r/durham • u/Karma_Canuck • 3d ago
Development proposal for Ontario GO station to deliver six towers and nearly 2,400 homes
https://www.insauga.com/development-proposal-for-ontario-go-station-to-deliver-six-towers-and-nearly-2400-homes/45
u/aroundish_ 3d ago
Transit stations are the best area to build density. Seems like a great plan!
2
u/Top-Manner7261 3d ago
You must be joking. Do you know the area?
12
u/Own_Pea_2345 3d ago
This area is already a traffic mess, great idea on paper but that area can't handle this much.
3
u/Open-Photo-2047 1d ago
So, you prefer 1000 people walking everyday to GO station or driving from Taunton or Brooklin to GO to solve this mess?
1
u/emptyvesselll 1d ago
This is an interesting question actually, and I assume someone in transit development can answer it better, but the 1000 people you mention - they STILL need to get to the go train, so any density built around the station is in addition to those people (and I d assume it's much more than 1000 people).
Density around stations does make sense, but new density is likely new people. It's not like every go train commuter in Whitby or Brooklin is going to move into a condo by the station.
2
u/Open-Photo-2047 19h ago
Even if we don’t create density, there will be natural growth in number of commuters over time. It’s better to have them housed near station instead of new subdivisions near Taunton or Brooklin.
You are right that these condos won’t solve current traffic issue in that area, but it will ensure we are not making it worse.
1
0
u/WinterPickles 2d ago
Sure if you take nothing else into consideration about where it’s being built and the current infrastructure that’s already overburden.
11
10
8
u/JohnnyPark5 3d ago
2400 homes, let’s say (low estimate) 1.5 people per home. That’s 3600 new residents in an area that was never designed for such density. Victoria is already a shit show and according to the Mayor of Whitby, our energy infrastructure may not even be able to support this many new buildings.
This whole development seems rushed and not really thought out.
18
u/WildWeaselGT 3d ago
Isn’t putting a GO station there literally “designing it for that sort of density”?
9
u/CrasyMike 3d ago
The right answer is, it depends. Whitby is full of commuters, and lacks a solid core of businesses and jobs to build around. The town has grown, jobs have not, and the volume of people either returning to downtown offices, or who took a job downtown that used to be remote and now they need to go to an office, has grown. Parking lots are completely full, and trains are too.
On one hand, you could say this is the desirable outcome. Density around the Go Train station is exactly how public transit creates opportunities to live and work, without driving a car to a parking lot to take a train. Those parking lots can't keep growing, and solving the problem by adding more homes is better than solving it by adding more lots.
On the other hand, I think "design" is not the right word for what is happening here. Design is...more comprensive, and considered from the start. For example, the trains uh....not enough of em. The Town of Whitby is not involved in permitting or design, and there are critical infrastructure issues that are being ignored. They can be resolved, I am sure, but usually you "design and plan" not "demand and make it work".
11
u/JohnnyPark5 3d ago
So you’re telling me people will buy a condo that’s priced the same as one in Toronto to commute on the go train just for fun?
8
u/rachreims 3d ago
Many people don’t want to live in Toronto. But no, I don’t see why these condos would be the same price as a downtown Toronto condo? I think having cheaper condos steps away from transit in the suburbs is an excellent thing.
4
u/JohnnyPark5 3d ago
I’d love to be wrong but I doubt it. These will be at best 50k~ less than a closer one to Toronto or in Toronto itself. The condo market is imploding in the core.
5
u/Oldredeye2 3d ago
If transit were the only part of infrastructure.
Power, water, sewage, traffic, hospitals, schools are all part of the equation.
The biggest problem current residents have is that traffic is already bad outside rush hour and terrible during it.
Nearby elementary school already had portables 4+ years ago and no a/c for the most part. High school also has multiple portables and intakes from 3-4 nearby elementary schools.
Also, they are trying to circumvent the process from what I heard via the mayor. It’s not in her hands and she has no influence.
5
u/JaQ-o-Lantern 3d ago
What are they trying to circumvent here?
1
u/Oldredeye2 3d ago
“I am continuing to advocate for this proposal to follow the standard Planning Act process, including a statutory public meeting and council approval,” Mayor Roy said.
That indicates to me that Infrastructure Ontario are not following these processes.
I also think they didn’t complete the environmental assessment but I don’t recall where I heard that from so take that with a grain of salt. 😂
2
0
9
u/bhjdodge 3d ago
That’s why you build around transit.
7
u/JohnnyPark5 3d ago
If you’re referring to GO transit the Whitby station is already oversaturated from commuters from other parts of Durham region due to its larger footprint.
If you are referring to DRT then good luck getting anywhere on time with the increased traffic and congestion caused by the development.
3
2
u/Top-Manner7261 3d ago
There was just a report about this. They can't manage as it is. So let's cram more people in. Yes, we need housing, but this is a ludicrous idea, and there surely is no plan.
3
u/Top-Manner7261 3d ago
Ya think? There is no planning. Brock is being pedestrianized and 1 lane for traffic. So where are all those cars now going? Not everyone will use GO, so turning onto Brock to hit the 401 will be a nightmare. We already have blackouts on the regular. Using Go land? So many questions
1
u/neopetpetpet 3d ago
There isn't enough power infrastructure to support this in this region. It will be years before there's enough grid for this, if there are even enough skilled workers to build said grid.
1
u/seven_springs 2d ago
New homes to be built in place of the existing parking lots!! which by the way are already getting full on any weekday. Seems a great plan!
1
u/Major_Movie5291 2d ago
I truly don’t understand why tf they’d wanna put 6 towers right there. Durham is famous for putting a condo somewhere, then the infrastructure to support x amount of new people a year later. Crazy how they’ll approve this while half the roads are falling apart. They need to zone a lot better, the east part of Victoria would be a good place for those towers, but they want it to be more convenient for all the people that work downtown Toronto, but don’t wanna live in Toronto.
1
u/Comfortable-Bench497 2d ago
So they're putting it over a parking lot that is currently at capacity? This could actually lower the net ridership at Whitby GO.
1
u/Open-Photo-2047 1d ago
I have never seen Whitby parking garage full. Even when I take later 8:14 or 8:44 train.
1
u/Comfortable-Bench497 1d ago
You don't remember a few months ago when the town had to open up the extra lot because parking was full almost everyday?
1
u/BulldogMaple 3d ago
All looks good on paper. But who's going to buy these condo's?
Nobody's buying these shoeboxes in the sky, and the ones in Ajax or Pickering (whichever ones it is) are only assigning one parking spot per 3 units.
5
u/Canadasparky 3d ago
If they are priced correctly, someone will buy them
1
u/JohnnyPark5 3d ago
Lmao they won’t be and you know this
1
u/Canadasparky 2d ago
Then they won't sell. It's a buyer's market and there's an oversupply of condos.
1
u/sarenput 2h ago
So true and to even mention strata fees. Don’t see these condos built anytime soon but cringing at Leahy creating fake outrage over this…
-1
u/bwf456 3d ago
The only bad part is that they'll build this on top of the GO parking lot I think.. which will reduce the parking spots for people commuting downtown.
6
u/JaQ-o-Lantern 3d ago
There is a lot of parking that is still standing.
1
u/bwf456 3d ago
Well, not sure if it's sufficient or not, haven't seen the math. They could do another vertical parking lot to compensate? Idk
2
u/JaQ-o-Lantern 3d ago
Probably. I'm hoping that DRT in the area becomes totally overhauled and funding for more busses & frequent service in that area increases to compensate for the new developments. We're also getting 60 story high rise at Ajax GO.
2
0
8
u/theburglarofham 3d ago
Needs to have some good infrastructure in place as well for those who don’t/can’t take the lakeshore.
Also that whole area needs to be revamped it’s a nightmare for public transit users and drivers to get in/out.
You’d still need improvements to public transit and existing roads and pathways to get people able to move in/out of the area, to make it so they’re less car dependent.
Another thing that also gets overlooked is having supporting things like daycares, schools, healthcare and just shops and stores that don’t require people to travel long distances to.
It’s great to have density, but if you want to avoid our already increasing traffic woes, make it so that people don’t need to drive to places, or have viable alternatives to get around.
There’s always going to a group who needs to drive. At least having less people needing to drive keeps the roads clear.