General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours

[panamaniac]

This brings up my biggest issue with the LRT - "a trip downtown is a breeze away when the LRT is in place"  ... for who?? 

30,000+ students/faculty at UW, 15,000+ at WLU, and the thousands of people who happen to work close to R&T Park, Northfield, and Uptown. I estimate the total number of people who could jump on the LRT and head downtown for lunch or after work dinner around 60,000.

And if you think the lunch line up at Holy Guacamole is long now.....

[Owen]

This brings up my biggest issue with the LRT - "a trip downtown is a breeze away when the LRT is in place"  ... for who?? 

30,000+ students/faculty at UW, 15,000+ at WLU, and the thousands of people who happen to work close to R&T Park, Northfield, and Uptown. I estimate the total number of people who could jump on the LRT and head downtown for lunch or after work dinner around 60,000.

... but why in their right mind would they (the 60,000) want to spend the extra time to ride past uptown Waterloo (5 min away) to come all the way downtown Kitchener? I love downtown Kitchener so I'm not trying to be a pessimist - but I don't see the logic driving all those people to take a ride on the LRT to come visit downtown Kitchener... to what... go for a walk? This goes back to my earlier point: Perhaps if we had some really enticing/attractive destinations downtown Kitchener - so perhaps once we have several more top tier restaurants (I'm talking 10+) and a nightclub/lounge/bar scene equal in calibre to what Uptown Waterloo has to offer - then perhaps it could actually draw a crowd from the other end of town, but I still think tens of thousands making the trip on a regular basis is a stretch. What would actually be useful would be if we had a transit system that allowed the average resident living in KW to ditch their car - and feeder buses are fine, but the reality is when you start introducing transfers from Bus to LRT (and perhaps back to bus again), a trip to work or shopping starts to become a 30 to 45 minute affair and a car is just more practical.

[white_brian]

They went up for sale along with a few other "development potential " listing on Courtland shortly after the second guy was through the neighborhood. It was like when Northdale's new zoing plan was passed. Development potential for sale signs everywhere.

[plam]

... but why in their right mind would they (the 60,000) want to spend the extra time to ride past uptown Waterloo (5 min away) to come all the way downtown Kitchener?   I love downtown Kitchener so I'm not trying to be a pessimist - but I don't see the logic driving all those people to take a ride on the LRT to come visit downtown Kitchener... to what... go for a walk?  This goes back to my earlier point: Perhaps if we had some really enticing/attractive destinations downtown Kitchener - so perhaps once we have several more top tier restaurants (I'm talking 10+) and a nightclub/lounge/bar scene equal in calibre to what Uptown Waterloo has to offer - then perhaps it could actually draw a crowd from the other end of town, but I still think tens of thousands making the trip on a regular basis is a stretch.   What would actually be useful would be if we had a transit system that allowed the average resident living in KW to ditch their car - and feeder buses are fine, but the reality is when you start introducing transfers from Bus to LRT (and perhaps back to bus again), a trip to work or shopping starts to become a 30 to 45 minute affair and a car is just more practical.

I live pretty close to uptown Waterloo but I do hop on my bike to get stuff in downtown Kitchener, for instance banh mi. I'd suggest that Duke Food Block would be much more of a lunch destination than top tier restaurants.

[mpd618]

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 ...

If you understand that the line is meant to intensify the core rather than the suburbs, then surely you understand that not having lines going into the suburbs isn't just a matter of budgets - it's also a question of intended land-use and density.

[DHLawrence]

The idea is to fill in the gaps between downtown and uptown. In time, Uptown could easily be the Yorkville to Downtown's Yonge and Dundas, with the in between dense enough that you can't tell you've changed cities.

[Owen]

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 ...

If you understand that the line is meant to intensify the core rather than the suburbs, then surely you understand that not having lines going into the suburbs isn't just a matter of budgets - it's also a question of intended land-use and density.

I get that - but the conversation here started with why people (i.e. the ones in suburbs in wards 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8) don't come downtown - and my point is that the LRT won't really help or encourage them to come downtown (except - perhaps - indirectly, via encouraging density and thus revitalizing the downtown and making it more attractive... but not directly via actually making it easier/practical to transport themselves downtown)

[BuildingScout]

I get that - but the conversation here started with why people (i.e. the ones in suburbs in wards 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8) don't come downtown - and my point is that the LRT won't really help or encourage them to come downtown (except - perhaps - indirectly, via encouraging density and thus revitalizing the downtown and making it more attractive... but not directly via actually making it easier/practical to transport themselves downtown)

Of course it won't. LRT won't bring someone from their house in Westvale to downtown. However it might bring said person for lunch from the office in R&T/Northfield to uptown/downtown, all traveling as a group on the LRT and then back to work. The food choices in those places are pretty grim to begin with, and a quick ride to town for a bite to eat can quickly become part of the routine.

[panamaniac]

I would think that the big initial winner of LRT would be the Kitchener Market and the King St E Asian supermarkets. I hope the improved access will encourage the Market to finally take the plunge and open on Wednesdays.

[tomh009]

The main floor of the former Boa Nova restaurant at Charles and Ontario Sts has been occupied by an accounting firm.

This is YNC, LLP (I think today is the first time I saw the signage).  They have moved from 447 Frederick, next to the Expressway, so this, too, brings more people to the core.

All of the big accounting firms are located outside the core, and I think this is an opportunity for YNC to build some business with the tech firms that are now locating in the core.

[panamaniac]

Activity today at the former Little Pinto Shop at 243 (?) King St E. One of the workers told me they were putting in a "storefront". New life for the city's most modest Art Deco building!

[mpd618]

Activity today at the former Little Pinto Shop at 243 (?) King St E.  One of the workers told me they were putting in a "storefront".  New life for the city's most modest Art Deco building!  

Excellent news!

[mpd618]

I get that - but the conversation here started with why people (i.e. the ones in suburbs in wards 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8) don't come downtown - and my point is that the LRT won't really help or encourage them to come downtown (except - perhaps - indirectly, via encouraging density and thus revitalizing the downtown and making it more attractive... but not directly via actually making it easier/practical to transport themselves downtown)

I agree - the LRT isn't going to directly get people coming into the central corridor. But it will sure make it more attractive to be on the central corridor and to travel along it. A lot of the people currently in that corridor do lots of driving out of it; the LRT will help satisfy more of their demands within the corridor.

[REnerd]

I hate to be that guy, but I think this thread is massively off topic.  I think it needs to be moved into ION or a new thread of its own.

[Owen]

I hate to be that guy, but I think this thread is massively off topic.  I think it needs to be moved into ION or a new thread of its own.

hahaha... I was just waiting for someone to say it