Posts Tagged ‘GO station’

signs of change

Posted: December 12, 2024 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations
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…. from a walk on Kingston Road near Guildwood GO station.

orange ribbon tied to a chainlink fence that is coming apart at the top corner, strands of barbed wire on top, with empty old building and vacant lot behind

below: First sign.  Sign of distress, of times gone by.

old sign for bob johnston chevrolet dealer on kingston road, graffiti on it

Bob Johnston Chevrolet was on Kingston Road until it went out of business in 2007.  The property became a used car lot.  It backs onto the parking lot for the Guildwood GO station

below: A sign with no relevance.  A sign that says “vehicles protected by security systems” but it’s been a long time since anyone parked back there.

fence and locked gate in front of a vacant lot that used to be a parking lot, sign on fence that says vehicles protected, GO train in the background at Guildwood station

below: Other, much newer, signs have appeared on the property. They are a street art installation by Nigel Smith that appeared a few months ago.

Funnily Enough

funnily enough, graffiti street art sign on grey, billboard sized, paired with joking apart, by Nigel Smith

and Joking Apart

joking apart, graffiti street art sign on grey, billboard sized, paired with funninly enough, by Nigel Smith

And last, a sign that tells another story – a Development Notice sign that dates from 2021.  It suggests that 996 residences in 4 towers all with large podiums, will be built.  Some will be rentals. Back in 2008, the original change of zoning from commercial to mixed commercial/residential allowed for buildings up to 8 storeys.  The process limps along as the property changes owner and the height limits are appealed.

graffiti on a development notice sign on fence beside an abandoned and now derelict former car dealership, some large font lettering graffiti on the sign

The process is also slow because of the people and organizations that get a say.  Traffic studies, Urban Forestry opinions, as well as TTC and Metrolinx.  Apparently there is a Line 7, the Eglinton East LRT that will (might?) run here.  It has been proposed, accepted, and…..  don’t hold your breath.  The Eglinton LRT is 14+ years old and still not operational.   If it gets off the ground in its present plan, it will run east from Kennedy (& Eglinton) to Kingston Road, then northeast on Kingston Road to Morningside.  Finally, north to Sheppard (via UTSC) where it will loop back to join the Sheppard line.   On that cheery note, I will leave you with a few images from around the property taken on a snowy December day.

some snow, some weeds growing in the cracks, an old parking lot, with some tall light standards still standing, looking toward Kingston Road

snow covered tire left behind in an old parking lot

a tall light standard with two lights at the top has fallen over and is lying on the ground in some snow, with weeds

cracked pavement and a faded yellow wheelchair symbol in front of a derelict building waiting to be demolished, once was a car dealership

yellow graffiti scribbles on blue painted wall, abandoned building, weeds growing in front,

vines growing on derelict and empty building

peeling blue paint on old garage door, snow in front

chainlink fence with abandoned building behind

entrance to old abandoned car dealership, painted blue, over sign that said night deposit box

chainlink fence with strands of barbed wire on top, with empty old building and snowy covered vacant lot behind

large concrete barriers to block entrance to a parking lot

old light standards stand tall in a weedy snowy empty parking lot

Agincourt

Posted: March 26, 2021 in construction, intersections, locations, stores, transportation
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A few weeks ago I read a blog post about Agincourt history in Bob Georgiou’s Scenes from a City.   It reminded me that I had once tried to walk that area but I only got discouraged because of weather (grey, damp) and nostalgia.  Sheppard Avenue just east of Kennedy now has this large concrete underpass (Metrolinx/GO trains) which was a shocking change from my childhood memories.  My parents were living here with their parents when then met and my paternal grandparents remained in the neighbourhood until they passed.  One of my great-grandfathers lived on Agincourt Drive in a house that backed onto the railway tracks.

sheppard avenue east just east of kennedy road, with GO train bridge overpass, all concrete, with access road to Go station on the left

This time round, I waited for a sunny day before I tried walking here again.   For the most part, I walked Sheppard Avenue East between Kennedy and Brimley and the photos below are what I saw – what you see there these days.  If you are more interested in the history of the area, then you need to be reading Bob’s blog as mentioned above.

Let’s walk!

a man with a red backpack walks along the sidewalk in front of some small businesses, a condo building in the background

below: The area’s Asian character is very obvious.

Asian store front windows

below: Nutriever?

nutriever label in an ad in a store window, canada flag on the label too

below: West Highland Creek, north of Sheppard

waterway with concrete sides, graffiti on the walls, some water,

pink and white text graffiti on a canal wall

below: Are you in the market for a used truck?

looking across the street to a used truck lot, tall condos in the background

below: If not a truck, how about a car? I passed at least three used car lots.

honest used car sales at the corner of Reidmont and Sheppard

a grey apartment building in the background, a house as auto sales, cars parked in front, used car lot,

Top ten auto, used car sales, white trailer, yellow and black checkered flags

below: The old Agincourt GO station has been demolished and a new one is being built.

2 fences, one on either side of a pedestrian pathway through a construction area at Agincourt GO station

signs on construction fence at Agincourt GO station showing picture of new station

side of a house, orange construction fence, ELlis Don sign, metal railling

below: Bell Canada (It’s a white building)

white Bell Canada building in Scarborough with big round vents on the side

below: In a front yard on a nearby street….. I have many questions.

a small tree, some metal rungs, a bike tied up near top of tree, grey sculpture on the ground

below: Looking east just before Midland Avenue

intersection of Midland and Sheppard East, on Sheppard, looking east,

below: Part of the reason that Sheppard and Midland looks so empty is this vacant site on the southwest corner.  There was once a Lumber King Home Centre here, then it was a flea market and used car lot, but now it’s an empty building on an otherwise vacant 4.7 acres.   A plan for 80 townhouses and a park was filed back in 2015 and seems to have been winding its way through the development process ever since.

chainlink fence around an empty and abandoned store with yellow and white front, large vacant parking lot in front, a security sign is upside down on the fence

old weathered framing around a sign, now empty, in front of a vacant lot

chainlink fence with rusty mailboxes, a lot of garbage has blown up against the fence

below: A quick rest at the intersection where there are actually some people.   I miss interacting with the people that I see as I walk around… and I’m sure that you’ve noticed the lack of people in these blog posts.

corner of Midland and Sheppard East, a Midland bus is northbound, bus shelter with 2 people across the street

 Also, re the TTC – this is Sheppard Avenue, home of the Sheppard subway, or is it LRT now?  As I was researching development at 4181 Sheppard, I discovered that Metrolinx has been applying for easements along Sheppard in preparation for anything that might be built on that street.

two women getting on a Sheppard TTC bus at Midland

below: There is always something to remind us of life’s situation these days, such as this ad that was on a bus shelter.  I liked the hashtag at the end, #PracticeSafe6ix

poster in a bus shelter, Covid-19, how it isn't over yet, practice safe six

below: Knox United Church was built as a Free Presbyterian church in the 1840’s but became Knox United in 1925.   This was when the Presbyterians merged with the Methodists to form the United Church of Canada. (Although not all Presbyterian churches went along with the merger).

side of red brick church with cemetery between church and road, smell steeple, Knox United church

below: Agincourt Baptist Church

blog_agincourt_baptist_church

below: There is a second overpass in the area.   The CPR tracks pass over Sheppard between Midland and Brimley, just west of Canadian Pacific’s Toronto Yard.

looking along Sheppard East from the railway underpass

below: On this overpass is a mural by elicser

mural by elicser on the concrete wall of a C P R overpass in Scarborough

part of an elicser mural, a woman with a red rose in her hair sits on a man's shoulders, a woman in a pink dress is also in the picture

below: Running parallel to the south side of the CPR line and Sheppard Avenue is a large industrial complex belonging to the International Group of Companies.

steel tanks, rail line, industrial area

industrial site with metal tanks, a storefront with Chinese signs in front and to one side

advertising signs along a fence, spa for 15 dollars, a Chinese furniture store, a pink poodle picture

signs along Sheppard Ave East
Chinese halal buffet restaurant with bright red sign,
a small skinny flower store on Sheppard

below: Toronto has 85 BIAs (Business Improvement Areas) including Sheppard East Village which includes Sheppard between Midland and Markham Road.

street signs and banners on utility poles, Sheppard East Village, Fulham Street, Brimley Road,

below: At Glen Watford and Sheppard there is a large new Seniors residence planned.

sign advertising live music and dancing in front of a strip mall that is about to be redeveloped

below: In the meantime, there are empty stores.

Dragon centre, Chinese market, now closed and empty, empty parking lot and two small dead cedar trees

below: North Scarborough Memorial being renovated but the old gate remains.

old gate in front of North Scarborough Memorial centre, now renamed, indoor swimming pool

below: Agincourt Elementary School.  Built in 1915 as a Continuation School, (grades 9 and 10) but used as an elementary school since Agincourt Collegiate was built in 1930.

Agincourt Public school, two storey square brick building built in the early 1900s as a high school

large trees in front of a red brick school, Agincourt Collegiate

residential street in Agincourt, brick houses, Ross Avenue street sign

a house in a residential neighbourhood being renovated

below: (Snow)man down! You’d be tired too if you had to stand outside all winter!

below: Mystery ‘All Way Stop’ in the Walmart parking lot.

a stop sign is leaning against the back of a billboard so that no one can see it from the road