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227 King St S (Sun Life Building)
#31
I think the artist has taken some liberties, judging by the placement of what looks like the old TD Bank building (King at Frederick).  I could be wrong, but I think the church in the background would be the old St Peters Lutheran church.

Edit:  Actually, the building I took for the old TD bank could be an impression of the Federal Building on Duke St.  That would make more sense in terms of building placement.
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#32
I think we're getting a little off topic in this one.
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#33
True.  If 217 King S were ever torn down, I would hope that the stone/ironwork front wall could be saved.  It's really quite nice.
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#34
(12-07-2014, 01:11 PM)Spokes Wrote: I think we're getting a little off topic in this one.

I agree. We need a forum where we can discuss old buildings that are no longer around.
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#35
(12-07-2014, 01:20 PM)BuildingScout Wrote:
(12-07-2014, 01:11 PM)Spokes Wrote: I think we're getting a little off topic in this one.

I agree. We need a forum where we can discuss old buildings that are no longer around.

Feel free to start one in the heritage section
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#36
(12-07-2014, 11:20 PM)Spokes Wrote:
(12-07-2014, 01:20 PM)BuildingScout Wrote: I agree. We need a forum where we can discuss old buildings that are no longer around.

Feel free to start one in the heritage section

Thanks, I just created the thread. Can you now use your superpowers to move some of the posts here relating to the old Kitchener City hall to that thread?  Tongue
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#37
So is the consensus that 217 King is getting torn down?
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#38
New box building at Park and John


Attached Files Image(s)
   
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#39
That could explain why the house(s) are being torn down on King St. Could SunLife still be required to have access to X amount of parking? I wonder if the City could have asked for a plan to replace the demand (eg remove the need) for the parking that would be lost to build this structure. Car share? Carpooling? Bike lock-ups?
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#40
(01-30-2015, 05:32 PM)nms Wrote: That could explain why the house(s) are being torn down on King St.  Could SunLife still be required to have access to X amount of parking?  I wonder if the City could have asked for a plan to replace the demand (eg remove the need) for the parking that would be lost to build this structure. Car share? Carpooling? Bike lock-ups?

Municipal parking requirements tend to be based on square footage, and the Sun Life buildings haven't changed. However, I do remember hearing that they've been packing more people into the existing building, and that they have had serious parking shortages - though I don't think they have tried charging market price for it.

Sun Life runs shuttles from parking lots at Park/Agnes and at Glasgow/York, and there is at least one independently owned pay lot near Sun Life.
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#41
Sun Life is also parking at the rubber factory on Glasgow street now.
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#42
(01-30-2015, 06:59 PM)mpd618 Wrote: though I don't think they have tried charging market price for it.


First, I understand CRA now taxes all parking at full price, but second, increasing the price of parking makes no difference if all you have is bad public transit.

It is a mistake of public transit advocates to try to browbeat people into taking city buses. All you achieve with that is create push back from "war on cars" Ford-nation types.

The way to get people to take the bus is to offer good public transit alternatives. The iXpress experience here proves that. I've also referred to my own experience in the past. I travel to Europe and America often with a rental car allowance. Almost always rent a car in the US almost never rent a car in Europe. There are three reasons to choose public transit in Europe:
  • Higher density, mixed usage. This means that there are many amenities within walking distance. Restaurants, grocery stores, movie cinemas, museums, parks. Also your work place is usually within 15 minutes (by public transit) of your place of residence.
  • Good intracity transit. Buses/trams every 15 minutes or less between 8am and 8pm, every 20 minutes after that
  • Excellent inter-city train infrastructure
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#43
(01-31-2015, 02:48 PM)BuildingScout Wrote: Almost always rent a car in the US almost never rent a car in Europe. There are three reasons to choose public transit in Europe:

  • Higher density, mixed usage. This means that there are many amenities are within walking distance. Restaurants, grocery stores, movie cinemas, museums, parks. Also your work place is usually within 15 minutes of your place of residence.
  • Good intracity transit. Buses/trams every 15 minutes or less between 8am and 8pm, every 20 minutes after that
  • Excellent inter-city train infrastructure
Don't forget the most important (IMO):
  • Scarcity and high cost of car parking in most European cities, including those much smaller than K-W. Even if you have the money to pay for parking spaces may not be conveniently located.

When I travelled to the US on business, if my business was in the downtown of a city I'd take a shuttle or cab to my hotel, then walk or take public transit to meetings. I never saw the point of renting a car just to get to/from the airport, then leaving it parked at the hotel. Yet everyone else who came in from out of town would invariably rent a car.

OTOH if the meetings were in the suburbs I'd have to get a car just like everyone else.
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#44
(01-31-2015, 03:00 PM)ookpik Wrote: Don't forget the most important (IMO):
  • Scarcity and high cost of car parking in most European cities, including those much smaller than K-W. Even if you have the money to pay for parking spaces may not be conveniently located.

The point is that parking doesn't even enter into the equation. A car simply becomes a hindrance when in town. You have to loop back to where you left it, you cannot just tag along with the group, you can't drink the plentiful good and cheap wine and beer available in LCBO-free countries.

Let's take as an example Frankfurt. Say I have an eight hour lay off there. If wanted to walk the famous Bockenheimer/Ziel shopping district which goes for two kilometers from the Alte Oper to the market at Konstablerwatche I can take the subway from the airport, transfer at the train station and then to Alte Oper, and walk from one end and leave at the other from Konstablerwatche. With a car, first I would have to drive into town, then park and once done with shopping double back for two kilometers to retrieve it. Talk about inconvenient! Public transit is the comfortable choice by far.

Now compare that experience to taking a bus in KW ca. 1995: bus goes by every 40 minutes off peak, connections take equally long, no Sunday service, no late night service. You can charge me for parking all you want (locals call it "downtown Toronto") and I would still still drive in such a place.
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#45
(01-31-2015, 02:48 PM)BuildingScout Wrote:
(01-30-2015, 06:59 PM)mpd618 Wrote: though I don't think they have tried charging market price for it.

First, I understand CRA now taxes all parking at full price, but second, increasing the price of parking makes no difference if all you have is bad public transit.

It is a mistake of public transit advocates to try to browbeat people into taking city buses.

Right, so the same incentive is achieved by offering parking cash-out. I don't think Sun Life has done that either. If employees could get a free bus pass and then some cash instead of a free (I think?) parking pass that gets you a spot a shuttle bus ride away, it might be compelling enough to get some people to switch modes.

And I don't think the transit to Sun Life is bad. Though it'll certainly be better once iXpress starts stopping at Allen.
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