General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours

[danbrotherston]

45, 49 and 53 Courtland Ave are being sold. Zoned for medium-density residential. Asking price is $2M, or about $3.1M/acre.
https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/21738...-kitchener

The plan shows more space being used for surface parking than the building. That is disappointing. There are a lot of trees on that block that will be lost to support car storage.

Welcome to 20th century Canada and the realities of our zoning,  I mean, it's not like this is two blocks from a mass transit station.

[danbrotherston]

The plan shows more space being used for surface parking than the building. That is disappointing. There are a lot of trees on that block that will be lost to support car storage.

Quite. Although it's just a seller's mock-up, not a render of an actual proposed building.

But I expect that's driven by (1) the maximum floor area ratio and (2) the parking minima. Both are negotiable with the city, mind you.

We shouldn't have to negotiate for good developments, those should be required, if you want more surface parking, that you should have to negotiate for.  *sigh*...

[KevinL]

The house at 45 has a nifty front garden and retaining wall, sad to see that's going.

[tomh009]

Quite. Although it's just a seller's mock-up, not a render of an actual proposed building.

But I expect that's driven by (1) the maximum floor area ratio and (2) the parking minima. Both are negotiable with the city, mind you.

We shouldn't have to negotiate for good developments, those should be required, if you want more surface parking, that you should have to negotiate for.  *sigh*...

Quite agreed. Alas. the current rules are driving the building designs right now.

[dtkvictim]

First phase of Queen St seems to be about done. Paint is on now.


I can't find the page now where I saw the plans, but I saw the NE corner of Queen/Charles marked as some sort of green space, but it appears to be 90% concrete now. Just a small spot open on it where I assume some bush or flowers are going in.

Also sad to see the distinctive Queen sidewalks gone now. I would have preferred more sidewalks like that, not less.

Hopefully the place-making efforts on the second phase are more interesting, but most of the renders I've seen for Vogelsang Green look like a net loss to me. Not as much "green" anymore.

[danbrotherston]

First phase of Queen St seems to be about done. Paint is on now.


I can't find the page now where I saw the plans, but I saw the NE corner of Queen/Charles marked as some sort of green space, but it appears to be 90% concrete now. Just a small spot open on it where I assume some bush or flowers are going in.

Also sad to see the distinctive Queen sidewalks gone now. I would have preferred more sidewalks like that, not less.

Hopefully the place-making efforts on the second phase are more interesting, but most of the renders I've seen for Vogelsang Green look like a net loss to me. Not as much "green" anymore.

Not going to disagree that the "quaint charm" has been lost, but the old sidewalks were really quite terrible for anyone not able bodied.

The green space is decidedly not green, but that doesn't mean it can't be successful, it just needs shade and features.

What really ticks me off is how much space we are STILL dedicating to cars in this area. The sidewalks still get unacceptably squeezed to make room for the left turn lane...and we all know how effective sharrows are. I am optimistically thinking that within 10 years King and Queen will be closed to cars, and we will question how we could have been so stupid to prioritize cars in that way in that area. Of course, I'm being...very .... optimistic.

[tomh009]

And yet ... unquestionably this sucks less. Reasonable-width sidewalks. Reduced lane widths (which will also slow down traffic). No parking or stopping. Somewhat beneficial sharrows instead of nothing at all.

Evolution, not revolution. But it's still a step forward.

[danbrotherston]

And yet ... unquestionably this sucks less. Reasonable-width sidewalks. Reduced lane widths (which will also slow down traffic). No parking or stopping. Somewhat beneficial sharrows instead of nothing at all.

Evolution, not revolution. But it's still a step forward.

I’d say it’s a step forward for pedestrians, but not for cyclists. I’d say the sharrows do nothing at all. The wider more accessible sidewalks are a big improvement, I have dumped my groceries more than once as a result of uneven sidewalks.

But it doesn’t represent a shift in thinking. Mind you, it was designed like 3 years ago. We have had a lot of progress since then, so maybe things would have been different today, hard to say.

[dtkvictim]

Not going to disagree that the "quaint charm" has been lost, but the old sidewalks were really quite terrible for anyone not able bodied.

The green space is decidedly not green, but that doesn't mean it can't be successful, it just needs shade and features.

What really ticks me off is how much space we are STILL dedicating to cars in this area. The sidewalks still get unacceptably squeezed to make room for the left turn lane...and we all know how effective sharrows are.  I am optimistically thinking that within 10 years King and Queen will be closed to cars, and we will question how we could have been so stupid to prioritize cars in that way in that area.  Of course, I'm being...very .... optimistic.

I figured accessibility was a part of the change in sidewalks. But many countries manage to use pavers/stone (I don't know what the correct terminology is here) specifically in pedestrian areas. Maybe it's just a cost issue to do in a way that conforms to accessibility guidelines though. Individually it's not a big deal, but small details like that really make or break the beauty and desirability of a place.

The Queen/Charles green space isn't a "loss" in that it was never really green, but if it's called a "green space" then being decidedly not green is by definition a failure. A missed opportunity. I'm still much more concerned about Vogelsang green, but I will wait and see what happens there.

[clasher]

I wish they'd just stop with those faux olde-timey lights, they're not that great at actually lighting up the road and sidewalks. Now they need to enforce the no stopping/parking when people leave their cars in front of the Walper's doors to check in and get the valet service. It seemed ridiculous to me that was allowed at all.

[tomh009]

We should hopefully see less of that happening now that the street has been substantially narrowed.

[danbrotherston]

I wish they'd just stop with those faux olde-timey lights, they're not that great at actually lighting up the road and sidewalks. Now they need to enforce the no stopping/parking when people leave their cars in front of the Walper's doors to check in and get the valet service. It seemed ridiculous to me that was allowed at all.

That location had explicitly permitted short term parking for the valet:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4495724,-80.4893211,3a,63.3y,260.11h,88.81t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAzFDpryiqCecYB1d-0hBSA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Also, the road was widened at that location to 8.5 M...which is sufficient for a 2.4 parking space and 3 meter lanes.

I think it was a poor use of space, given the availability of the alley, and I hope they have narrowed the road in that location, but I don't think it was a traffic problem before...unless we have drivers who cannot use a 3 meter lane.

[panamaniac]

Sorry, does the reconfiguration include a bay in front of the Walper?

[tomh009]

In my recollection of walking past there, it does not.

[DK519]

1001 King Street East

https://civichubwr.org/wp-content/upload...tion-1.pdf

Has anyone heard anything regarding this? I assumed VIVE owned this lot as well so I was surprised to see this would have a chance at happening. Unless it's just spit balling at the moment.