On Friday morning, the Urban_Empress was watching Breakfast Television on CITY TV and saw that they were accepting nominations for viewers to ride the 148 km/h, 93m Leviathan rollercoaster at Canada’s Wonderland. She nominated me (being too chicken to do so herself), and somehow won me a spot. After riding the tallest, fastest roller coaster in Canada three times, I headed for home, passing Vaughan Mills mall just after rush hour.

The north frontage of the mall features Tuscany Place at Vaughan Mills, a collection of strip malls which appear to double the number of individual stores at the site. In addition to this, the southwest corner of the site features a small lifestyle centre not unlike the Shops at Don Mills. Tuscany place makes the property feel much more urban, but it suffers from design and operational flaws that underline some of the downsides of planning for the automobile. Continue reading →