Urbanism

[jgsz]

I was on the same Jane's Walk as kitborn.  I knew Kitchener had button factories but I had no idea there were so many.  

The Alexandrian apartment building at 53 Water St N was once a button factory.
     
   

Our Jane's Walk group was large but manageable.
   

[Canard]

I went on one of the Jane's Walks today called Kitchener - Then and Now. A photographic comparison of past and present.

I love these photos. Thanks for sharing!

[panamaniac]

The only bit of the "before" that I can remember is the courtyard and fountain in front of Bullas Furniture on Charles St, where the bus terminal now stands.

It is amazing how intact the old Mitchell Button Factory (now Worth a Second Look/St John's Kitchen) on Victoria has remained.  Does anyone know whether the button company could have been the precursor of today's Mitchell Plastics, or is the name just a coincidence?

[kitborn]

Mitchell Button became Mitchell Plastics according to the walk leader.

[panamaniac]

Mitchell Button became Mitchell Plastics according to the walk leader.

That is very cool - a bit of industrial heritage!  Thanks.

[tomh009]

Charles Street at Ontario. When Charles ended at Ontario.

I didn't know Charles ended at Ontario before!  I'm assuming it was extended in the 60s or earlier -- do you have any details on that?

[Markster]

Check out the aerial photo archive for downtown!
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/um.../IM30.html

It wasn't extended until after 1963, it seems.

[kps]

Charles Street at Ontario. When Charles ended at Ontario.

Here is a link to the source of the old photo, and because they make it gratuitously difficult to see yourself, here is a link to the full-size version. Here's another view of Ontario at the end of Charles (full size).

One block over on Queen where Charles now goes through was the original Kitchener Auditorium. The only photo I can find is small.

[jgsz]

Doors Open Waterloo Region is on Saturday, September 17. 

One of the special events will be a talk on Architecture and Emotion: The Psychological Impact of Built Spaces 

Check it out.  Everything is free.

[danbrotherston]

So, I just noticed an interesting thing about Google's new "area's of interest" markings on Google maps.

I'm not sure what their algorithms they're using exactly but they seem to be highly accurate. Here you can see on Highland Ave., in a big strip plaza, several large parking lots being explicitly excluded from the area's of interest highlighting.

[jgsz]

They call it tactical urbanism in Vancouver.  Whatever they call it it's nice to see they "hit a 50 percent “active transit” target, 5 years ahead of schedule. A short film shows how they did it."

[tomh009]

They call it tactical urbanism in Vancouver.  Whatever they call it it's nice to see they "hit a 50 percent “active transit” target, 5 years ahead of schedule. A short film shows how they did it."

What this means is 50% of the trips are made by foot, bicycle or transit.  Which is very high for a city the size of Vancouver (NYC is still higher, but it's a much larger city).

Some contributing factors:

• Good transit (helps with the transit part, obviously)
  
• Good bicycle infrastructure (bicycling)
  
• Large high-density core (helps especially walking and bicycling)
  
• Congested traffic and limited parking in core (drives trips to all active modes)
  
• Limited parking availability in condos and apartment buildings (reduces car ownership)
  

There is no silver bullet, and every city is different.  But that's not to take anything away from Vancouver's achievement.

[timc]

Is weather also a helpful factor? A cold winter might make active transit more difficult.

[tomh009]

A good point, especially for bicycling! While hardcore enthusiasts will not be deterred by cold, ice or snow, many others will be.

[plam]

A good point, especially for bicycling!  While hardcore enthusiasts will not be deterred by cold, ice or snow, many others will be.

Can we say medium-core? Rachel St bike path in Montreal attracts 12-15% as many people in winter (~600 per day) as in summer, but that's still a lot of people.

http://ici.radio-canada.ca/sujet/velo-en-hiver