they just need to spend less time on social media and get out of the house more often.

[tomh009]

You got your handful of events...you got Oktoberfest festivities, on which a bow is placed and it's called Kris Kringle. You have the park (imo still under utilized), and the peripheral.

A handful of events? Have you ever been downtown in the summer? There is a festival nearly every weekend, and lots of events on weeknights as well. (And the current festival is Christkindl,not Kris Kringle.)

[Bytor]

I suppose I could add to that a wholesome underground parking garage a la Distillery District Toronto since we seem to have a parking problem in DTK.

Go big, do it right. 4 to 5 levels of parking.

What parking problem in DTK? Both Kitchener and Waterloo did studies before the pandemic showing that even the busiest of the lots were never more than 70% full at the peak times of mid-afternoon for commercial. The further away from the immediate core the lot was, the lower that peak percentage was.

Given that so many office jobs are still working from home and that the churches and other places that used to rent out spaces have lost a bunch of revenue from doing that due to lowered demand, I would think that the peak levels are even lower now than before.

[Bytor]

You got your handful of events...you got Oktoberfest festivities, on which a bow is placed and it's called Kris Kringle. You have the park (imo still under utilized), and the peripheral.

A handful of events? Have you ever been downtown in the summer? There is a festival nearly every weekend, and lots of events on weeknights as well. (And the current festival is Christkindl,not Kris Kringle.)

We walked along King St on the 1st, virtually all the street-side parking spots from Frederick to at least Water were filled, and there were a lot of people walking on the sidewalks despite the chilly, windy weather.

DTK and Uptown are much busier than most people reaslize.

[Momo26]

I suppose I could add to that a wholesome underground parking garage a la Distillery District Toronto since we seem to have a parking problem in DTK.

Go big, do it right. 4 to 5 levels of parking.

What parking problem in DTK? Both Kitchener and Waterloo did studies before the pandemic showing that even the busiest of the lots were never more than 70% full at the peak times of mid-afternoon for commercial. The further away from the immediate core the lot was, the lower that peak percentage was.

Given that so many office jobs are still working from home and that the churches and other places that used to rent out spaces have lost a bunch of revenue from doing that due to lowered demand, I would think that the peak levels are even lower now than before.

 Study aside i think the perception is parking is hard to find. Far fewer free after 5pm city lots than the supporting streets of Uptown
..
You are arguing the wrong person. I spend a lot of time and money supporting downtown.

[Bytor]

You are arguing the wrong person. I spend a lot of time and money supporting downtown.

I mean, you did get the name of the Christkindl Market wrong, and you appear to think that there's not much happening in DTK which more than just I corrected you on, so so I hope that you can understand some reasonable skepticism of what you say.

[danbrotherston]

What parking problem in DTK? Both Kitchener and Waterloo did studies before the pandemic showing that even the busiest of the lots were never more than 70% full at the peak times of mid-afternoon for commercial. The further away from the immediate core the lot was, the lower that peak percentage was.

Given that so many office jobs are still working from home and that the churches and other places that used to rent out spaces have lost a bunch of revenue from doing that due to lowered demand, I would think that the peak levels are even lower now than before.

 Study aside i think the perception is parking is hard to find. Far fewer free after 5pm city lots than the supporting streets of Uptown
..

This is exactly the point. The *perception* is that parking is hard. The reality is that it isn’t. The problem is perception, not reality. You don’t need to fix reality. And in fact adding more reality parking wouldn’t change an already divergent from reality perception.

[ac3r]

Downtown Kitchener is hardly bustling.

[panamaniac]

Downtown Kitchener is hardly bustling.

I understand the Christmas market was very, very busy today.

[Momo26]

I'll admit the Christkindl market did apparently busy based on the parking lots and foot traffic. My family and I were ill prepared for the cold (as we didn't intend to be outdoors, came from bowling) but I wanted to check it out and have hot cocoa. We didn't make it to the market as such.

Busier than ever?

[Acitta]

Downtown Kitchener is hardly bustling.

I understand the Christmas market was very, very busy today.

I was there on Friday afternoon, and it was quite busy, but not crowded. I go every year and it is always busy. This year it was more spread out down King St. than I remember from previous years. There were quite a few food trucks. I had delicious Korean BBQ chicken. Downtown events always attract big crowds.

[dtkvictim]

This is exactly the point. The *perception* is that parking is hard. The reality is that it isn’t. The problem is perception, not reality. You don’t need to fix reality. And in fact adding more reality parking wouldn’t change an already divergent from reality perception.

I mean not entirely true, you could bring perception closer to reality by building more visible parking. But that's like, kind of against the point. Less visible is better, and culturally we need to adjust to understanding that available parking doesn't always look like a sea of asphalt between the road and the store.

Downtown Kitchener is hardly bustling.

I understand the Christmas market was very, very busy today.

It always is (inside city hall always seems to be overcrowded too), but that's hardly the norm for downtown. I don't think special events disprove the point.

[Momo26]

I guess what I, and perhaps some others, believe, is that the 'hustle and bustle' of a vibrant downtown core need to be happening outside of special events and markets etc.

What creates that constant humm and buzz? The kind where you can go downtown, grab a nice latte and just people watch?

Part of me wonders what could have been, if Balsillie managed to score that NHL team here in KW, what could have been for the overall sports bars, viewing/supporting events for DTK. Again it may not have been the answer in itself but still

[Rainrider22]

Need the arena and a convention centre DTK... simple

[bravado]

I guess what I, and perhaps some others, believe, is that the 'hustle and bustle' of a vibrant downtown core need to be happening outside of special events and markets etc.

What creates that constant humm and buzz? The kind where you can go downtown, grab a nice latte and just people watch?

Part of me wonders what could have been, if Balsillie managed to score that NHL team here in KW, what could have been for the overall sports bars, viewing/supporting events for DTK. Again it may not have been the answer in itself but still

The thing that downtown needs is people, more housing, everywhere. Mega-projects don't bring in natural demand and vitality, just put a lot of people there and it will come naturally. Unfortunately, leadership and most voters think that new people in the same space is the worst thing we can possibly do.