Peter Street Wetland

[Archivist]

Maybe some fill and a really tall thin building. Like 89 storeys. And curvy, really curvy.

 

[khris]

p.s. Your images don't show for me.

You need to be logged in to both http://urbantoronto.ca and http://www.urbantoronto.ca

 

[Tylersdaytoday]

What about putting in a pond fountain like http://bit.ly/1qj2rsI ?
It will keep the water circulating, fix the garbage collection problem, and you can light it up at night. I'd also rip out the current terrace around it (as it acts as too much of a barrier) and surround it with steps from waters edge up to a walk around path for store access. Much like http://bit.ly/Xcxe1W
There would need to be a small chain around the water's edge for safety of course. Similar to our Harbourfront boardwalk http://bit.ly/1xwRsyE

 

[Memph]

I wonder if some more impermeable barrier could go a long way to keep out the garbage. Right now the railings have pretty big gaps that can allow most garbage to get blown in. Whether it's a waist-high (or even knee-high?) stone wall, dense shrubs, glass... I think it could help.

 

[DSC]

I wonder if some more impermeable barrier could go a long way to keep out the garbage. Right now the railings have pretty big gaps that can allow most garbage to get blown in. Whether it's a waist-high (or even knee-high?) stone wall, dense shrubs, glass... I think it could help.

Hello! The 'garbage' is washed in from the lake after storms.

 

[DSC]

This photo was posted at the start of this thread in 2009.

This is one of mine from a couple of months ago

I wrote to 311 about it and got no responses so I wrote to Janie Romoff (the Director of PFR) and (finally) got a response saying they would try to fix it in 2024. They noted that the dock walls were inspected in 2018 and got a pass but I assume this inspection did not include the 'platform' (which is often underwater as the Lake rises.)

Shows the added cost of procrastination : a repair in 2009 would clearly have cost FAR less than the one they now hope to do next year.

 

[yrt+viva=1system]

There was a fountain err more of a sprayer if I remember. Coming from a pond hobbyist perspective, the problem I see is that the flow of water is not great enough to cause circulation nor producing enough oxygen for vital beneficial bacterial and animals to thrive. You really need something much more substantial to circulate the water in the basin. Something along the lines of a waterfall wall would work well; oxygenating the water and pushing water flow out of the basin to keep garbage from floating inward. Something like the waterfall at Harbour Square Park West but on a much bigger scale, my person preference would be emulating the Metropolitan Water Reclamation project.

Pulling from Chicago:

Nicholas J. Melas Centennial Fountain

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

The five stations located along the Calumet-Sag Channel and the Calumet River pump up to 1.3 billion gallons of water per day and add up to 25 tons of oxygen to the waterways each day. At the stations, up to half of the river's flow is pumped up as high as 17 feet to an elevated, shallow pool, from which the water then cascades over a number of drops back into the waterway. The waterfalls aerate the river water and enhance the aquatic environment by improving and protecting fish populations and eliminating odors. The SEPA stations are thus not only attracting spectators to the park areas, but also creating new schools of fish, and as a result, new birds of prey and other natural habitat are started to arrive.

 

[DSC]

There was a fountain err more of a sprayer if I remember. The problem from what I can see based from a pond hobbyist is that the flow of water is not great enough to cause circulation nor producing enough oxygen for vital beneficial bacterial and animals to thrive. You really need something much more substantial to circulation the water in the basin. Something along the lines of a waterfall wall would would well; oxygenating the water and pushing water flow out of the basin to keep garbage from floating inward. Something like the waterfall at Harbour Square Park West but on a much bigger scale.

Pulling from Chicago as good ideas:
Nicholas J. Melas Centennial Fountain

There was, and is, a water feature on north side of the basin but it never fed the inlet. (See below). It has been dry for a couple of years but they seem to be protecting it so I assume it may be re-activated when the construction behind it is finished.

The inlet is part of Lake Ontario and that is how it got 'circulation. A Chicago-style feature might be great (if the City would maintain it!) but..

 

[yrt+viva=1system]

There was, and is, a water feature on north side of the basin but it never fed the inlet. (See below). It has been dry for a couple of years but they seem to be protecting it so I assume it may be re-activated when the construction behind it is finished.

The inlet is part of Lake Ontario and that is how it got 'circulation. A Chicago-style feature might be great (if the City would maintain it!) but..

View attachment 463651

It's still too weak in my eyes to give any substantive benefit; literally a drop in the bucket.

I want to add that the Chicago style water features especially the Water Reclamation project is following water filtration principles and incorporating it into architecture/garden/landscape designs. Compared with what is currently in the Peter Street basin which looks like a afterthought artistic bandaid without water engineering principles backing it.


Alas, this city is too cheap.

 

[DSC]

It's still too weak in my eyes to give any substantive benefit; literally a drop in the bucket.

I want to add that the Chicago style water features especially the Water Reclamation project is following water filtration principles and incorporating it into architecture/garden/landscape designs. Compared with what is currently in the Peter Street basin which looks like a afterthought artistic bandaid without water engineering principles backing it.


Alas, this city is too cheap.

I think that the 'water feature' actually belongs to the buildings around the 'basin' not the City. It is certainly not recent, or interesting, (even when it was working!)