Head of Slips (Waterfront Toronto, West 8/DTAH)

[Urban Shocker]

I surfed the wavedeck this morning - west to east, biggest hump first. Quite fun. The timid, low corral of safety railings rather negates the big loose style ( and experience ) of the thing though - it promised one thing but delivered something slightly less.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

typezed:

Wait till they got hurt, broke their necks and had to be hosptialized and supported for the rest of their lives by the state - and then sue the govenment for more money.

AoD

 

[TOBoy]

I surfed the wavedeck this morning - west to east, biggest hump first. Quite fun. The timid, low corral of safety railings rather negates the big loose style ( and experience ) of the thing though - it promised one thing but delivered something slightly less.

I think the whole idea of the low railings is to prevent skateboarders and bikers to ride the wave. It's doing a good job as I have yet seen one, and I run by it everyday.

 

[Urban Shocker]

They strike me as exactly the sort of people who would probably enjoy it the most - if someone wanted to design a feature that would appeal to them they couldn't do better than this. Then the City puts up a sign at one end telling those people they can't use it, and silly little railings to prevent them from doing so. So it gets turned into a sort of cordoned-off kindergarten play area for tots instead.

 

[ProjectEnd]

I think the whole idea of the low railings is to prevent skateboarders and bikers to ride the wave. It's doing a good job as I have yet seen one, and I run by it everyday.

As has been arduously repeated throughout the thread, the Wavedeck (sans or avec railings) is not a hospitable environment for skateboarding due to the wood-slat composition of the deck itself. However, Shocker makes an excellent point about what this feature could have been like had all parties been included from the outset.

 

[Urban Shocker]

The slats are so close together you barely sense - or see - that you're over water at all when you're on this thing - or the one at Spadina. Their much-admired sculptural qualities - the challenging, show jumping event-course nature of this one in particular - also render them busy, and diminish the simple boardwalk experience where you stroll along, glance down to see water beneath your feet, and hear it slapping against the supports of the walkway you're on. They're not part of a continuous wooden boardwalk experience either - they're smallish acts of punctuation, mediating between the concrete sidewalk and the concrete waterfront promenade.

I like clever, and playful, and the creative reinventions of things. The clever Dutch, or whoever designed these things, fell in love with our cottage country and convinced us that wooden decks and bridges represents us better than an urban-themed materials palette - the idea that T.O. has more in common with Muskoka than with other big urban centres around the world - and I'm happy enough to go along with their conceit, though I do still question it.

No skateboarding. No cyclists. No rollerblading. No carving your name in the wood, like you did on that jetty in ... Muskoka.

 

[egotrippin]

I finally checked out the Simcoe Wavedeck during Luminato, and finally got around to publishing some of my recent photos. I'm really impressed with it, and the new direction that the waterfront is taking. I haven't walked up the steepest parts yet, too many kids in the way, but I look forward to revisiting this spot soon.

 

[drum118]

Very few people around this area on Sat and only a few of them trying the Simcoe deck.

No kids sliding.

Over at Ress, things are on track for July opening

 

[MetroMan]

Darn, that's too high to use as a mounting point for a kayak

I guess Kayakers will have to mount at points on the natural shoreline.

 

[yyzhyd]

Very few people around this area on Sat and only a few of them trying the Simcoe deck.

No kids sliding.

Hey Drum I was down with my wife on Saturday afternoon and it was fairly busy with locals as well as happy Philly fans after the Jays game.
My first time checking out the new wave deck... very nice!

 

[Solaris]

June 27 2009 update

Finally got myself down to the waterfront this weekend ... as everyone's previous photos show, the Simcoe wave deck was certainly no disappointment ~ the kids were loving that 'slide'

I must say the highest 'wave' is indeed a very steep incline ... actually while I was trying to take this photo (beautiful view towards Water Club & Riviera Condominiums) ... I actually slipped, fell down the slope and scraped my elbow

 

[jn_12]

Hey Drum I was down with my wife on Saturday afternoon and it was fairly busy with locals as well as happy Philly fans after the Jays game.
My first time checking out the new wave deck... very nice!

I was down there Saturday night as well. I was trying out the new Watermark restaurant at Queens Quay Terminal (it's decent, though very busy) and the place was pretty packed. Kids using it as a slide and whatnot. The only time I don't see people on it is during the week.

 

[Northern Light]

Tour

I took a walking tour of most of the downtown and waterfront areas yesterday.

Amongst other places, I ended up were each of the 3 wave decks, 2 open and 1 under construction.

I have to say, sitting on the bench at the Spadina Wave Deck is a wonderful experience.

The deck itself is nothing amazing to look at. But both the closeness of the water in front of you; but also the sound of the waves underneath you really does have a wonderful calming effect on the soul.

I arrived there via Spadina and have to say, the visual obstruction of the Lake there is awful!

Between the Gardiner at one height, and the slightly lower Lakeshore East (which is elevated @ Spadina) it completely blocks the view of the Lake from Bremner!

If we can't get rid of this section of the Gardiner in the near term, then at least this section of Lakeshore must come down to earth!

****

As a further note, The Simcoe wave deck railings that run perpendicular to the water are really annoying when you're trying to walk parallel to the water.

Rees deck is fully laid out, but benches/railings still to go in.

 

[DSC]

Between the Gardiner at one height, and the slightly lower Lakeshore East (which is elevated @ Spadina) it completely blocks the view of the Lake from Bremner!
If we can't get rid of this section of the Gardiner in the near term, then at least this section of Lakeshore must come down to earth! .

There is no discussion of removing the Gardiner west of Jarvis and unless it has just happened ( ) Lakeshore is NOT elevated - what you may be referring to are the off and on ramps to the Gardiner. As far as I know the only ramp being discussed for change is the one at Bay Street.

 

[marcus_a_j]

Lakeshore is NOT elevated

Westbound Lake Shore is elevated from just west of Rees to just west of Spadina