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General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours
Modern day open office look. Nice.

Let's keep the momentum going!
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Street closures! This is Ontario St:

   

And Gaukel St:

   
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I like it.  I'd like to see some more closures downtown even after Covid 19.
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It would be hard for me to see any reason why both those temporary closures couldn't be made permanent.
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(07-23-2020, 09:20 AM)panamaniac Wrote: It would be hard for me to see any reason why both those temporary closures couldn't be made permanent.

I agree
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(07-23-2020, 09:20 AM)panamaniac Wrote: It would be hard for me to see any reason why both those temporary closures couldn't be made permanent.

It looks like the Gaukel closure will be permanent, although I don't think there has been a council decision on this yet.

Also closing Ontario would be somewhat more challenging as that would mean there would be no through streets (across King St W) between Queen and Water. It's possible that this is in the plans, too, though.
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(07-23-2020, 10:31 AM)tomh009 Wrote: It looks like the Gaukel closure will be permanent, although I don't think there has been a council decision on this yet.

I've been told from a very reliable source that this is correct.

Coke
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Awesome. Are there lights hanging over Gaukel as well? I hope these both stay permanent and continue to be beautified over time.

I just wish the city(?) hadn't decided on the awful solid colors for all of their tables, chairs, and picnic benches. And I suppose the bike shaped bike racks also follow that color scheme but I don't mind them as much.
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I don't think the picnic tables are a long-term solution, but they do offer some pedestrian space in the short term, before the street can be rebuilt (after the Charlie West construction is complete).
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I'm for beautifying DTK! There needs to be a hip injection into King as well - maybe even nice accent lights or tree/post type lights like those in uptown Waterloo. Coming down from Waterloo one just enters this dark nexus.
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I believe the picnic tables were part of a community art effort to quickly setup outdoor dining space for areas that lacked amenities. They had a bunch of them in a warehouse that were painted in various designs by local artists, that have since been set up around the city.
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To answer my own question from earlier, there are indeed lights over Gaukel. Although they didn't turn on until ~8:30 unlike Ontario St's. They are comically sparse over Gaukel, but I'm glad to have them for this temporary phase regardless.

And to be clear, I'm glad about having picnic tables. I just really dislike the bright colored design the city uses all over.

And for anyone who saw my post in the Better Tent City thread, it turns out the shed in city Lot 9 is not a tiny home, but seems to be storage for chairs and tables possibly related to these pedestrian streets. I saw DTK staff putting away those bright coloured tables and chairs in it today.
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(07-23-2020, 10:31 AM)tomh009 Wrote:
(07-23-2020, 09:20 AM)panamaniac Wrote: It would be hard for me to see any reason why both those temporary closures couldn't be made permanent.

It looks like the Gaukel closure will be permanent, although I don't think there has been a council decision on this yet.

Also closing Ontario would be somewhat more challenging as that would mean there would be no through streets (across King St W) between Queen and Water. It's possible that this is in the plans, too, though.

I would imagine once Charlie is finished, Gaukel would be reopened between Charles and King. And it's two way, unlike Ontario. So perhaps keeping that one section of Gaukel and Ontario closed is feasible.
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(07-24-2020, 12:08 AM)jeffster Wrote:
(07-23-2020, 10:31 AM)tomh009 Wrote: It looks like the Gaukel closure will be permanent, although I don't think there has been a council decision on this yet.

I would imagine once Charlie is finished, Gaukel would be reopened between Charles and King. And it's two way, unlike Ontario. So perhaps keeping that one section of Gaukel and Ontario closed is feasible.

This year's budget included funding for making Gaukel fully pedestrian, Joseph to King. The city plan also mentions doing the same on Cedar St, from the ION station to the market.

I haven't seen much action on Cedar, but I'd consider Gaukel fully committed to at this point. The plan is that it will never reopen to cars after Charlie West is built.
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(07-24-2020, 02:21 AM)taylortbb Wrote:
(07-24-2020, 12:08 AM)jeffster Wrote: I would imagine once Charlie is finished, Gaukel would be reopened between Charles and King. And it's two way, unlike Ontario. So perhaps keeping that one section of Gaukel and Ontario closed is feasible.

This year's budget included funding for making Gaukel fully pedestrian, Joseph to King. The city plan also mentions doing the same on Cedar St, from the ION station to the market.

I haven't seen much action on Cedar, but I'd consider Gaukel fully committed to at this point. The plan is that it will never reopen to cars after Charlie West is built.

I'm not sure what their solution to traffic accessing Charlie West, but I think they might end up having a lane open from Charles to Halls Lane.

Also, I think it's Eby not Cedar that's getting the treatment near the market, but I haven't heard anything on that in a while.
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