Last night me and my camera walked a section of Yonge Street to see what we could see. I walked from Cummer Ave. south to Empress. I like Yonge Street because there’s lots of traffic and lights. In other words, it’s visually interesting.
When I first learned to ride a bike (more than 40 years ago), I used to ride it across Yonge Street to a strip mall on the northwest corner of Yonge and Finch. There was a convenience store called Roy’s where we’d buy Lola’s. The strip mall is gone now and the North American Life Centre takes up that whole block. And now, any kid trying to cross Yonge Street on a bike would get creamed. The volume of traffic has probably increased tenfold since I was a kid.
I’m struck by the fact that most of the low rise store fronts, like the one pictured at right, have been knocked down. They’ve been replaced by hi-rise condos. And those that remain have signs in front of them stating that the property has been rezoned to permit the construction of hotels and condos and office buildings. Already, it’s starting to look like a condo canyon. In five years, it’ll be perfect for Spiderman to swing through. I’m sure that’s what the municipal planning department was thinking when they approved all these projects.
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May 22nd, 2010 at 9:17 am
My sister and I often walk from her house down to Ichiban at the Empress walk, eat our delicious Japanese meals, then walk home to burn some more calories. That stretch has changed a lot since our childhood days. My sister tells me it reminds her of Vancouver, just no mountains. She’s of course referring to both the current demographics and the highrise condos. I knew things would never stay as they were the day they tore the Dempsey hardware store down.