The city clamps down on the Parkdale party scene with a new Queen West restaurant cap
Over the last five years, the stretch of Queen West between Dufferin and Roncesvalles, once known for drugs and prostitution, has become a lively late-night destination with new bars and restaurants drawing crowds from all over the city. The proliferation of booze and trendy food has earned the strip the nickname “Partydale” and with it the ire of city councillor Gord Perks, who’s been lobbying for over a year to put a cap on new restaurants, which he blames for rising noise levels, carousing drunks and unruly swarms of young people “who wear hip clothes”. Last Friday, city council responded with a by-law that divides the Queen West strip into quadrants and restricts new restaurants from opening in any quarter where they’ll account for more than one in four businesses. The move, which comes on the heels of similar initiatives in Kensington Market and Trinity Bellwoods, has provoked predictably indignant responses with some critics even grumbling about a war on hipsters. [The Globe and Mail]
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Over the last five years, the stretch of Queen West between Dufferin and Roncesvalles, once known for drugs and prostitution, has become a lively late-night destination with new bars and restaurants drawing crowds from all over the city. The proliferation of booze and trendy food has earned the strip the nickname “Partydale” and with it the ire of city councillor Gord Perks, who’s been lobbying for over a year to put a cap on new restaurants, which he blames for rising noise levels, carousing drunks and unruly swarms of young people “who wear hip clothes”. Last Friday, city council responded with a by-law that divides the Queen West strip into quadrants and restricts new restaurants from opening in any quarter where they'll account for more than one in four businesses. The move, which comes on the heels of similar initiatives in Kensington Market and Trinity Bellwoods, has provoked predictably indignant responses with some critics even grumbling about a war on hipsters. [The Globe and Mail]){kind=link}
Misguided and sad.
From a “tourist” turned home owner.
Very disappointed in Gord Perks.
more soup kitchens and run-down used appliances stores!
So much for democracy and capitalism in this city. I guess when the city starts imposing their views then we call it communism?
For the love of god- NO ONE calls it “Partydale”.
What happened to good old fashion supply and demand?
This post does not do a very fair job of representing Perks’ position as it is described in the linked articles.
– from a 20-something parkdale resident
Good God, could this City be any more anal retentative!?!
i want the drug addicts and prostitutes back… im not even joking. junkies were WAY less destructive than immature white 20-somethings that are roaming around at 3am.