City Centre/Young Condominiums | 17, 25 & 6 fl | U/C

[jeffster]

Gotta say you guys have all been great at posting awesome pictures of the transformation of downtown Kitchener. It's a lot like the transformation in the King and University area in Waterloo. I think anyone that comes to KW that left 10 years ago, would be amazed at the changes.

I'm hoping that Covid doesn't set us too far back, but Waterloo Region always finds a way to bounce back.

[KevinL]

 Protip: A great place to see it is the top of Chicopee Skill Hill if you have a camera with a zoom lens (not mandatory, you can see it without, and a phone can zoom in pretty well) You see the skyline of Kitchener and Waterloo all at once.

You can also do this from McLennan Park (Mt. Trashmore).

[westwardloo]

Working on the third floor of the king st. side.

   
   

[panamaniac]

I can’t remember - is the ground floor double height on this one?

[jeffster]

I can’t remember - is the ground floor double height on this one?

It's pretty high. It really has that awesome supermarket appeal. Hopefully this will happen.

[Spokes]

Finally filling in that street wall. Lovely.

[ac3r]

That picture really goes to show you how little sidewalk space most of King Street has. It'd be really nice if they could turn the street into a pedestrian only area from maybe Francis Street to Frederick Street...maybe permit delivery trucks to drive down it if they needed to (which is common to see in Europe). Weber can easily remain the arterial road, and then let Charles take some of the local traffic load off King Street. One can dream, at least.

[KingandWeber]

I can’t remember - is the ground floor double height on this one?

It's pretty high. It really has that awesome supermarket appeal. Hopefully this will happen.

It might be tricky if there hasn't been a proper loading dock factored in to the design. Not impossible of course, but grocery stores get so many deliveries I don't think they'd be satisfied with street level deliveries if that's all that's available at this site.

[westwardloo]

That picture really goes to show you how little sidewalk space most of King Street has. It'd be really nice if they could turn the street into a pedestrian only area from maybe Francis Street to Frederick Street...maybe permit delivery trucks to drive down it if they needed to (which is common to see in Europe). Weber can easily remain the arterial road, and then let Charles take some of the local traffic load off King Street. One can dream, at least.

Agreed! unfortunately I think we as a region are still too car oriented. We are a couple years away from convincing the residents/ business owners that this can actually be a good idea for business. Where will people park!!!! haha

I also think this should have been done when designing the LRT. It could have traveled down king street then turn onto frederick to travel along charles. This would have gotten rid of DTK wonky separated stations, while giving downtown Kitchener a pedestrian mall.  it could have been like bourke street in melbourne. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@-37.8138044...312!8i6656

oh well that ship has sailed.

[jamincan]

If the question of running the LRT on King vs. Duke/Charles came up today, my guess is that the community would probably be far more supportive of King Street. It's hard to remember just how different the landscape was back when the alignment was under discussion, though, and it's understandable in that context that compromises were made that were probably not necessary in retrospect.

[Momo26]

I like that! Agreed - and I've said it in another thread - the LRT should have been running down King on that stretch. Oh well. They COULD make it a little more user friendly in making that street between City Hall and Young condos pedestrian and local traffic only (to get in and out of underground parking) and design it to 'flow people onto King' - the slate look / cobble stone instead of ashphalt etx. Likewise with Francis which is already being debated i think.

That looks nice in Melbourne.

[westwardloo]

If the question of running the LRT on King vs. Duke/Charles came up today, my guess is that the community would probably be far more supportive of King Street. It's hard to remember just how different the landscape was back when the alignment was under discussion, though, and it's understandable in that context that compromises were made that were probably not necessary in retrospect.

Absolutely! I am just happy we built the LRT. I prefer the current route over no LRT. I do think that a pedestrian king st will be attempted in the future. Possibly just in the summer months and probably through a half measured attempt that won't make either side happy, but that is yet to be seen.

[tomh009]

If the question of running the LRT on King vs. Duke/Charles came up today, my guess is that the community would probably be far more supportive of King Street. It's hard to remember just how different the landscape was back when the alignment was under discussion, though, and it's understandable in that context that compromises were made that were probably not necessary in retrospect.

And yet ... the current LRT routing will further encourage intensification away from King St, keeping us from being a single-street downtown.

I think LRT on Duke and Charles St, with a pedestrian King St in the middle, would be a fabulous solution. Maybe from Water to Queen?

[plam]

If the question of running the LRT on King vs. Duke/Charles came up today, my guess is that the community would probably be far more supportive of King Street. It's hard to remember just how different the landscape was back when the alignment was under discussion, though, and it's understandable in that context that compromises were made that were probably not necessary in retrospect.

And yet ... the current LRT routing will further encourage intensification away from King St, keeping us from being a single-street downtown. 

I think LRT on Duke and Charles St, with a pedestrian King St in the middle, would be a fabulous solution. Maybe from Water to Queen?

It's not all one-sided, so yes, there are some advantages to splitting between streets, but for transit purposes, having stations that go both ways is probably easier to navigate.

I was talking to the Regional staff about station design last year and they had said that they would have preferred running on King both ways, but they didn't think there was political buy-in at that stage. But for Cambridge it would be easier after people had seen that LRT can work.

[tomh009]

And yet ... the current LRT routing will further encourage intensification away from King St, keeping us from being a single-street downtown. 

I think LRT on Duke and Charles St, with a pedestrian King St in the middle, would be a fabulous solution. Maybe from Water to Queen?

It's not all one-sided, so yes, there are some advantages to splitting between streets, but for transit purposes, having stations that go both ways is probably easier to navigate.

I was talking to the Regional staff about station design last year and they had said that they would have preferred running on King both ways, but they didn't think there was political buy-in at that stage. But for Cambridge it would be easier after people had seen that LRT can work.

From a transportation point of view, I agree, King St would have been ideal. But the big goal for the LRT was to encourage intensification, and, for that, the split may actually be beneficial.

And, in any case, the single most important goal was to actually get the LRT approved!