Oct 22
Where is Downtown Sudbury? The Downtown is more than just a place, it's about people and experiences. Everyone's Downtown is different, for me, it's the place to get a great cup of coffee before work or a fantastic sandwich at lunch. It's the place that I head out to after work and the place that I come to on weekends to get fresh produce, collect a few papers from around the world and borrow a book for the week. That's my Downtown, where's yours?
Où est le centre-ville de Sudbury? Le centre-ville, c'est plus qu'un lieu, c'est les gens qui y circulent, ce sont les expériences que l'on y vit. Le centre-ville n'est pas le même pour tous. Pour moi, c'est l'endroit où j'achète une bonne tasse de café en me rendant au travail, c'est un bon sandwich à l'heure du lunch. Le centre-ville c'est là que je me dirige après le travail et c'est là que j'achète mes légumes frais la fin de semaine, c'est aussi là que j'achète mes journaux provenant de l'étranger et que j'emprunte mes livres pour ma semaine. C'est mon centre-ville. Quel est le tien?
Oct 27, 2010 at 4:56 PM Je travaille au centre-ville, je mange au centre-ville, je sors au centre-ville.
Physiquement, les limites de mon centre-ville sont les suivantes:
- chemin de fer (qui longe Elgin) à l'ouest et au sud
- Ste-Anne au nord (mais j'inclus la biblio!)
- Paris et Brady à l'est.
Je suis heureux et fier d'habiter à quelques pas de ces frontières.
Nov 2, 2010 at 1:48 PM Anything that is a 10-15 minute walk from the medical Centre on Durham.
Nov 8, 2010 at 12:47 PM I think it starts east(corner of Elm and Notre Dame)
West (corner of Elm and Regent)
North (St. Anne Rd)
South Elgin. St. (railroad tracks)
Nov 10, 2010 at 8:22 AM From the Bridge of Nations, North past the Market Square down Frood Road to the Mine Mill site (soon to be a park), then East to the Library and on to Notre Dame Road, South down Paris back to the Bridge of Nations.
And add areas East of Paris Street for parking, restaurants, accomodations (Quality Inn), etc.
Nov 10, 2010 at 4:39 PM Hello Sudbury,
Downtown is the central neighborhood of the city where the destination is to live, sleep and work. The planification of this commercial community as the heart of the city needs to be plan from the center. This place needs to be surround with people that are reluctant to leave.
Nov 11, 2010 at 5:37 PM Oh dear Sudbury, "Ma ville, ma patrie, mon amour"
Today, it is from a distance that I look at you. The downtown is the central neighborhood of the city where the destination is to live, sleep and work. The planification of this commercial community as the heart of the city needs to be plan from the center. This place needs to be surround with people that are reluctant to leave.
For a very long time city form and evolve from a genius loci, just like Sudbury, Montreal, Portland, New Haven, Prague and London. The 1960's with major funding from governments under the urban renewal policies the cities became more fragmented.
After 50 years of modernization of our urban planning we improve our administrative system, transportation system, economical system, but we wonder what happen to the quality of life in our cities, specially our downtown. "maudit LeCorbusier"
Now our planners reflect on the problem asking what to do. In Sudbury, 9000 people work downtown; many stay for dinner and a game. If these 9000 people live downtown that would solve and change everything. Instead bigger the downtown become worst it will get.
A downtown neighborhood even a commercial one is to live, sleep and work. Hopefully it will not take another 50 years.
See you soon!
Nov 12, 2010 at 11:37 AM Downtown Sudbury. We all know where the downtown area is and that the downtown is dead. We can wish for this and that but we know that there is more to downtown then a few restaurants that are filled with the lunch time crowd. The downtown was filled with shoppers and business people many years ago until we let the heart of the downtown stop beating with the loss of both big and small shop owners, we cut our main artery feeding the downtown when we let all the main development go to the outer edges of the city. Why did this happen, obviously because we didn't have the leadership to stop this from happening, we need our city planners to do their jobs, we need the space for big business to come and make Sudbury their home, our tax base of the future lies with our senior planner doing there jobs right without us having to bring in consultants from the south who don't have any roots in our area other then feeding from a problem we are trying to fix. We need to rid the downtown of the rail tracks, we need the city fathers to start to work together on the problems we have now, we need to fix our infrastructure that now exists, We need to think of the people in the out lining area, We need the Sudbury development group to open there eyes and see what the real problems are, We need people that really care for the community we all live in, people that are willing to have things get done not just to protect there jobs. This City has to Clean it self from the inside, rid itself of the people who just don't care other then for the pay check we send them every week. I HAVE A DREAM OF MY CITY BEING HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS, So when do we swallow the pill of Hope and rid our city of a disease thats been killing us for so long. Greed..... Lets start now for our future....
Nov 15, 2010 at 11:40 AM Sudbury Downtown 1971
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNoX3HPWrYE
Nov 15, 2010 at 8:04 PM My Downtown Sudbury is the starting line of the Sudbury ROCKS races at the YMCA; its the Market; its Peddlers; its Sapporo; its my old apartment on Larch; its the one way streets; its that guy who works in the Bank of Montreal parking booth who always is always smiling; and its the handsome men walking out of the provincial building at the end of the workday on their way to meet their wives, dogs and daugthers.
Nov 25, 2010 at 6:49 PM Downtown will remain a stagnant 9 to 5 neighbourhood unless people start moving in and suitable services, within walking/bicycling distance, become available.
Dec 9, 2010 at 10:02 PM Downtown has too many one-way streets and not enough parking. The downtown needs more high density residential and business attraction programs. Significant investment to repair sidewalks and roads downtown is required. Tom Davie's needs a restored fountain during the summer and ice rink in the winter. Let's make the downtown a place of civic pride.
Jan 9, 2011 at 3:28 PM Downtown Sudbury has reached a paradox. It needs more parking but the more parking we build the fewer reasons for going downtown. Having more residences will create neighbourhoods not a vibrant core. To develop an area that will attract all citizens special emphasis must be placed on transportation. This is a common problem with many cities. Sudbury has an opportunity to correct this with a long term plan. The city will grow in the way its transportation corridors are laid out.This includes not only roads but mass transit systems. We see all major growth in cities take place along major arteries. Those areas that have provided for parking do the best. Unfortunately the downtown was designed at a time when there were far fewer cars.This problem can be overcome but the core must look beyond downtown for the answers. Parking must be provided in large parking lots at the entrances to the city. Some call it car pool parking and with a little coordination will reduce the car volume entering the core but the main thrust must be a rapid transit system to link the car pooling areas with the core. Many will say that this is too costly but the downtown paradox will not be overcome until we decide to take one step at a time toward a mass transit solution. Among systems that should be explored is a funicular system that would be relatively low cost, efficient and may suit our terrain. Another transit link that was proposed in the past would use current railway lines. Moving people is the primary concern when it come to core development and should provide the focus. Thank you.
Feb 24, 2011 at 10:37 AM Move the riffraff along. Many of the older and younger people I speak to say the people that hang around the Rainbow Centre and the bus station are deterents to going downtown. I personally do not go downtown and I live there!! I don't want to be accosted or have to walk around the same people every day. Noone wants to have to have to contend with the young people that hang out on a daily basis at the two aforementioned spots. GET them to move along and attract more legitimate business! Friends of ours from out of town say the streets look FILTHY because of the people who hang out there.Clean up the people get shoppers!
It's that simple.
Feb 25, 2011 at 10:36 AM Downtown Sudbury doesnt exist. Trust me, I live there. Compared to other cities of similar (or smaller) size, downtown sudbury is in a very sad state of affairs.
There is a lack of available parking, but there are too many parking lots!! they take up space, and lets face it, dont look very appealing. think of cities in europe, or ottawa, toronto, kingston. cities with Vibrant downtowns, you dont see parking lots very often!!
The real issue is getting people to LIVE downtown. and that starts with providing a good environment.
there is a HUGE lack of lighting at night. walking down larch one night i counted 12 burnt out street lights on larch or within one block on the side streets.
encourage businesses to stay open later!! if everything closes at 6pm (as soon as it gets dark) the streets are bare, dark and have an undeniable 'seedy' element. not exactly somewhere a 20-something go-getter like myself wants to explore...and i work 9-5, monday to friday....when am i supposed to explore downtown for what it really is?!
in order to solve many of the aforementioned problems we need lighting (its hard to do unseemly things or hang around if you are in bright light), better sidewalks, beautiful flowers in updated (ie not broken) flower beds, some coats of paint on lamp posts, better PUBLIC transit (more routes, more often), encourage building owners/landlords to update their buildings/premises (incentives, grants, LAWS), DEMAND a more prominent police presence downtown (whatever happened to walking the downtown beat?!).
All in all, downtown sudbury needs a facelift!! a little hard work, community spirit and cooperation will have people eager to be downtown once again!
Mar 4, 2011 at 10:31 AM Find our "original downtown streetcar" as a tourism attraction and for the locals. In the past, "people took away the imagination for knowledge". Now you need the embrace the "creativity" of a potential vibrant downtown core. Check out: http://www.hcry.org/ab_us.html
Mar 5, 2011 at 11:35 AM i agree barb the riffraff has to go some how - personally i don't have a plan on that - downtown sudbury has in my view been in this situation since the borgia st era - perhaps the half way house for ex inmates & and shelters attract these types - I travel by bus to the rainbow ctr for my work -from the rainbow ctr to the bus terminal (1 way, in 1 day ) I was approached with 2 spare cigarette and 3 spare change requests-on another occasion I have been threatened to be beat up for a loonie which was requested by a young lady running at me demanding change - and the most unimaginable of all - the convicted murder of my brother who served 2/3 of his 7 year sentance for murder now spends his time at the bus shelter or ouside within the permeter of the terminal i suppose after he leaves the half way house he spends his time around the terminal area- imagine that folks have a murderer face to face -waht a way to start a day and he actually rides the bus - 911 calls failed to check up on the clear release conditions - thank you greater sudbury police - deb
Note: This post was edited for content.
Mar 5, 2011 at 6:16 PM Downtown needs a major infusion of cash... if there was possibly a skateboard park for the kids it would keep them away from the citycentre. If they moved the railway outside of the city there would be no traffic jams on Elm St. and if they moved the rail yard off of Lorne/Elgin,there would be fresher air. The trains and buses idle and create a fog over the city most days of deisel fumes. The traffic alone can cause enough of that. Adding to it just makes going downtown worse. The rainbow value centre is beginning to get busier because of the new influx of business but unless the security increases with it, the businesses will die off again. The rift raff of down town has to be dealt with too... being accosted by drunk and drugged out people wanting my hard earned money and threatening me if I say no or congrigating in places like bank atms or staggering around the downtown park, and hookers trolling the streets high is not a consoling thought. Downtown can be and should be the centre hub of excitement and a mecca of entertainment. A tourist information booth downtown wouldn't hurt any either. If you want to consider one more thing... there should be an offshoot of the boardwalk at the lake for the fishermen to fish off the dock, that way tourists can bring their handicapped kids (wheelchair accessible) to fish without a boat or without inconveniencing the other walkers on the walk way. All these things would greatly improve the downtown core, and draw tourists into it.
Mar 8, 2011 at 9:03 AM Downtown Sudbury needs a focus point, an interesting gathering place where people can go during the week and even after hours and weekends to see some Art, listen to some music, an Art Gallery, a place that is esthetically pleasing, a hub where 'there is always something happening" and is in walking distance to other interesting places. A jewel of a mtg place for us, for family visitors and tourists. A permanent place 'to show-off' our city that is in the centre of town, where people can walk around to get to it, and walk around different restaurants and bars and boutiques when they leave it.
I live in a small village outside Sudbury and beside taking in a play or movie from time to time, nothing really attracts me to downtown Sudbury after my work hours. I wish there was.
salut!
Mar 8, 2011 at 10:13 AM I was just wondering what became of the RILWAY STATION; or is it going to be eventually another POST OFFICE site;a good old PARKING LOT. I was wondering why can't it be used as a central area for "ALL" buses to arrive and depart from this one area.Taxis could be there and if planned out even pick up visitors by the people they are visiting to arrive at our CITY. We also should have security cameras to watch so nothing in the good OLD station be damaged by people that try; mind you the area would be busy most of the time. There could even be a small eatery in there while waiting with papers and magazines. Its in an area that could help ALL buses and I hope people. Or we could wait for a few more years and turn it into another parking lot, again like our OLD Post Office. I am handicapped and it is hard to get to any metings about our Down Town as I would like to get involved, but again have a hard time sitting in MOST seats. The Railway Sation, and I still remember and have a picture of our OLD Post Office and "What a Waste" of a good building and am just waiting for this to happen to its little Brother the Railway Staion. So again something to think about; PLEASE!
Mar 24, 2011 at 6:29 PM Gday: Excellent to find your website. It looks like I will be heading back soon.
Apr 6, 2011 at 2:01 AM Downtown needs to be a destination of choice. More parking and more people need to live downtown. We need to get rid of the one-way streets, as it barrier to people visiting.
Jan 19, 2012 at 10:58 AM sudbury is the most biggest city that there ever is in northern ontario. so having said that, we need to improve alot of things and that includes the transit system. the transit itself is a must have for those who can't drive and yet more and more people over the years are increasingly taking the transit. having said that in twenty years i can see the transit service extended longer or better be available 24/7 but that' decades down the road. however having said that here is an idea for the transit improvement; leave it where it is but expand it buy off the property that there is around it such as the city surplus, LCBO, tim horton, CIBC, ... every building and parking lot and its motreal lane way that there is around the streets of elm/paris/cedar/lisgard. have the businesses to relocate elsewhere. so that there is more property. Have the transit station renovated completely so that there is a tim horton inside and expand the washrooms. And then demolish the ledo hotel and use it for a transit bus parking lot or garage. basicly have the garage relocated from frobisher road to the ledo hotel that will have been demolished. nevermind buying off the property of the old national grocer on lorne in order to make a new garage... . i can also see the sunday service itself to become like a saturday service. have the 819 copper four corners and 940 gatchell copper cliff available all day at every half hour until 19h15 then 20h15 then 21h15. also have the 014 kathleen rush hour service expand have it available at every 15 minutes as of 14h45 until 17h45
on weekdays excludes summer months and winter holidays when the boreal is closed. have more transit service for the four corners and walmart super centre and the hospital at night. there is only one bus route available at night on an hourly basis and that is the 501 regent university that goes to the hospital... so we need to create a 010 south end bus route ... ... ... !
Feb 3, 2012 at 5:37 AM It all looks and sounds beautiful, but how much will our taxes go up to pay for what sounds like an expensive project. There has been no mention of cost nor what services may have to be cut in order to pay for this.
Feb 6, 2012 at 12:07 PM for the most part i am in favour and agree with the 30 year planning. however the only thing i have a problem with is relocating the transit terminal. it could be a good thing and a bad thing depending on which bus route you take. any bus routes that goes towards south is going to require less time frame which is a good thing. where as any bus route that goes towards north will require a few extra minutes added which is a bad thing. they would have to change all of every single bus route that there is and the way it operates. it's perhaps also a good thing for having a tim horton inside the new transit terminal as well. the mayor would have to investigate on how it will affect the time frame of the bus routes and what does it take so that it doesn't affect any of the bus routes. once this happens they could have the 181 paris loellen and the 182 ramsey view algonquin bus routes extended further more to the wal-mart super centre from the corner of the legion, southridge mall drive way, st-charles lake road, and long lake road itself. and yet the idea of building road extensions such as the larch street extension and the ste-anne road extension that is where they'll have to navigate on or around those street for the bus routes. for example the 017 donovan bus route will be affected majorly. it would have to be: new terminal, elgin, elm, frood, burton, kathleen, college drive, ... and then somehow back onto elgin, then the new terminal. even withe 940 gatchell copper cliff bus route would be: new terminal, elgin, larch, lorne, ..., lorne, elm, elgin, new terminal. i could go on and on about the bus routes and how it will be changed.
Feb 23, 2012 at 10:33 AM we all know that greater sudbury is the biggest city there is in northern ontario and yet we want to keep it that way. in order to have more people moving in greater sudbury their needs to be lots of improvements that will convince and or attract them as new comers to come and move into greater sudbury
Feb 23, 2012 at 11:06 AM there are many different pros and cons to relocating the transit terminal from where it is right now to the area of van horne, railway and the ledo hotel that will eventually be torn down in the near future. if it was to be relocated then the city will have to investigate on how to change all of its bus routes as some streets will be extended such as the ste-anne road and larch street. relocating the transit terminal will affect the present bus route in good way and in a bad way depending on which bus route you have in mind or you normally take to go from area a to area b. certain bus route will require less time frame then what it presently is and other bus routes will require a few extra minutes from how it is now. the city needs to investigate into this matter so that relocating the transit terminal will not cause certain bus routes to be arriving either late or early or too late or too early ; but rather to be on time. if a certain bus route was to be too early then the city may lose out on a rider where a citizen would have ended up missing the bus of a certain bus route. but if it causes to make a bus route become late then the citizens are unable to make a transfer or a connection to another bus route...
Apr 25, 2012 at 1:26 PM Well they can start changing the downtown core by adding lights and give the downtown some life! The crystall ball lights that surround the transit terminal and the liquor store and Tim Hortons are all going dark! There are so many lights (especially on the elm street side and path walkway) that are not repaired and haven,t been for the past couple of years. Don,t know what maintenace is doing! Also, some of the lantern fixtures along the downtown streets have lights that have not been replaced! So a good place to start is to upgrade and light up all the downtown light fixtures to give it life at night (and will be more attractive to come to). It is getting dark and dingy all over again!
May 9, 2012 at 3:00 PM There is a lot of value in the proposed redevelopment plans -- the focus on adding green space, business, and an improvement in the character of the built environment are all good.
But these plans would be greatly enabled by improvements in transportation. The transit station on Cedar street is an asset, but a problem for Sudbury is the poor placement and integration of intercity transportation links. The two intercity bus stations and airport are far from the downtown centre, and the existing VIA service to Toronto, with its awful timing and poor station location, is inadequate (nearly useless).
The new businesses imagined to fill the 'innovation and business park' would be greatly enabled by reliable, frequent, and cost-effective transportation links to the rest of Ontario. While not within the scope of the downtown planning or the city's powers, the municipality should work with the provincial government, the ONTC (if it continues to exist) and VIA Rail to establish regular, frequent service between the downtown Sudbury station and Toronto-Union, as well as explore east-west links to communities in the Hwy 17 corridor, possibly in co-operation with the Huron Central railway.
With the train station in a locality that is the focus of much of this planning, improving it and leveraging it makes sense. What's more, better transportation links would help the city just as much as an improved downtown, and in fact transportation and downtown renewal are mutually-supporting developments.
Jul 17, 2012 at 11:45 AM http://www.psfk.com/2012/07/graffiti-lego-bridge.html
A graffiti artist in Germany has painted the underside of a bridge to make it look like giant lego blocks.
This might be a fun project for the underside of the paris st. bridge that not only brightens it up and makes it feel safer, but also supports local artists and the arts!
Nov 24, 2012 at 2:47 AM @Kristine: This response is a year later.
In regards to keeping stores open late nights in the downtown area, is not feasible. Businesses have had to adapt to the changing environment of consumers not taking advantage of the free parking and shopping in the downtown core in the evenings.
There was a time where all and most businesses were open late evenings. It's a loss of money to do so today. It has nothing to do with businesses. More to do with consumers and their choice of where they shop. Also, the parking situation is not helping.
Jan 5, 2013 at 8:41 AM Living in Iowa, I found this resource by following a link from Google. Happy I did. Useful topic, and great blog. Keep up the Great Work.
Jan 17, 2013 at 6:02 PM Love the 1971 video that Lilly Noble posted! Looks like the original Flash Mob! I remember it well. May have even recognized myself? Even cross downtown streets diagonally now sometimes. Get some funny looks too. Of course not near as busy as in the video. Maybe we should bring it back?
Mar 19, 2013 at 11:42 AM Being a lifetime resident of Sudbury I remember the Borgia street area in the downtown corridor and how people gathered there just to be a part of this carnival type atmosphere, and I beleive that's what's missing in our downtown. When people visit other historical centres they are drawn by the sounds and sites of various events taking place which makes them want to be a part of it.I also think that other parts of our city should be inclusive to our downtown and this I beleive could be accomplished with the idea I have been working on for years, and that is to use our greatest natural resource which is the ROCK we live and inparticular the ADANAC mountain range which could be developed into a WORLD CLASS tourist destination. By partnering with our mining heritage companies we could develope SUBbury(A city within a city) which would feature a model for tomorrows ecofriendly cities.The tunnels could run from science north underground to adanac and to the downtown.The tunnels could have endless potential for developements from underground shopping to rock climbing centres, as well as transportation routes from Barry Downe to the downtown core. I have been working on my own visionary drawings to this end and am available at any time to discuss these ideas.....Adam Bonczak, (sign shop leader) frobisher.