Toronto Nathan Phillips Square + Spirit Garden | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto

... and I'm really missing the open paved surface to Queen Street that was part of the original plan. I just don't understand how this is justified, the time this has taken, the cost, the shoddy job and materials, and the unfinished/compromised job. Embarrassing.
 
Of all the cuts, the lack of trees and nothing being done on the Bay Street side are most disappointing to me. I can't remember what the Queen St. forecourt looks like, it was dark and packed the last several times I was there - but that was also a "troubled" area for years.
 
Good thing this has only taken a decade and hasn't nearly lived up to expectations. This city is a farce! This is really indicative of how we view the public realm in this city. If we can't bother to make our municipal headquarters look attractive, then what hope is there for the rest of the city? If we can half ass our most important civic space, then why would go the extra mile elsewhere? We were promised a tuxedo and we've been given overalls. Way to smack one out of the park, as usual. We're totally useless when it comes to presentation.
 
Please, please, please direct that energy towards city officials. Better yet, do it on Twitter where they are publicly held to account. They do listen and it does weigh on their decisions. I've seen big changes made because of a single complaint. In fact, once I complained about the sidewalk on my street and received a response saying that the sidewalk was scheduled for a rebuild 2 years from then. I wrote a long letter of disappointment to my Councillor and a week later, I woke up with city crews outside rebuilding the entire street and sidewalk on both sides and for the entire length of my city block, no doubt a decision worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
 
Unfortunately, that won't work in this case. We're looking at millions of dollars worth of investment needed to bring the square up to Robert Plant's vision. I was expecting the square to look as pristine as his abs circa The Song Remains The Same, but instead it looks more like John Bonham's gut, at Knebworth, in '79.
 
Budget a million or two a year, and/or pull from S37 funds to complete the Square piece-meal. Example, 2016-Bay Street alignment/trees/sidewalks as planned, 2017-Queen/Bay corner as planned etc. I'm not a fan of pulling S37 funds from communities for which it was negotiated, but I'd be OK doing it here to complete NPS as envisioned.
 
Budget a million or two a year, and/or pull from S37 funds to complete the Square piece-meal. Example, 2016-Bay Street alignment/trees/sidewalks as planned, 2017-Queen/Bay corner as planned etc. I'm not a fan of pulling S37 funds from communities for which it was negotiated, but I'd be OK doing it here to complete NPS as envisioned.

Legally, there needs to be a planning nexus between Section 37 contributions and the development project. Plus, the Councillors guard those monies jealously for their wards. Legally and practically, pulling Section 37 funds from other parts of the City is unlikely. It would need to be Section 37 funds from projects near NPS.
 
Please, please, please direct that energy towards city officials. Better yet, do it on Twitter where they are publicly held to account. They do listen and it does weigh on their decisions. I've seen big changes made because of a single complaint. In fact, once I complained about the sidewalk on my street and received a response saying that the sidewalk was scheduled for a rebuild 2 years from then. I wrote a long letter of disappointment to my Councillor and a week later, I woke up with city crews outside rebuilding the entire street and sidewalk on both sides and for the entire length of my city block, no doubt a decision worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Just did.
 
From The Bay

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