Queen's Park North Revitalization

[dt_toronto_geek]

Some money into Queen's Park can't come quickly enough

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.

An area of the jogging track around the circumference of the park



Benches, in various states of disrepair - and replacement



F*cken' taggers



Downright embarrassing (it's worse by mid-summer when most of the grass has been trampled)



Outdated and mostly forgotten water feature buried at the south-west corner of the park



Two of these sad looking, weeping, coniferous trees are like this year 'round and greet visitors at the corner of Wellesley & Queen's Park East



I really like the light standards in the park, too bad most of them are defaced with fliers

 

[Earth Heals Herself]

Hmm, sounds like one of those Adrien Visentin-esque ReformAlliancers turned Green here...

Yeah, I get that all the time.

 

[Earth Heals Herself]

Man, Toronto really has no idea how make itself look pretty. That's an utter embarrassment. There's even bloody advertising going on in the park. I don't understand our obsession with paving pathways in asphalt. Since we're too cheap to use granite, coloured concrete would look a lot better than asphalt. Something like this.

It would probably be more resistant to warping as well.

 

[Dan416]

The light posts really are nice! Thanks for the pics!

 

[Northern Magus]

This is definitely one place that's in dire need of a master plan: QP North has looked shabby and dilapidated since at least the mid 90s, especially its benches and picnic tables.

Its running track should be a proper paved running track, for starters. The rest of the revitalization should be done in a Victorian/Gothic style that complements the Leg buildings and existing monuments, with materials that celebrate the province.

As has been said, QP South is in dire need of a reconnection to College Street that acts as a proper entrance, perhaps as well as a proper square area immediately in front of the Leg.

With a canny Councillor to champion it, a smart site plan and some s.37 funds could really do wonders here.

 

[Redroom Studios]

Move rallies elsewhere. The last thing the grass needs is thousands of people standing on it.

"the lunatic is on the grass" - Roger Waters

DT, the proper gardening terminology for "droopy" is "weeping", many species of trees have a weeping variety...

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

DT, the proper gardening terminology for "droopy" is "weeping", many species of trees have a weeping variety...

Dutifully noted, thank you. They still make me sad!

 

[DSC]

Dutifully noted, thank you. They still make me sad!

Almost weeping, in fact. :->

 

[Tewder]

As for gardens, I'd like to see some canna stutgart plants. They're really colourful, tropical plants that would look great.

Canna leaves

Why would anyone plant tropicals in Queen's Park? Trilliums!

 

[JasonParis]

Toronto has enough useless protesting every year. Rallies could be held anywhere. Taking up the entire park for a rally is selfish anyway. What if people just want to relax but are forced to leave because of some noisy hippies?

Not every park is home to a provincial legislature though.

 

[TrickyRicky]

Well I like that EArth Heals Herself is making some real suggestion but the park has plenty of room to accommodate peaceful promenades, flowers and good quality landscaping, protests, and even midnight sexcapades.

 

[barrytron3030]

Toronto has enough useless protesting every year. Rallies could be held anywhere. Taking up the entire park for a rally is selfish anyway. What if people just want to relax but are forced to leave because of some noisy hippies?

You should be more careful here. First of all, citizens have the right to protest peacefully anywhere they want. Second, this is the provincial legislature! It is the centre of Ontarian Power. In fact, I'm sure one of the express purposes of Queen's Park was to serve as a gathering space for both celebrations and protests. Third, protest don't even happen that often at Queen's Park. Fourth, not all protesters are "hippies." In fact most protestors are not hippies. When's the last time you saw a legitimate hippy? Protests bother people. That's the point. Or, they are meant to engage the consciousness of citizens otherwise unaware of a potentially important issue or violation.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Do hippies really even exist anymore?

 

[Earth Heals Herself]

Why would anyone plant tropicals in Queen's Park? Trilliums!

Why not? I've seen this plants in a few city gardens. I'd rather have something such as this over the typical monotony of tulips, begonias, etc... There's no point in plating trilliums as they only bloom for 3 or 4 weeks in the spring. We're probably better off planting annuals, since perennials bloom for a max of 2 months and the former are in bloom all spring and summer.

 

[Earth Heals Herself]

Do hippies really even exist anymore?

Yes, they're called hipsters now. They're basically a modern take on the hippie.