Roads: Front Street East finally getting repaved

[DSC]

DSC - do you know why the bulbs in the new lamp posts are bright white while most of previously installed lamps have a more amber colour light?

I think the white light is the new standard - personally I think it looks MUCH nicer. Not sure if Hydro are intending to switch all the ambers to white over time but at least Front is all white now.

 

[slicecom]

These are the new City standard (they tried 4 variations at Victoria and Shuter last year, I think all are still there.) They are to help visually impaired people locate the street edge.

Cool, I went and checked the 4 different styles out at Victoria and Shuter. I think they made the right choice.

 

[CityPainter]

Dead plantings

Anyone else notice that most of the plantings in the "bump outs" along Front Street East, including at Princess St (see my photo) and Berkeley St, are pretty much totally dead? These plants were put in very late last fall and they never survived the brutal winter. But here we are in mid-July and the dead plants are still there, rotting in situ and giving off an unpleasant stench in the process. Now tall weeds have sprouted up between them, adding the only glimpse of green. Anyone know if these boxes are going to be replanted, or when?

I hate to be a complainer but here we are again after spending what I assume is many millions of dollars to build all new sidewalks, streets, lampposts etc, and then we let it all go to hell right away because we can't be bothered to maintain a few plantings.

 

[slicecom]

Yep, I noticed those too. I was amazed they put them in so late, pretty sure it was already going down below freezing at night when they were planted, then they waited until weeks later to cover them. They didn't stand a chance.

 

[nfitz]

Yep, I noticed those too. I was amazed they put them in so late, then they waited until weeks later to cover them. They didn't stand a chance.

To be fair, not much new stood a change this winter. It was a very early and hard frost. Covering it up on the schedule they did it should have been fine.

Not sure why they haven't done these yet ... but there's been lots of tree plantings here in the last few weeks. And the contractor was doing some touch-up work the other day to pavement.

 

[CityPainter]

And the contractor was doing some touch-up work the other day to pavement.

Ah, cool, I noticed that they already did the old "chop a hole in the brand new sidewalk and patch it with asphalt" thing on that same corner -- you can see it at the very top of my photo. Would be nice to see that properly fixed, too, so at least we can maintain a semblance of newness until the Pan Am games!

 

[DSC]

I understand from the City that the plants are under guarantee and WILL be replaced (no, I do not have a date) and I know that the BIA and neighbourhood assn. are starting to discuss how best to maintain all these planters. (Front, Esplanade and, soon, Lower Sherbourne)

 

[nfitz]

... and I know that the BIA and neighbourhood assn. are starting to discuss how best to maintain all these planters. (Front, Esplanade and, soon, Lower Sherbourne)

There was a water truck (some oversized tractor thing - didn't notice whose) rolling down the Front East sidewalk doing the planters suspended from the new lamp posts a few minutes ago.

 

[DSC]

There was a water truck (some oversized tractor thing - didn't notice whose) rolling down the Front East sidewalk doing the planters suspended from the new lamp posts a few minutes ago.

One of the watering carts from the St Lawrence Market BIA - they look after all the hanging plants in the area (Queen to The Esplanade and Yonge to Parliament) and MAY take over the planters.

 

[nfitz]

One of the watering carts from the St Lawrence Market BIA - they look after all the hanging plants in the area (Queen to The Esplanade and Yonge to Parliament) and MAY take over the planters.

That may be a wise idea. In my local neighbourhood, it's the Neighbourhood Associations that do all the watering for hanging plants, planters, even trees and planting around trees. And it works because they have a vested interest. And it creates involvement ...

 

[CityPainter]

That may be a wise idea. In my local neighbourhood, it's the Neighbourhood Associations that do all the watering for hanging plants, planters, even trees and planting around trees. And it works because they have a vested interest. And it creates involvement ...

Agreed, I've seen the BIA watering guy around numerous times. They do a good, thorough job. Sounds like this is just a matter of getting the bureaucracy straightened out. Shame if we have to spend a whole summer with the dead plants, though. And if they replant either in the baking heat of late July/August or in the late fall again, I fear the same thing happening next year!

 

[nfitz]

And if they replant either in the baking heat of late July/August or in the late fall again, I fear the same thing happening next year!

If they do it in the fall, they should be okay, as long as we have a normal winter.

It's a shame they didn't get in earlier this year, given how much rain we've had, watering wouldn't have even been an issue. But given how much stuff needed replanting across the city, I'd expect that there would be staff shortages ... heck, are there plant shortages?

 

[W. K. Lis]

Rob Ford wearing his "precious" Chain of Office at Hillcrest during the news conference.

Paraphrasing...
One Chain of Office to rule them all, One Chain of Office to find them,
One Chain of Office to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

 

[Racquette]

That may be a wise idea. In my local neighbourhood, it's the Neighbourhood Associations that do all the watering for hanging plants, planters, even trees and planting around trees. And it works because they have a vested interest. And it creates involvement ...

Agreed, I've seen the BIA watering guy around numerous times. They do a good, thorough job. Sounds like this is just a matter of getting the bureaucracy straightened out. Shame if we have to spend a whole summer with the dead plants, though. And if they replant either in the baking heat of late July/August or in the late fall again, I fear the same thing happening next year!

Agree! Community involvement is the surest way to keep the beauty in 'beautification' projects. Do hope you don't have to look at dead plants and weeds all summer. Good point about the sheer amount of replanting needed this year, though.

 

[CityPainter]

So here we are on Front St East nearly a year after my previous bout of complaining, and the Pan Am games are nigh.

The bump-out plantings on Princess St and Berkeley are still all 100% dead, looking exactly as shown in my July 2014 photo with the addition of more trash and garbage.

The intersection of Sherbourne and Front itself still looks like Berlin circa 1945.

A good percentage of the new faux "wrought-iron" lamp posts along Front St E. remain missing, or are damaged, crooked, or in some other state of semi-repair.

And just last week crews were going along all those new sidewalks and curbs along Front St E. at random intervals, ripping up bricks and digging new deep holes for unknown purposes, then filling them in haphazardly with the usual attention to detail provided by Toronto construction crews, which is to say, none.

Plus ça change... funny how after several years of construction hell I feel like we're more or less back where we started.