Toronto St Regis Toronto Hotel and Residences | 281.93m | 58s | JFC Capital | Zeidler

[DSC]

To elaborate on this, I just saw a report on CP24 that the City has ordered the owners of the building to bring in engineers for an immediate inspection.

... yes, and John Tory is quoted on CBC as saying 'we will find a way to make the owners pay for the costs of the disruption" - presumably at least police costs, I don't see how the City could collect for "lost time' - thought I wish they could find a way.

This from CBC website:
The city asked the owners of Trump Tower "to ensure the building does not pose a risk to the public," but has not yet received a reply.

Mayor John Tory said in a statement he is "very concerned about the impact on traffic in the downtown core." He wants an investigation and said he is "determined that responsible parties are held accountable."

A strip of LED lights called Lightline, designed by artist Michael Snow, runs up the edge of the building to the top of the tower where the antenna is located. It's unclear if the installation is affected.

 

[Ramako]

Given the track record here, I wouldn't be shocked if they just took the spire down and never put it up again.

 

[Tuscani01]

Talon International has released a statement:

Edit: Ugh, sorry about the sizing. Iphone Screenshot.

 

[Edward Skira]

Intersection was still closed this morning.

 

[Skeezix]

Not all the buildings on the west side of Bay Street have PATH access. If the street was/is closed to pedestrians, were those offices and businesses simply unable to operate/open? Was Mercatto even able to open?

 

[Automation Gallery]

From Oct/2011.........Here is what they are talking about

I finally got the shots from October 07 clean, tag and up on the site. There over 100 shots of the top and other sections mostly from the east.

From every shot I took starting from the Bloor Viaduct, Riverdale and along Queen St from River St, none show the spire taller than the Scotiabank Plaza.

In my shots from Humber Bay, you could see the height different, yet for some reason you cannot see it from the east.

You can see the workers working in the dome and are like ants to the size of the dome. There was a lot of steel missing at the top.

I noticed a lot of steel sections for the dome had been cut off the original section for some reason and sitting in the loading area at street level. Looks like changes had taken place for these sections to be cut off or a mistake in the detailing and fabrication.

You can find the other photos not here under Trump Tower on Flickr.

 

[ColMustard17]

Not all the buildings on the west side of Bay Street have PATH access. If the street was/is closed to pedestrians, were those offices and businesses simply unable to operate/open? Was Mercatto even able to open?

TPS is allowing pedestrians to walk south on Bay from Richmond to Temperance street, where those buildings affected have rear access points. Makes for a bit of a dusty walk in with the INDX and EY Tower construction going on.

 

[Skeezix]

So lunchgoers are going to Mercatto via the rear kitchen entrance?

 

[adHominem]

I've never seen so many people walking down Temperance. Maybe a weird sort-of preview of what it will be like along there once INDX and the EY Tower are done. Thanks Trump Toronto for the impromptu pedestrian mall, I guess. Your general shoddy workmanship seems to have been good for something.

Quick-and-dirty pano from my iPhone. Sorry for the weird human centipedes.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

4:05pm, roads in the area re-opening shortly, engineers deem the spire to be safe.

 

[interchange42]

4:30 PM for the reopening. Surprise, surprise, the spire wasn't about to fall.

Will the "abundance of caution" that brought the police in ultimately be judged to have been a huge overreaction? Who saw what initially—and exactly—which triggered the phone call to the police?

Also, why was media reporting on this so uninformed, both in terms of what the situation likely was up top, and how it was handled on the ground? Why didn't Talon explain things more candidly and more frequently?

42

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

On CityNews at 6pm last night, they had a video shot of the spire circled (by brightening the circle around the spire, and darkening the rest of the image) showing the spire slightly swaying. How much? I couldn't tell, but it was moving a bit and there was very little wind yesterday.

 

[wopchop]

The whole situation is a joke. The city engineer, once posed with such a situation (potential spire falling) is obviously going to say that they need to inspect it and prove that it is safe. It's no skin off their back, and if they says it's fine, and it's not, it's their liability. That's not necessarily a criticism, as I would probably do the same.

 

[interchange42]

Here's today's official statement, just released:

After more than a day of extensive examination, it was determined by the various engineering specialists and consultants involved, including the fabricator of the structural steel framing, that the spire at the Trump Hotel and Residences, Toronto is structurally sound. There was never a risk to public safety.

Yesterday, during routine preventive maintenance on the roof top, Trump Hotel management was apprised by the crew that a portion of the spire may need further inspection. Trump Hotel management alerted the Toronto Police who shut down the Bay/Adelaide intersection, as a precaution. Talon International Development’s technical specialists were quickly dispatched to the area and found that the concerns were unsubstantiated.

This afternoon, we were in touch with the appropriate city officials and a statement was issued at 4pm (ET) by Mayor John Tory’s office saying the streets would be opened, so traffic could resume.

Neil Labatte
President & CEO
Talon International Development
Toronto, Canada

- - - - - - - - - - - -

I don't think "a portion of the spire may need further inspection" is specific enough.

42

 

[steveve]

This does seem like an overblown issue, shrouded with misinformation. Obviously safety is a top priority, but unless material was dangling off the spire, I have a hard time seeing how the spire could just tip over at any moment like the media had suggested.
Then again, anything with the word Trump on it these days becomes major headlines that people jump upon at the opportunity.