This is what I love about walking through Danforth Village. You see fashion at affordable prices, an array of mouth-watering food, new retailers, and a very eclectic group of people including couples walking their dogs and mothers pushing baby strollers.
It wasn’t always this way. The Danforth Village is evolving and is still in transition, but is fast becoming a destination to walk, shop, and dine between downtown and the east end. Anyone who is wondering what there is to see and do in Danforth Village can find it in the full business directory on the new website.
In addition to a complete listing of businesses, professional services, and restaurants, the new website features a store in the ‘Spotlight’, articles on sports teams sponsored by the DVBIA and a live Twitter feed tracks what’s cool, new and interesting.
There’s light!
On one evening this fall, while strolling along the Danforth, I saw busy shoppers, a man having a lively conversation with a shopkeeper, and a young woman fixing a roll of carpet at her mother’s shop. Then it hits me – there’s light!
For the last couple of years, the Danforth Village Business Improvement Area (DVBIA) has been busy working on the installation of pedestrian sidewalk lights. In addition to being energy-efficient LED, the design of the new lights is simple and elegant. When decorated – with lit spheres during the fall and winter months and floral baskets in the summer – the effect is dramatic. I’m dazzled by the glow given off by the lit spheres at the corner of Danforth and Eldon.
Time for a bite
The pedestrian sidewalk lights are bright, cars are rushing by, and the enticing aromas of food drifting out from local restaurants persuade me to stop and enjoy a bite to eat. There is a lot to choose from in this melting pot of a thousand tastes and delights. I settle in for a delicious bowl of steaming noodles and BBQ pork and I’m already dreaming of where I should go for dessert.
The pedestrian sidewalk lights are just one of many projects undertaken by the DVBIA that have transformed the street and the neighbourhood in significant ways. The DVBIA is working hard to improve the environment of the street. They’re not just doing it for themselves; they want to create an improved quality of life for business and this community.
By Ellen Gardner