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Shabby Public Realm

CityPainter said:
I think these are called "bump outs" and they've been the norm for new downtown sidewalk infrastructure for a few years now. They are throughout the new West Donlands (aka Canary District) area, as well as all along Front Street East. There's some info about them on pages 12 through 15 in this PDF "Streetscape Manual" which is specific to the Entertainment District but seems to match what we're seeing elsewhere.

http://torontoed.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/TEDBIA_StreetscapePaletteUpdate_Feb2014.pdf
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No, the Bay and Wellington are not bump-outs, they are the new style of corner that is more squared off, to give more pedestrian space. Not sure they will go everywhere but the City now allows them. Bump outs can be to add more pedestrian space or can have plants and street furniture. You can see both kinds on Front St East.
 
DSC said:
No, the Bay and Wellington are not bump-outs, they are the new style of corner that is more squared off, to give more pedestrian space. Not sure they will go everywhere but the City now allows them. Bump outs can be to add more pedestrian space or can have plants and street furniture. You can see both kinds on Front St East.
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Ah, okay, from the description I assumed they were bump outs. Good to know they've found a way to make improvements even where those aren't possible.
 
they are doing major work on Wellington anyway, so maybe that is why they took the opportunity to square off these two corners. hopefully they continue to roll these out at other corners.
 
I just read some posts from April regarding the Toronto sign at NPS. I've been silent about the (horrible) maple leaf addition to the sign. I was pleased to read that others feel the same way I do about the I'll advised addition. I've been a graphic designer for over thirty years, I also teach design at a local college. Typographically speaking, TORONTO looks great in type. It has nice rhythm and is instantly "understood". The added maple leaf is out of place, it detracts from the impact of the word and is an unnecessary and ugly add on. Yes, we all know that Toronto is in Canada. The sign sits in front of one of our only internationally recognized iconic buildings. Why on earth was the message cluttered and diluted with the addition of the meaningless, cliche maple leaf punctuation? The word, the building (city hall), and the thousands of photos of people climbing in and around the letter forms says it all. I hope the maple leaf is removed soon. Why does this sort of thing happen so often? It's very discouraging.
 
Moderators: shouldn't this thread "Shabby public realm" be moved to the "Design and Architectural style" thread?
 
@DSC

Are you aware of when the Wellington Streetscape enhancement is due for completion? I had assumed it would occur w/construction earlier this year, but last I saw the sidewalks were still the old ones, no new trees etc.
 
Northern Light said:
@DSC

Are you aware of when the Wellington Streetscape enhancement is due for completion? I had assumed it would occur w/construction earlier this year, but last I saw the sidewalks were still the old ones, no new trees etc.
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As one might expect the section of Wellington east of Yonge is 'on hold' as Hydro need to come in and upgrade their infrastructure. Naturally they are VERY late! This is expected (??) to be done this fall/winter and they have completed (?) the connected work on Front..

After Hydro the streetscape work was supposed to be immediately scheduled (spring 2018) but with the King Street project starting I understand it may not be done until 'later' so that alternative routes to King are not blocked during the trial.
 
DSC said:
As one might expect the section of Wellington east of Yonge is 'on hold' as Hydro need to come in and upgrade their infrastructure. Naturally they are VERY late! This is expected (??) to be done this fall/winter and they have completed (?) the connected work on Front..

After Hydro the streetscape work was supposed to be immediately scheduled (spring 2018) but with the King Street project starting I understand it may not be done until 'later' so that alternative routes to King are not blocked during the trial.
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'liking your post' to recognize your usual helpful, authoritative knowledge on all things St. Lawrence area.

But I wish to note a separate 'unlike' for the incompetent management of Hydro who seem to have no capability whatever of adhering to schedule; nor otherwise considering the interests of the community they serve, unless coerced to do so.
 
We've never really attempted to compete on elegant.

Toronto's appeal has always been our grittyness. A trait that a large amount of us locals actually like, myself included.
 
WislaHD said:
We've never really attempted to compete on elegant.

Toronto's appeal has always been our grittyness. A trait that a large amount of us locals actually like, myself included.
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I’m struggling to understand how sad, shabby, dysfunctional, poor and ugly are traits to be celebrated.
 
Calling Toronto dysfunctional is a little silly. Have you ever lived in a really dysfunctional city? There are plenty worldwide, and while Toronto is not perfect (i.e. our political BS), it is certainly pretty functional. Some might even call it too functional! There is definitely a bias towards building things that simply work for their intended purpose, hence the shabby public realm.
 
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