What's missing from your city?

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

I don't believe St. John's will ever get an ethnic neighbourhood.

I think you mean you don't think St. John's will ever get an ethnic neighbourhood besides the ethnic neighbourhoods you already have. St. John's have tons of ethnic British neighbourhoods, I've been told.

[SignalHillHiker]

Well, that kind of goes without saying.

BUT, since you bring it up... St. John's is pretty Irish. The whole English, Anglican thing - though they certainly were the upper class in St. John's - in terms of overall numbers, they're mostly a rural thing.

So, the blue areas were mostly Irish, and accounted for like 60% of the island's population:

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Hali87

There are still Acadian townships like Clare and Isle Madame but almost everyone from those places also speaks English and their dialect is considered hard to follow by other Franco-Canadians. Most of the true Francophones (in the sense of not speaking much English) in the area are French-speaking immigrants or students, or are from Quebec or New Brunswick.

Yeah, there are four regions of Nova Scotia that have substantial Acadian populations to the point where a good deal of community life can take place in French:

Clare (Baie-Ste-Marie) between Digby and Yarmouth

The Argyle district on the other side of Yarmouth going south (Pubnico region)

Isle Madame off the northeast part of the Mainland

Chéticamp on the western side of Cape Breton

As you say there is a decent francophone population in the Halifax area (made up of Acadians from NS and elsewhere, some Québécois and also "international" francophones). But they don't really have an area of the metro where they truly congregate. It's kind of like Toronto in that way where there is also a decent-sized francophone population but no real francophone part of town.

[megadude]

I was in Montreal two weeks ago and noticed their new ferris wheel. Was in Niagara the week before and saw the ferris wheel there, which I have previously been on twice. It got me thinking, should TO have one? The answer is no. IMO of course. Niagara is close enough, and for any locals that really like them, just wait till end of summer and go when the CNE is on.

But do you think TO could do with one? Famous ones include Chicago, Vegas, Santa Monica and London. There is one proposed for NY.

I guess the natural location would be Queens Quay, on the waterfront like Montreal. But then again, there's probably no room for it and the land too valuable. Other than that, places like Ontario Place or the Port Lands have the room, but those places aren't central.

[ScreamingViking]

Ballsy ambition. Goes for both #HamOnt and #BurlOn.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by megadude

I was in Montreal two weeks ago and noticed their new ferris wheel. Was in Niagara the week before and saw the ferris wheel there, which I have previously been on twice. It got me thinking, should TO have one? The answer is no. IMO of course. Niagara is close enough, and for any locals that really like them, just wait till end of summer and go when the CNE is on.

But do you think TO could do with one? Famous ones include Chicago, Vegas, Santa Monica and London. There is one proposed for NY.

I guess the natural location would be Queens Quay, on the waterfront like Montreal. But then again, there's probably no room for it and the land too valuable. Other than that, places like Ontario Place or the Port Lands have the room, but those places aren't central.

For Toronto, how about a TTC aerial cable car connecting Ontario Place to the Port Lands, with a station at Harbourfront? Would address the "not central" issue.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

For Toronto, how about a TTC aerial cable car connecting Ontario Place to the Port Lands, with a station at Harbourfront? Would address the "not central" issue.

Good idea actually.......

[Spocket]

For Winnipeg, a proper entertain hub of some type. Water, some sort of theme or rides...anything would be nice. Not that I live there anymore but I still consider it home.

[isaidso]

Toronto

- (subways) Ontario Line, Queen Line, College Line, St. Clair Line
- proper sidewalk paving throughout downtown
- buried electrical
- trees/greenery between the sidewalk and road
- better cycling infrastructure
- wider sidewalks
- a nice ferry terminal
- a cruise ship terminal (service to Niagara would be nice too)
- jets at the island airport
- a casino downtown
- a big park in the downtown core (Rail Deck Park can't happen soon enough)
- 3-4 large museums/galleries
- a proper baseball park
- a large indoor botanical gardens (2 million square feet+)
- a nice tennis centre (the Aviva Centre isn't)
- 6 million people in the City, 12 million in the CMA (so roughly double what we have now)

[Djeffery]

London could use a downtown grocery store. So many buildings going up or planned that hopefully the tipping point is reached.

An indoor waterpark, as many other cities have been suggested. We have an awesome outdoor one for 3 months of the year. You'd think a hotel waterpark complex would do good here. Maybe not to Great Wolf Lodge scale, but an Americana type place (to name a couple places in Niagara).

[LilZebra]

Something like this in Winnipeg...

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

London could use a downtown grocery store. So many buildings going up or planned that hopefully the tipping point is reached.

An indoor waterpark, as many other cities have been suggested. We have an awesome outdoor one for 3 months of the year. You'd think a hotel waterpark complex would do good here. Maybe not to Great Wolf Lodge scale, but an Americana type place (to name a couple places in Niagara).

We used to be an ambitious people...

[harls]

Originally Posted by LilZebra

Something like this in Winnipeg...

Train or mountains?

[ssiguy]

Vancouver's biggest deficit is not having any form of public square. There is no central meeting point in the city for cultural, artistic, or political events. Even City Hall isn't downtown and it has no frontal area at all.

London does need a downtown grocery store but the huge population gains in the Core recently, that will definately come but I can imagine a bit of a pushback from Covent Garden Market merchants.

[CivicBlues]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Vancouver's biggest deficit is not having any form of public square. There is no central meeting point in the city for cultural, artistic, or political events. Even City Hall isn't downtown and it has no frontal area at all.

ummm Robson Square? You have not one but two squares if you count them separated by the Art Gallery

[theman23]

Dobson is a bit small and broken up, as you said.

That being said, I’ve never felt the lack of large square to be an issue. If anything, I think a large open area would detract from the city’s urban fabric. There’s also Stanley Park, which can easily be used for large public gatherings.

[ssiguy]

Ronson McSquare is very small and not up to the task and Stanley Park is exactly that, a park, and definately not a public square. As for breaking up the urban fabfic that is silly as a great city square doesn't break up the urban fabric but rather unites it into common space.

[theman23]

I suppose they can build something out near Pacific Central if the city continues growing that way. The ship has sailed on building anything downtown.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Ronson McSquare is very small and not up to the task and Stanley Park is exactly that, a park, and definately not a public square. As for breaking up the urban fabfic that is silly as a great city square doesn't break up the urban fabric but rather unites it into common space.

How big a square do you figure we need?

https://www.google.ca/maps/@49.28325...=en&authuser=0

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by harls

Train or mountains?

I know you're sorta playing around but I'm actually getting irked by people in the Winnipeg forums who insist that the city needs trains. The fact that it has no need for them is completely lost. The fact that it couldn't justify such a thing in the next 50 years is way over their heads. They love to cite cities such as Calgary and Edmonton but gloss over the fact that those are both boomtowns that have been booming for decades and built their systems knowing full well that the boom would continue indefinitely.