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4 Ways to Fix the Market District
#16
Thanks for joining the forum James. I look forward to your contributions on a variety of issues.
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#17
(10-21-2014, 10:02 AM)jameshowe Wrote: There's plenty of residents within walking distance already.

While I appreciate the enthusiasm, charts show that density in the Cedar/Market districts is on the low side due to the large amount of commercial, non-resident space around the market, with no high rises near by. In fact density is 1/3rd that of Downtown Kitchener which we were talking in another thread is still not large enough to justify the Duke Food block to open on the weekends.


I welcome the fact that you intend to make this a priority, but may I suggest a carrot-and-stick approach to get the Cedar block going? Once that is in place, I guarantee you a thriving market every day of the week.
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#18
Well said. I think that population density needs to be significantly improved for the Market District to thrive on a DAILY basis.
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#19
I would love to see the entire area surrounding the Kitchener Market become a food destination within the Region. I envision multiple markets selling a variety of international foods with retail at street level and mid-rise residential complexes above. Expanded hours for the Market is a must. It would have been awesome to have the Cedar St Station incorporated right into a grocery/market place.

Like what has been said before there needs to be a substantial increase in the density surrounding the market to allow expanded hours , private sector investment and services.
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#20
The area already has the bakeries, cafes, and a range of dining options. At this point, I'd be happy if somebody added a cheese shop.
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#21
One of the things the market area needs, IMHO, is for the 200 iXpress to start stopping at the future ION station at Cedar. If you agree, you should let GRT know, since they are considering that for 2015.
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#22
That survey doesn't seem to touch on comments for the proposed 200 iExpress stops. Perhaps they are a given?
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#23
I thought that was already planned, to realign the whole 200 to match the ION
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#24
(11-19-2014, 11:21 AM)panamaniac Wrote: That survey doesn't seem to touch on comments for the proposed 200 iExpress stops.  Perhaps they are a given?

(11-19-2014, 11:34 AM)Spokes Wrote: I thought that was already planned, to realign the whole 200 to match the ION

They are not a given - they're part of the proposed restructuring of Route 7. Which is also not a given.
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#25
I really hope the Route 7 restructuring goes through. The iXpress has replaced the 7 as main trunk.
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#26
So I caught some flack on Twitter this week because I did, and still do, refer to the market district as "broken".

Am I out of line here?

The way I see it is that the city sunk all of this money into a new market space, and outside of market days and hours, it's not a destination, and certainly hasn't done anything as far as place making.

In fact, that end of downtown has seen very little activity in the 10+ years since the market opened. With the exception of this project, what else is there?

The fact that there's been so little change doesn't inspire much confidence. 

I don't know, maybe my word choice was just poor?
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#27
I would hesitate to use the word 'broken', yes. There was hope that the new market would give a renewal boost to the area, and it saw some success; not as much as anticipated, but I would not call it a failure.

A major factor in this was how much of the project was general conception and how that was not made greatly practical before becoming a reality. The city had a general idea of how to execute the market, assembled the necessary land, came up with guidelines for its construction... and tendered it as a design-build. This led to a market building with a number of unfortunate flaws that could have been avoided with public consultation throughout the design process, and scuppered any plans for a midweek market to catch on.

That said, the area has seen some good incremental improvements; businesses like Golden Hearth and the Yeti have opened in direct proximity, and the LRT launch should give the area something of a second chance.
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#28
I've said it before as well. Developers are developing the other way making 'downtown' bigger but at the expense of making the otherside a whole lot less desirable.
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#29
(09-15-2018, 10:04 AM)darts Wrote: I've said it before as well. Developers are developing the other way making 'downtown' bigger but at the expense of making the otherside a whole lot less desirable.

There was a lot of city intervention (aka money) to get the King/Victoria area going, I wonder if they hoped the Market would do the same?
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#30
Spokes, I have to respect the way Christian Snyder suggested meeting for a tour and offered lunch, instead of squabbling on Twitter. Perhaps you wouldn't want to use the word "broken" after gaining his perspective; even if you're a former DTK resident.

I think the area will flourish organically as the new developments take shape.
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