What is the effect of feng shui to live within spitting distance of bustling expressway?
There is an article on Toronto Star today (Monday, March 19, 2012) that really caught my attention. As indicated by the photo below, it is reporting that the high-rise condo project known as Garrison at the Yards is being erected within meters away from the Gardiner Expressway, which is one of the busiest expressways in downtown Toronto. David Fleming, a Toronto real estate agent and blogger were asking the question: “who in the right mind would want to live in a unit that is splitting distance from the expressway?” However, Barry Fenton, president and CEO of Lanterra Developments, the company behind some of the downtown’s most Gardiner-handy buildings defended these kinds of highway-side developments and claimed that the purchasers are not affected by it. 
Even though the City of Toronto has make sure that condos near the Gardiner Expressway generally have to be built with thicker walls and window panes to meet noise and vibration standards and developers also have to conduct air quality studies, these kind of condo units are still not suitable for living under the guidelines of feng shui:
Based on the guidelines of “luan tao” or Form feng shui, highways are considered as “false water” [假水], and will affect the feng shui of the building. Since the Gardiner Expressway is a busy multi-lane highway where the vehicles are moving in high speed, it is also known as “relentless water” or [無情水]. This denotes bad monetary luck. Furthermore, a highway cutting through the bottom of the building is also considered as “chopping feet sha” [割腳煞] in authentic feng shui. Again this denotes bad monetary luck, unsettled fortune, conflicts and poor body health. Furthermore, for the units at the lower floors, the bright lights from the vehicles at night also constitute a form of “light sha” [光煞] to the units.
Besides facing the above feng shui problems, it has also many unfavorable living conditions. For example, people living in this kind of building cannot open their windows for fresh air or enjoy the view at the balcony, due to the noise, dust and exhaust from the fast moving vehicles.
As a matter of fact, the City of Toronto has made sure that condos near the Gardiner Expressway generally have to be built with thicker walls and window panes to meet noise and vibration standards and developers also have to conduct air quality studies, these kind of condo units are still not suitable for living.
However, there are problems both in terms of feng shui and common sense that need our attention. First of all, under the “luan tao” or Form feng shui, highways are considered as “false water” [假水], and will affect the feng shui of the building. Since the Gardiner Expressway is a busy multi-lane highway where the vehicles moving in high speed, it is also known as “relentless water” or [無情水]. This denotes the bad monetary luck. Furthermore, a highway cutting through the bottom of the building is considered as “chopping feet sha” [割腳煞] in authentic feng shui. Again this denotes bad monetary luck, unsettled fortune, conflicts and poor health. Furthermore, in some extent, the bright lights from the vehicles at night also constitute a form of “light sha” [光煞].
Besides facing the above feng shui problems, it has also many unfavorable living conditions. For example, people living in this kind of building cannot open their windows for fresh air or enjoy the view at the balcony, because of the noise, dust and exhaust from the vehicles. However, there are problems both in terms of feng shui and common sense that need our attention. First of all, under the “luan tao” or Form feng shui, highways are considered as “false water” [假水], and will affect the feng shui of the building. Since the Gardiner Expressway is a busy multi-lane highway where the vehicles moving in high speed, it is also known as “relentless water” or [無情水]. This denotes the bad monetary luck. Furthermore, a highway cutting through the bottom of the building is considered as “chopping feet sha” [割腳煞] in authentic feng shui. Again this denotes bad monetary luck, unsettled fortune, conflicts and poor health. Furthermore, in some extent, the bright lights from the vehicles at night also constitute a form of “light sha” [光煞].
Even with all the above shortcomings both in feng shui and practical reasons, the project is still selling well! Nonetheless, according to most of the real estate agents, they believe most of the units are purchased as investment properties – by people who don’t always see them before they buy and then rented to young professionals who don’t spend a lot of time at home.
At the end of the day, I will advise those buyers of these kinds of home that situated meters from the Gardiner Expressway to seek feng shui help when they plan to call this their livable home and intend to spend a lot of time in it!
