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Rob Ford's Toronto

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In the longer term, a soft surface surrounding the tracks would have less maintenance concerns. Vibration cracks the concrete used on streetcar tracks and requires regular resurfacing. I like the idea of a drivable grass surface. It would absorb the vibrations, create a green belt along Queens Quay and would still allow a path for emergency vehicles.
 
Isn't the St Clair median "treated/patterned" in some way? (i.e. not just smooth banal concrete)
 
nfitz said:
To be fair ... can you imagine what grass in the ROW would like like here with our road salt usage and hot-dry summers? Perhaps in another decade or two if this global warming continues ... :)
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What about Astroturf? Is that very expensive? They did that at Harbourfront and it looks good.
 
Torontovibe said:
What about Astroturf? Is that very expensive? They did that at Harbourfront and it looks good.
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Probably not more expensive than other finishes.

Where did they use astroturf at Harbourfront? Can't think of much grass around there offhand, other just east of Bay, west of the ferry terminal.
 
nfitz said:
Probably not more expensive than other finishes.

Where did they use astroturf at Harbourfront? Can't think of much grass around there offhand, other just east of Bay, west of the ferry terminal.
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It's still there. It covers everything west of harbourfront centre between Harbourfront Centre and the Slip

And it's awesome. It adds so much more usable space. Before when it was just grass it was often muddy and most people wouldn't use the space.
 
Lenser said:
I dunno. I'm interested in hawc's reasoning for why it doesn't work in practise.
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Just anecdotal, but the parking lot behind my work last year tore up all the pavement and did exactly this.

drivable_grass.jpg


They grew the grass all healthy and then let cars back in. All the grass was destroyed within a few weeks. They replanted everything and did it again. All the grass died again. Now it's just a dirt/concrete thing. Looks nice in pictures though.
 
Scarberians don't know what to think of Ford- that's why he's promising them a subway no matter what!

Anyways, when one's operatus modus is bullying and demagoguery, don't expect the populace to remain ignorant to what goes on in city hall! Meanwhile, the cuts are beginning to trickle in, and could potentially damage his approval rates even further.

February 12, 2012 16:00 ET

Strategic Communications Inc.: Toronto Mayor Ford Suffers Sharp Rise in Voter Disaffection, Poll Shows

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 12, 2012) - A new poll taken in the 48 hours after City Council handed Toronto Mayor Rob Ford a dramatic defeat of his transit plan, 35% of Toronto residents 'strongly disapprove' of Mr Ford's performance on the job, an 11% jump in the past six months and double the figure (17%) from last March. The results come in a new poll from research firm Strategic Communications, Inc. that gathered Toronto residents' views last Thursday and Friday.

At the same time, the survey shows that 27% strongly approve of the job the Mayor is doing, a number that has been steady since he was elected in November of 2010.The survey of 1,300 Toronto residents has a margin of error of +/-2.7%, 19 times out of 20, the company said.

"While Mr Ford continues to have a core of strong support, his leadership is controversial as shown by the steady hardening of his disapproval ratings," according to John Willis, director of research for Strategic Communications. "A high strong disapproval rate is a key political indicator for a politician in trouble," Willis said. "The rate of increase in this indicator is dramatic, especially for a mayor so early in his term."

The survey also found that:
  • Taking into account those who 'somewhat' approve or disapprove of Mayor Ford's performance highlights a parallel downward trend in overall approval ratings, from 54% in March, 2011, to just 43% now.
  • Meanwhile overall disapproval has risen to 47%, the first time since Mr Ford was elected in 2010 that more Torontonians express disapproval of his performance than approval.
  • Ford's strongest support base is in North York where 35% of residents strongly approve of his performance, and his lowest 'strongly approve' ratings are in the old City of Toronto (20%).
  • An absolute majority (51%) of residents of the old City of Toronto strongly disapprove of Mayor Ford's performance, much higher than the next most disapproving region, which is Etobicoke at 31%.
  • Scarborough residents are the most likely to say they neither approve nor disapprove of Mayor Ford's performance, or to say 'don't know' when asked (18%).

"It remains to be seen if this is a watershed for the Mayor, but Torontonians not only have a more negative view of his leadership, but those views are also becoming harder to modify going forward," Willis said.
The Stratcom survey data, in summary and with historical tracking back to March 2011, is reproduced in table format below.
www.Stratcom.ca

Methods
This survey was fielded using Stratcom's Rapid Poll, an automated phone poll, from February 9th to 10th, 2012, yielding a sample of 1300 completed surveys and a margin of error of +/-2.7%, 19 times out of 20 had the entire 18+ population of Toronto been polled. This data was statistically weighted to ensure that the sample's regional gender and age composition reflects that of the actual Toronto population according to the 2006 Census. The data was analyzed using SPSS 12.0.

Strategic Communications Inc. (Stratcom) is a full service opinion research and Communications firm with offices in Toronto and Vancouver. We have been providing quantitative and qualitative public affairs research since 1991. Stratcom has been the official pollster to 24 Hours newspaper in Vancouver, and its research has been recognized in Maclean's Magazine, the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and Vancouver Sun newspapers, among others.

ROB FORD APPROVAL

For the charts, go here: http://www.marketwire.com/press-rel...ers-sharp-rise-voter-disaffection-1618608.htm
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I think the fact that in today's National Post political panel, everyone (and not just Jonathan Goldsbie) thinks Rob Ford went a little coo-coo last week, is telling you something...
 
jn_12 said:
It's still there. It covers everything west of harbourfront centre between Harbourfront Centre and the Slip

And it's awesome. It adds so much more usable space. Before when it was just grass it was often muddy and most people wouldn't use the space.
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I know the Astroturf is more practical in the space given the amount of abuse it gets, but I really have to disagree on the aesthetics of it. I walk past it nearly every day and it I have to say it just looks fake. It's always all matted down from the foot traffic and it stands out like a sore thumb in the middle of summer when everything else is dry and brown. IMO the drivable grass would have been a great solution for that space...something natural and green but still providing a solid, non-muddy, walk-able surface. I know aesthetics are all a matter of opinion, but I hate fake plants, and Astroturf should stay in the sports stadiums.
 
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