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Originally Posted by Acajack
I might be in the minority on here but I am of the view that the lasting impact on inner Toronto would have been relatively minimal. Toronto already has expressways in its core areas like the DVP and the Gardiner. Another one would not have been great but it certainly would not have killed the vibrancy that emerged there. It would have happened expressway or not.
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As proposed the Spadina expressway would have altered the urban fabric significantly more than the DVP or Gardiner, both of which had very little effect on the built up area. One was in a valley and the other on mostly vacant industrial land. The one area significantly affected by the Gardiner (Parkdale) stagnated for years after its construction, although that was part of a larger redevelopment scheme.
It's hard to tell what the exact effect would be, but I think it's safe to say the Annex would be significantly less desirable than it is now. The expressway would have gone right through the neighbourhood down to Harbord and culminated in a "reconstructed" Spadina ave (not really clear on what that would entail). Chinatown may have relocated elsewhere and it's certainly possible that the centre of gravity of development / desirability in Toronto would skew further east than it does now.