I think we can do better... we are absolutely blessed by our natural surroundings here. The harbour, the escarpment, Dundas valley, etc... and I think that we need to really push the natural beauty to the forefront. We also would do well to start branding ourselves as a green, forward thinking city. I have an idea for a combined "landmark icon" that would serve double duty as a functional infrastructure feature: a gondola up the escarpment.
I envision a gondola that links upper james to st joes. There is a park at the top that could be utilized as part of the upper terminal. There is probably room for a transit turnaround there as well. At the bottom, there is a bit less space but you wouldn't need a turnaround for buses, they'd just have to stop there. There could be a shuttle that goes from st joes to hunter station to the waterfront.
The top terminal would also have a lookout tower that could be designed in an architecutally intersting way. I picture something that swoops out over the edge of the escarpment and kind of dangles a look-out pod over the edge. From there you have an observation deck that offers a fabulous 360-degree view of upper and lower Hamilton, and especially a view of the escarpment and the bay. The shape of this lookout tower (and possibly a gondola car) could be incorporated into city branding... I picture a logo that shows the water, the city, the escarpment and the gondola/lookout.
This would promote a "Green" image for the city. A "looking forward" image.
Additionally, this gondola would be an integral link in our transit system. In the far future, I picture light rail from mcmaster to eastgate as well as from the escarpment to the bay along james. Another line would run on upper james from the cliff to rymal. the gondola would link the two james rail lines, the key being that at each point, the trains run frequently (like a subway) every few minutes, so the travel time is great despite there being two "transfers". This solves the problem of getting rail up the escarpment. Some bus routes would still take the accesses up and down so that the gondola is not a transit bottleneck.
As an added bonus, the gondola could be designed to accommodate bicycles. Probably the car would be made big enough to just bring it along with you. This would help "flatten" the city, and would reduce the current divide between uppers and downers (particularly those who don't own cars).
Rates could be set up such that a ride up the gondola (and lookout access) is $4 or $5 for tourists. HSR transfers get you on the gondola for free, and residents who just need a lift up the mountain can do so for a very small fee. For example if you just needed to get up with your bike, you pay a buck for the one way trip. Occasional special events could dictate free gondola rides and lookout tower visits. Events like doors open, and things like the bike race we had a few years ago would be good candidates for opening it for free and helping "spread the word".
This piece of infrastructure would do duty as a tourism attraction, an "image" element (something recognizable to outsiders), a useful transit link, a viable public space, and even a piece of "urban art". I bet it could even be designed to be visible from the highways. Not sure how big it would have to be to bee recognizable from the QEW though
If we are going to go ahead and spend capital on something "flashy", it can't just be a distraction from the smokestacks. It has to speak of our city's new vision not only in appearance but -more importantly- in function. It has to demonstrate clearly how we feel about the future. A beautiful, unique, visible and highly functional point of interest that also does duty as a transit link would get the point across loud and clear.
What do you think?
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