Quote:
Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin
What makes Etobicoke City Centre more "downtown-like" than North York's? There's just kind of...nothing there. It's a similar linear high-rise set up but smaller and without the retail density or civic centre component (though that's on the way).
It's not really a downtown because it's not an independent municipality, but NYCC does functional as a regional node.
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Etobicoke City Centre includes Islington Village. There is a historic retail strips along both Bloor and Dundas. It's Bloor, Dundas, Islington, more than just one major street or corridor. Like NYCC, it's a regional transit hub, but unlike NYCC it also has a GO Train station. It also has a big park along the river. Overall, it's not on the same level as NYCC now, but the potential is much higher.
In addition to ECC, MCC, SCC, you can also see Uptown Core in Oakville and Markham Centre, these can become true nodes, more than just a single corridor. There's nothing special about NYCC. It's the most successful attempt at building a downtown, but it is also the least ambitious.
Yonge in North York had a head start due to the subway, but even without subways you can find other suburban corridors starting to be redeveloped in a similar way. Even Yonge in York Region is starting to transform, and eventually NYCC will not stand out in any way, shape or form. A "downtown" is more than one corridor
Of course, corridors are essential for downtowns. THAT is the main flaw of MCC, the lack of any true corridor, the lack of emphasis on building corridors. Brampton's ridiculous opposition to LRT along its Main Street will not help its downtown either. NYCC is the opposite problem, being little more than one corridor. That's why I say, people should ignore NYCC and look at Etobicoke City Centre instead.