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iXpress; ca. 2005
Like many other transit systems in NorthAmerica, the region had a slow-as-molasses bus system with very infrequent runs. Not surprisingly usage was extremely low. In 2005 GRT decided to join modern transportation systems and provide a fast and frequent bus route which was an immediate success. There are now five routes (with a sixth one in the works) which see more ridership on a weekend than most of the previous routes would see on a weekday during rush hour.
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They actually started off with an express route that didn't have any special branding. The 101 or 110 or something as I recall? iXpress came a year or two after that and replaced it.
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(01-20-2016, 06:07 PM)jamincan Wrote: They actually started off with an express route that didn't have any special branding. The 101 or 110 or something as I recall? iXpress came a year or two after that and replaced it.
The 100, yes. Just ran UW-Fairway, and only about every 15 mins.
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How about the recent Regional CAOs, Gerry Thompson and Mike Murray. The former first proposed LRT and managed to get the political masters behind the idea, and the latter shepherded the concept through to fruition (or at least construction to this point). Plus, a lot of the more "progressive" regional measures (roundabouts, STEP home, ION, etc.) have come during their combined tenure.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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Kaufman Lofts, 2008.
This is when I really felt like Kitchener was "Home". While I'd moved to the Region in 2001, it wasn't until I bought my own place that it really sunk in and felt like I was here to stay. The Kaufman Lofts was the catalyst for the King/Victoria revitalization that saw the Tannery be redeveloped, and it wasn't long after it was built that several more big condominium towers started to spring up. Now, the area is totally different from what it was 10 years ago.
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I have mixed feelings about the Kaufmann Lofts. On the one hand, I really support Kitchener embracing its heritage industrial buildings and it is exceptionally restored. On the other hand, it doesn't offer a very great street presence on what will become an important section of King as the intersection at King and Victoria becomes more developed.
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(01-21-2016, 06:39 AM)jamincan Wrote: I have mixed feelings about the Kaufmann Lofts. On the one hand, I really support Kitchener embracing its heritage industrial buildings and it is exceptionally restored. On the other hand, it doesn't offer a very great street presence on what will become an important section of King as the intersection at King and Victoria becomes more developed.
I quite like it. No retail, but that will be balanced by 1 Victoria and the intermodal hub -- and the building is still attractive, even to pedestrians. Attracting retail to that intersection 10 years ago would have been quite challenging, and it would have cut out a large chunk of available space from the condos.
I am interested to see what they will do with the rest of the property in the long term; as surface parking, the back of the property is quite underutilized, and at a premium location.
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As someone who lives in the building, and walks its entire four streets of frontage (building and parking lot) daily between work, errands, and dog, I can say that it's not an enjoyable experience to walk any part of it. From a distance, taking a glance at an image of it once a year, the building looks nice, but for those who live it every day, I wish they had made or had been able to make some different choices.
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Fair enough -- but what makes it unpleasant for walking past? The fact that it has condos on the street level rather than shop windows to look into? Or something else?
I walk past infrequently enough (a few times a month, depending on the season/weather) and I didn't find it unpleasant, but maybe my standards are too low?
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I walk past the King-facing side often, and lately because of the King closure, alongside the parking lot on Duke and Francis. It is a pretty poor experience.
I'm also not seeing how the parking lot will be redeveloped any time sooner than the very long time, even though it really should be. Would you residents give up convenient parking in the short term?
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(01-21-2016, 10:32 AM)tomh009 Wrote: Fair enough -- but what makes it unpleasant for walking past? The fact that it has condos on the street level rather than shop windows to look into? Or something else?
There's no transparency or variation. It's a uniform wall (which can also sometimes create a bit of an unpleasant wind tunnel effect) with private uses on the other side- so no windows allowing people from the street to look in, no interesting features to look at.
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01-21-2016, 10:59 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-21-2016, 11:02 AM by Canard.)
I think the side facing Victoria is particularly lovely. The greenery and so on is very attractive, as is the stepped-back appearance of the wings. I agree that the King St. Side is a bit monolithic, but, um, it's like a 100 year old building. So it's not like it was a recent design decision that could have gone a different way.
I'm not sure how you think the parking lot could be changed. The condo fees would go up astronomically if you expect the residents to fund a parking garage. And to what avail? They own the property, the only way that could fly (I think) is if they built a garage and then sold the little bit of land that could be recovered.
...and then everyone would complain that the parking garage is ugly.
I really liked living there at first but as the percentage of rentals went up, the quality of life went way down (noise/parties) and it was time to leave.
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Having condos on the main floor results in the block being just building frontage, no activity to see, just the building. The geometry of the road also means that we have a very narrow sidewalk, meaning you're caught between a very tall vertical surface that offers no interaction or comfort, and moving vehicles. Had there been space, it might have been nicer to see a wider sidewalk, and ways to make the block more variable and interesting.
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01-21-2016, 11:03 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-21-2016, 11:04 AM by Canard.)
It's the same with 1 Victoria then, it's even taller and just as close to the road. But yes I agree it's unpleasant to walk along the King st. Side... Again, 100 year old building. It is what it is.
I would be curious to actually measure the sidewalk width to see if it actually is narrower than standard, or if it's just human perception because of the flatness of the frontage. Something city planners think about, I'm sure.
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The situation is understandable, but it is unfortunate. I think certain kinds of stores could work as ground level tenants at some point down the road. For some reason a bridal store sticks out in my mind as something that would be particularly well suited for it.
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