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Roads: Illumination of the Bloor Viaduct

Speaking of this illumination, this could be a long-term opportunity to discuss Richmond Hill being connected to either Broadview or Castlefrank TTC station. The vertical elevation difference already exists at one station in Washington DC's Metro subway (a very long series of escalators), but could be done with stairs, inclinator, and/or gondola.

Although Richmond Hill isn't getting the 15-min all-day two-way "Regional Express Rail" (RER) treatment, it could happen if the 407 Freight Bypass gets built, and Richmond Hill becomes dramatically more useful, or the use of the Don Branch as a north-south transit route, etc. The Luminous Veil would be one small pedestrian-friendly step towards this ultimate goal of an interchange between two all-day frequent rapid transit lines above/below.

This would probably not happen for another twenty years at least, but it could be eventually appear on the radar along with extra draws to Danforth as well as a small bit of Bloor subway relief.
 
Theres a Metro station in Lisbon that also has access from two different elevations. You can either get in through the lower part of the city, or from the upper part. (Baixa-Chiado) I remember a large stack of escalators to get to the station from the upper portion.

The main exit drops you off in Baixa, but if you take the 4 escalators you are suddenly in Chiado.

DSC_0680.JPG

http://www.paigeandchris.com/2014/11/the-one-with-lisbon-portugal.html
 
I've never been a big fan of this design. I wish it "matched" the period style of the viaduct. Depending on lights to complete the design is a lot like growing ivy on a mediocre building. I really wish there was an awning of some sort over the sidewalk included in the design to shelter pedestrians. Walking across this bridge in rainy or snowy weather is very unpleasant. A bit of shelter for pedestrians would have gone a long way. All in all, It's a vast improvement over what was there before (nothing) and it has served its purpose. Good to see the lights were finally realized and… $3.8 million is peanuts for a project of this size.
 
Front page article is up with a bunch of photos, but here's plenty more:

Luminous Night by Marcus Mitanis, on Flickr

Luminous Night by Marcus Mitanis, on Flickr

Luminous Night by Marcus Mitanis, on Flickr

Luminous Night by Marcus Mitanis, on Flickr

Luminous Night by Marcus Mitanis, on Flickr

Luminous Night by Marcus Mitanis, on Flickr

Luminous Night by Marcus Mitanis, on Flickr

Luminous Night by Marcus Mitanis, on Flickr

Luminous Night by Marcus Mitanis, on Flickr

Luminous Night by Marcus Mitanis, on Flickr

Luminous Night by Marcus Mitanis, on Flickr
 
Tuscani01 said:
Theres a Metro station in Lisbon that also has access from two different elevations. You can either get in through the lower part of the city, or from the upper part. (Baixa-Chiado) I remember a large stack of escalators to get to the station from the upper portion.

The main exit drops you off in Baixa, but if you take the 4 escalators you are suddenly in Chiado.

DSC_0680.JPG

http://www.paigeandchris.com/2014/11/the-one-with-lisbon-portugal.html
Click to expand...
That image looks similar to that of Dupont station minus the flowers but plus the long stairs and escalators
 
Tuscani01 said:
Theres a Metro station in Lisbon that also has access from two different elevations. You can either get in through the lower part of the city, or from the upper part. (Baixa-Chiado) I remember a large stack of escalators to get to the station from the upper portion.

The main exit drops you off in Baixa, but if you take the 4 escalators you are suddenly in Chiado.


http://www.paigeandchris.com/2014/11/the-one-with-lisbon-portugal.html
Click to expand...
My favourite station on the Lisbon metro.
 
What time do the lights go on? I was leaving the Brickworks this evening, after 9, and the lights weren't on. Aura's lights looked great from the parking lot, however. Is the entire bridge going to be rehabilitated? Many of the piers on the north side have been cleaned and (painted?) in the last few months. Unfortunately some graffiti has returned at the base of at least one of the revitalized piers. Can't they be covered with a protective layer, to prevent defacement?
 
It was not on on Friday evening either (July 31), but yes, it was on tonight (August 2) when we went past it. That got me to finally finish up a video from raw footage that I shot about a month ago. Here's the Luminous Veil running. Click on "Watch on YouTube.com" (under the YouTube logo) and flick it over to 1080p:


42
 
It's not encouraging that the lights aren't on consistently, only one month after they were introduced. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come. Aside from that, it would be great if the sidewalks on the bridge were widened. This would make walking over it more comfortable and would allow for more space for people to linger; making this area more welcoming for people to come to enjoy the atmosphere. I hope this will be considered because this is now a destination; a vibrant place where people want to spend time and not merely cross from one side of the valley to the other.
 
interchange42 said:
It was not on on Friday evening either (July 31), but yes, it was on tonight (August 2) when we went past it. That got me to finally finish up a video from raw footage that I shot about a month ago. Here's the Luminous Veil running. Click on "Watch on YouTube.com" (under the YouTube logo) and flick it over to 1080p:
42
Click to expand...

Thanks! It just shows how important it is to light up the rest of the bridge as well.

AoD
 
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